Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting on
e.g., Youtube or Myspace? As I see it four steps are necessary.
1. Record the scene on my JVC GR-D395U vidcam.
2. Download the scene via a DV cable that comes with the camera.
3. Convert to an appropriate format.
4. Upload to a site via the internet.

The JVC customer service suggest just connecting the camcorder via a
cable and Windows XP will recognize that the camcorder is connected
and will callup Microsoft Windowmaker.  He also said that DV ports are
common on Macs but not on Windows machines.   But I want to explore
the Linux path first.

For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested? The
camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.

For step 3. what kind of format should I convert the file to for e.g.
Youtube?

Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
function?
(Sounds of groans and sighs in background.)

John Culleton

john@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
> Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting on
> e.g., Youtube or Myspace?

Any commonly used video format (MPEG-4, MPEG-2, DiVX:-) should work.

> 1. Record the scene on my JVC GR-D395U vidcam.
> 2. Download the scene via a DV cable that comes with the camera.
> 3. Convert to an appropriate format.
>
> The JVC customer service suggest 

....nothing relevant, since they are probably reading from a script.

> For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested? The
> camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.

ITYM "IEEE1394 (Firewire) port".  Linux supports just about every model
of IEEE1394 card that exists.  You will probably have to modprobe
ohci1394 if your distro doesn't do that automagically.  Which version of
which distro are you using, anyway?  This info is usually useful and/or
important.

> For step 3, what kind of format should I convert the file to?

See first paragraph.  There are a number of utilities for grabbing DV
and encoding it to other less cumbersome formats.  Some of them are more
user-friendly than others.  I don't own any DV-capable devices though,
so I hope someone else can advise you on these utilities.

> Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
> function?

Only if you don't want to spend an hour learning a few new things.

-- 
   Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there.
   He wasn't there again today -- I think he's from the CIA.
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see

On Feb 6, 3:47 pm, Dances With Crows <danceswithcr...@usa.net> wrote:
> j...@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
>
> > Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting on
> > e.g., Youtube or Myspace?
>
> Any commonly used video format (MPEG-4, MPEG-2, DiVX:-) should work.
>
> > 1. Record the scene on my JVC GR-D395U vidcam.
> > 2. Download the scene via a DV cable that comes with the camera.
> > 3. Convert to an appropriate format.
>
> > The JVC customer service suggest
>
> ...nothing relevant, since they are probably reading from a script.
>
> > For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested? The
> > camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.
>
> ITYM "IEEE1394 (Firewire) port".  Linux supports just about every model
> of IEEE1394 card that exists.  You will probably have to modprobe
> ohci1394 if your distro doesn't do that automagically.  Which version of
> which distro are you using, anyway?  This info is usually useful and/or
> important.
>
> > For step 3, what kind of format should I convert the file to?
>
> See first paragraph.  There are a number of utilities for grabbing DV
> and encoding it to other less cumbersome formats.  Some of them are more
> user-friendly than others.  I don't own any DV-capable devices though,
> so I hope someone else can advise you on these utilities.
>
> > Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
> > function?
>
> Only if you don't want to spend an hour learning a few new things.
>

Learning is what this thread is about. I am a total noob when it comes
to video.


Aha, so DV is somehow related to Firewire? Didn't know that. BTW
I use Slack 12 on a not-too-terribly-new AMD board running at about
780 Mhz.

john@wexfordpress.com wrote:
> Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting on
> e.g., Youtube or Myspace? As I see it four steps are necessary.
> 1. Record the scene on my JVC GR-D395U vidcam.
> 2. Download the scene via a DV cable that comes with the camera.
> 3. Convert to an appropriate format.
> 4. Upload to a site via the internet.
> 
> The JVC customer service suggest just connecting the camcorder via a
> cable and Windows XP will recognize that the camcorder is connected
> and will callup Microsoft Windowmaker.  He also said that DV ports are
> common on Macs but not on Windows machines.   But I want to explore
> the Linux path first.
> 

Get the Ubuntu,
it downloads the software to support formats from the server.
(at leas when financial activity is not gets its peek, about less than 
hour daily, it works quick enough.)
It is a special version of Ubuntu to work with sound and video.
At this site you may download Ubuntu: http://ubuntu.com
(At the same place you may order free promotional CDs with Ubuntu.)

> For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested? The
> camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.
> 
> For step 3. what kind of format should I convert the file to for e.g.
> Youtube?
> 
> Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
> function?
> (Sounds of groans and sighs in background.)
> 
> John Culleton
> 

john@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
> On Feb 6, 3:47 pm, Dances With Crows wrote:
>> j...@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
>>> Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting
>>> on e.g., Youtube or Myspace?
>> Any commonly used video format (MPEG-4, MPEG-2, DiVX:-) should work.
>>> For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested?
>>> The camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.
>> ITYM "IEEE1394 (Firewire) port".
>>> Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
>>> function?
>> Only if you don't want to spend an hour learning a few new things.
> Learning is what this thread is about. I am a total noob when it comes
> to video.

This is where you try a few things out and see what works best for you.

> Aha, so DV is somehow related to Firewire?

