1. Learn the Video Editing Basics
2. Configuring your PC for Digital Video Editing
3. Planning and Shooting your Videos
4. Connecting a Digital Camera to Your Windows PC
5. Video Dimension, Aspect Ratio and DVD
6. Editing Techniques to remove unnecessary footage
7. Useful Video Editing Techniques
8. Adding Titles and Credits
9. Speeding Up or Slowing Down Video Playback
10. Applying Effects Correctly
11. Applying Transitions Correctly
12. Applying Picture-in-Picture Transition
13. Using the Animated Transform Effect
14. Using the Green Screen Technique
15. Adding Life To Images: The Pan and Zoom Effect
16. More Effects and Transitions
17. Useful Audio Effects
18. Create photos from your videos
19. Watermark Your Videos
20. Getting Edited Videos out of your PC
21. Inserting videos into PowerPoint
22. Create Movies for Video Desk
23. Troubleshooting Compatibility Problems

Video Edit Magic 4.47

Connecting a Digital Camera to Your Windows PC

The digital camcorder is one of the most popular home products of all times. Camcorders have made shooting videos simple, quick and fun.  You can make your home videos even more enjoyable by copying them to your PC, editing them, adding titles and removing those unwanted scenes.  Video editing software like Video Edit Magic can help you edit your home movies to make your memories last forever.  You can also convert the edited videos to an appropriate format and create a DVD or upload them to an Internet server and share your memories with family and friends.

However, many users face problems while connecting digital camcorders and cameras to their PCs.  This article aims to guide you through the process of connecting a digital camcorder to your Windows PC.

Checklist for connecting a Camcorder to your PC

To connect your camcorder to your Windows PC, you require:

1. A FireWire or USB Port on your PC.
2. Microsoft � DirectX version 9.0c or higher.
3. Appropriate connecting cables (usually bundled with the camcorder).

FireWire Port and USB 2.0 Connection

A FireWire Port (also known as IEEE 1394) allows users to connect digital video camcorders and other peripheral devices to their PCs, and transfer videos or other data at high speeds.  Most digital camcorders also have a USB 2.0 connection and this USB connection can be used to capture the video as well as the photo snaps taken by the camcorder.  Be sure your PC has a USB 2.0.  While a USB 2.0 device can transfer data using a USB 1.1 connection, the transfer rate will be dramatically lower, and video capture may not be successful.

Most new PCs have a FireWire port or a USB 2.0 connection available.  If your PC does not include these ports, you will need to purchase a FireWire expansion card.  These cards can be bought at any computer store and are inexpensive.

Microsoft � DirectX �

DirectX is a Windows technology that enables higher performance in graphics and sound.  For older operating systems, you should upgrade Direct X.  This will ensure that the FireWire will function properly with your digital camcorder.  You can download the latest version of DirectX from Microsoft's website.

Connecting Cables

There are are two types of FireWire connectors– 4 pin and 6 pin.

The FireWire port on the PC usually has 6 pins.  Two pins are for providing power to FireWire devices like printers, scanners or external memory.  A digital camcorder’s FireWire port (usually called DV out or i.Link) usually has 4 pins as the camera does not need to power other devices.  This means that in most cases you would need a FireWire connecting cable with 4 pins (for DV out of camcorder) on one end and 6 pins at the other end (for your PC).

Connecting your Camcorder to your PC

Physically connecting your camcorder to your Windows PC using a FireWire port is easy.  Plug the IEEE 1394 connecting cable into the PC and the camcorder.  We recommend making the connection before turning on the camcorder.  When you turn on the camcorder, it should be automatically detected by Windows.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Many camcorder users have faced problem connecting a camcorder to their PC.  One of the most common problems is “nothing happens” after connecting the camcorder to the PC.  The New Hardware Wizard does not run and Windows fails to detect the camcorder.

This can mean one of the two things: Either the DV port on the camcorder (or computer) is not working or the FireWire cable is faulty.  Try a different FireWire cable.  If the camera is still not detected by the PC, try connecting it to a different PC.  If the Camcorder is still not detected, then your camera's DV port is most likely at fault.

Confirming that the FireWire Port on you PC is working fine

You can check the status of the FireWire port with the Device Manager.  To open the Device Manager, right-click on My Computer and then click on Properties.  Select the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager.  If you cannot see the FireWire controller (probably listed under "IEEE1394 Bus host controllers") in the list, then it is not properly installed.  If you see a yellow exclamation mark, then you need to install the drivers, which are usually on a CD that comes with the FireWire card.  (These instructions are for Windows XP.  They will vary slightly for other versions of Windows.)

Importing your Videos from the Digital Camcorder to your PC

You can use Video Edit Magic’s capture tool to import all your video and audio files from a digital camcorder.  The instructions for video and audio capture are here.  After importing, you can edit these files using Video Edit Magic.

Now you are ready to learn about Video Editing.  You can find additional information and articles on Video Editing on our Resources page.