For example, the programs can take a piece of video and either sharpen or soften the edges of the picture. You can also play with the contrast and the color balance, although the quality of the original video determines how much it can be improved. There are no miracles. Think of these tools as a way to improve a clip somewhat rather than to create a new masterpiece.In Suzanne's case, she used the sharpening tool to reduce some of the blur in the video of her niece. For the video of her wedding she used the color-correction tool (figure A) to add some light to what was a dark setting. Remember, the goal is to subtly improve the quality of the tape -- if Suzanne overcorrects the lighting, her guests become "ghosts" on the finished tape.
The DVDThere are a number of different tape formats available for consumer use. Basically, most of the consumer-level DVD players play DVD-R disks. The DVD+RW and DVD-RW work well for video storage and are not the type of disks that the home-moviemaker wants for a finished video project.
CD burners are available in a broad range of prices, anywhere from $300 to several thousand dollars (speed and the way they encode are the reason for the price range). More expensive DVD burners usually take less time to create the master copy. Lower-priced burners burn at a slower speed, if not real time, so if time is an issue, you may want to consider purchasing a higher-speed DVD burner. The DVD burners built into computers usually burn a little faster than external burners, but externals are good if you are on the go and need to switch between computers.
Steps:
1. Once the video is encoded and the menu is finished, all you should have to do is hit burn.
2. A good rule of thumb is that at high quality, a good DVD will hold about two hours' worth of footage.
3. You can also move the new family highlight reel from the computer directly back to a new digital tape. To do this, hit record on the camcorder and let it roll for about 30 seconds to move it off the beginning of the tape.
4. Then hit the play feature in the video-editing program on the computer. This begins the transfer.
5. Before beginning the transfer, check the audio levels to make sure they are properly set.
6. It is recommended that at least two master copies of the DVD or tape recording of the home movie be dubbed so a backup is available, if needed.
7. A dub in video occurs in real time, meaning that if the program is10 minutes long, it will take10 minutes to create the master. A DVD usually burns slightly faster than real time.
DVD BurnersFeatures to look for in a high-quality burner include the following:
- Can you create a customized menu? This is the first thing a viewer sees when he puts a DVD into a player. At its most basic it's little more than a cover page that precedes the home movie, but new programs make it easy to add chapters that allow the viewer to skip to a specific place on the DVD.
- Does the program include prebuilt animated menus that give the DVD a slick, professional look? The program used here, for example, allows you to select backgrounds for sporting videos, vacations and family events.
- Is the burn format compatible with the DVD player? Check what format you are creating, then check the player's instructional manual to see whether they are both compatible.
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