DV is a file format.  Firewire is a bus and a protocol specification.
Since DV is a pretty heavyweight format, it's typically transferred over
a fast bus like Firewire.

> I use Slack 12 on a not-too-terribly-new AMD board running at about
> 780 Mhz.

Um.  You'll want to get a faster CPU, since encoding the DV to something
suitable for Net use will take a while with that gear.  Video encoding
is mostly CPU-bound, so every MHz will help here.

-- 
   "Right now i got approx. 3 KB RAM left, still enough to do a lot of
   useful stuff."
   --Olaf Christ, who hacked up the first TCP/IP-enabled Lego brick.
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see

On Feb 9, 11:18 am, Dances With Crows <danceswithcr...@usa.net> wrote:
> j...@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
>
> > On Feb 6, 3:47 pm, Dances With Crows wrote:
> >> j...@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
> >>> Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting
> >>> on e.g., Youtube or Myspace?
> >> Any commonly used video format (MPEG-4, MPEG-2, DiVX:-) should work.
> >>> For step 2., what kind of video board with a DV port is suggested?
> >>> The camera can work with either four pin or six pin DV ports.
> >> ITYM "IEEE1394 (Firewire) port".
> >>> Am I better off just using Windows XP or Windows 2000 for this
> >>> function?
> >> Only if you don't want to spend an hour learning a few new things.
> > Learning is what this thread is about. I am a total noob when it comes
> > to video.
>
> This is where you try a few things out and see what works best for you.
>
> > Aha, so DV is somehow related to Firewire?
>
> DV is a file format.  Firewire is a bus and a protocol specification.
> Since DV is a pretty heavyweight format, it's typically transferred over
> a fast bus like Firewire.
>
> > I use Slack 12 on a not-too-terribly-new AMD board running at about
> > 780 Mhz.
>
> Um.  You'll want to get a faster CPU, since encoding the DV to something
> suitable for Net use will take a while with that gear.  Video encoding
> is mostly CPU-bound, so every MHz will help here.
>
> --
>

I bought a board with a firewire port and a cable to hook my camera to
the port.
Now what? I can hook up my camera and start it playing (it has a tape
for media).

1. What do I need at the Linux end to receive it?

2a. Is the suggestion to use Ubuntu instead a better idea?

2b. if so what is the ubuntu app that satisfies 1 above?

John C.

On Feb 6, 9:45 pm, Dawn On <Daw...@svitonline.com> wrote:
> j...@wexfordpress.com wrote:
> > Which video format, if any can I use on my Linux system for posting on
> > e.g., Youtube or Myspace? As I see it four steps are necessary.
> > 1. Record the scene on my JVC GR-D395U vidcam.
> > 2. Download the scene via aDVcable that comes with the camera.
> > 3. Convert to an appropriate format.
> > 4. Upload to a site via the internet.
>
> > The JVC customer service suggest just connecting the camcorder via a
> > cable and Windows XP will recognize that the camcorder is connected
> > and will callup Microsoft Windowmaker.  He also said thatDVports are
> > common on Macs but not on Windows machines.   But I want to explore
> > the Linux path first.
>
> Get the Ubuntu,
> it downloads the software to support formats from the server.
> (at leas when financial activity is not gets its peek, about less than
> hour daily, it works quick enough.)
> It is a special version of Ubuntu to work with sound and video.
> At this site you may download Ubuntu:http://ubuntu.com
> (At the same place you may order free promotional CDs with Ubuntu.)

Well I already have a kubuntu unstable partition. Those folks suggest
Kino or DVgrab.

What if any are the Slackware equivalents for capturing camera files?

john@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
> Dances With Crows wrote:
>> j...@wexfordpress.com staggered into the Black Sun and said:
>> >> Only if you don't want to spend an hour learning a few new things.
>> > Learning is what this thread is about. I am a total noob when it comes
>> > to video.
>> This is where you try a few things out and see what works best for you.
> I bought a board with a firewire port and a cable to hook my camera to
> the port.  Now what? I can hook up my camera and start it playing (it
> has a tape for media).
> 1. What do I need at the Linux end to receive it?

You need to have the ohci1394 module loaded, and possibly dv1394 or
video1394.  Then you start dvgrab or one of the frontends to dvgrab.
Then you get the DV.  Then you encode it, then things are cool.

>> > I use Slack 12 on a not-too-terribly-new AMD board running at about
>> > 780 Mhz.
>> Um.  You'll want to get a faster CPU

This should be repeated.

> 2a. Is the suggestion to use Ubuntu instead a better idea?

If you're comfortable with Slack, you might find Ubuntu annoying.  OTOH,
there are some apps that aren't in Slack's package system.  I don't know
exactly what they are, though ISTR GNOME being unavailable in Slack for
some reason.

> 2b. if so what is the ubuntu app that satisfies 1 above?

dvgrab, mencoder, transcode, and most of the video-grabbing and encoding
apps are (or should be) available for every distro.  I can't really make
many recommendations here though, since making and encoding video isn't
one of my big interests.  HTH anyway,

-- 
   Programmers are playwrights, computers are lousy actors,
   Users are vicious drama critics,
   Bastard Operators From Hell burn down theatres!
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see