Mini DV to DVD

A small size Digital Video cassette is called 'Mini DV'. Mini DVs were initially created for amateur usage but they are used for producing professional videos as well. The reason behind it, is the top class sharp video and audio quality that a DV provides. Mini DV is most commonly used for camcorders. They raise the picture quality and provide a stronger color reproduction. The biggest advantage of using a mini DV for home shooting projects is that, the content recorded on them can be easily imported on the PC. Once you import it on a PC, you can edit it the way you want and transfer to other suitable media as well. You can also burn a mini DV to DVD.

How to Convert Mini DV to DVD

Here are some easy steps that will guide you on how to convert a mini DV to DVD. At first, download and install the DVD Burning Xpress program on your PC. This software comes with the video trimming and editing tools and DVD burning applications. Along with putting the raw videos from mini DV, you can also put Divx AVI, AVI, MOV, VOB, RM/RMVB, WMV and ASF video clips in it. Once you install the software, plug the firewire in (one of the two that I mentioned above) cable to the 'firewire output' of the camcorder and its other end to the 'firewire input' of the computer. Now, turn on the camcorder and put the playback mode of the mini DV camcorder to - "VCR".

Now run the DVD Burning Xpress and click on the 'DV capture' button that appears on its main screen. Now play the 'Start Capture' button on which you can find on the 'DV Capture'. It will easily start the audio video recording on the hard drive of your PC. As soon as the Mini DV tape has finished playing, press the 'Stop Capture' button and stop the mini DV camcorder as well. Now, turn off the camcorder and remove the firewire cable from both PC and the camcorder. Insert a blank and recordable DVD into the Disc Drive of the PC and click on the 'Burn Video to DVD Disc' icon that appears on the main window of the DVD Burning Xpress Program. Then select the 'NTSC' video standard and click on the 'Burn Now' button, so that you can transfer the video from mini DV to DVD.

Useful Tips

There are many home production enthusiasts that have hours of video footage trapped in their camcorders and they cannot empty it for they don't know how to convert mini DV to DVD. Well, there are a few easy ways to do that. One of the simplest ways to do that is by using a DVD recorder. However, your mini DV must have a firewire output to it, for instance, i.LINK or IEEE 1394. As we know, a DVD recorder can record footage from various sources. Hence, all that you need to do is to look for a DVD recorder with a firewire input. Secondly, if you are not aware yet, let me tell you that most of the modern computers come with an inbuilt DVD burners and video converters. With these DVD burning and video capturing software, you can not only convert the mini DV into DVD but also add some details like chapter titles, subheads and menus.

You can convert a mini DV to DVD on the TV with help of a DVD recorder by following a similar process too. For that, you will need a RCA Audio/Video cable, firewire cable, recordable disc, set-top DVD recorder and a TV, of course!