General:
File formats
Classroom
Video Hardware
Camcorder/
Player Video formats
Pinnacle tutorials:
Analog:
Getting Started
Capture!
Edit!
Movie Time!
Hints and Resources
Digital:
Getting Started
Capture!
Edit!
Movie Time!
Hints and Resources
Video Applied:
The Web
PowerPoint
Elsewhere on this site:
General
Instructional Technology
Presentation/Web
Imaging
Sound
Video,
Home
 |
 |
 |
Video: Pinnacle Studio - Getting Started (Analog) |
I. What do I need to edit video?
- A computer. According to Pinnacle (as of 1/1/2003), the minimum system requirements include:
Pentium 300 or compatible PC or better
with one free PCI slot, 64MB RAM, DirectX
compatible graphics and sound card, DirectX 5.0 (or higher),
compatible sound card, mouse, Windows 98 or higher, 200MB free disk space required to install software, 200 meg per minute of finished video. Having said that - you won't be happy with a computer with the minimum requirements. You should have a minimum of 128 meg of RAM. Older hard drives don't have a fast enough transfer rate to capture at the best quality - if you're not sure, Pinnacle offers a test program as a download from their website.
You can purchase the computer and capture system together and factory-supported from the Accent Computers KETS purchase spreadsheet, though separately they’re cheaper.
- Pinnacle Systems Studio AV or Deluxe (includes capture card and software)
- A camcorder, any format
- A VCR (if you intend to export to this format – recommended)
- Video and Audio connection wires, called patch cables (your needs may vary – see below)
II. How do I install the software and hardware?
Leave this to the pros – have your tech coordinator or District tech support person install it for you. Make sure your techie installs the latest drivers and upgrades for your software from the Pinnacle website – they do updates often!
III. How do I hook it all up?
Make sure you understand how to hook up the equipment, because students will fiddle with it constantly, and it’ll get moved! Nothing is more frustrating than going to work, only to find nothing is hooked up! Studio Deluxe includes a break-out box which is quite helpful, but the connections will be similar to those below.
Video involves several different connection types. All come in “female”
and “male” versions, and without going into too much
graphic detail, male
goes into female. Female is usually (but not always) on the devices (computer/VCR/etc.), and
male is on the patch cables. Connection types include:
- RCA, also called composite when used for video.
- 1/8“ Mini
- Coaxial (nicknamed Coax)
Patching—VCR/Camcorder to Analog Card/Box:
Video:
“Video-out” from your camcorder or VCR patches to the “In” female RCA connection on the Pinnacle analog capture card. If you're using a VCR, use the female RCA “Video out” connection, and use a male RCA/male RCA patch cable from there to the DC10plus. If you’re using a camcorder, they generally come with a patch cable which has a Mini male plug on one end that attaches to the camcorder, and a male RCA plug for the analog card. This cable will probably also have sound connection plugs which are also RCA. Don’t mix them up—color-coding is used (see insert). S
ome
camcorders also have RCA outs like VCRs.
Sound: Sound is handled by the computer’s sound card, not the capture card. (If you have a breakout box, it will have a patch into your sound card) If you’re using a VCR, you’ll need an RCA male/Mini male for a patch cable. If your VCR is stereo, then the patch cable needs to be two RCA males/one stereo Mini. Don’t cheat and use only a mono patch cable—the balances will be off!
If you’re using a camcorder, the patch cable that came with it will most likely require another cable or adapter, since the sound connection ends are usually RCA male, and your sound card doesn’t have that. Your patch cable must be RCA female/Mini male – stereo ( two RCA->stereo Mini) if the camcorder has stereo. On some camcorders, a Mini “Sound out” is provided separately for earphones, and so you can use a Mini male/Mini male patch to plug it into the sound card.
Patching—DC10plus to VCR/Camcorder:
One does not need to do this until you’re ready to record your finished product, but if you have a fixed VCR for recording, it’s a good idea to set it and forget it.Video: Plug the “Out” RCA on the DC10plus to “Video in” in your
camcorder with a male RCA/male RCA patch cable. You can use
your camcorder for
recording from the DC10plus if it has RCA video and sound in plugs. Many do.
Sound: The “line out” Mini connection on your sound card must go to the VCR “Sound in” connection – again requiring a male RCA -> male Mini patch cable. Since many sound cards don’t provide both “speaker out” and “line out,” you can’t plug both the VCR and your speakers in at the same time. If you need to hear sound during capture and mixing, leave your speakers plugged in until you're ready to produce your final product.
Seeing/hearing the final mix on TV
DC10plus provides a small display area for viewing, and you're stuck with this display when editing - the temporary files produced during the editing phase aren't passed through the DC10plus card since they're low-resolution. Final files produced during rendering (the last step) are passed through the DC10plus card, and you can see the results on a TV if you have it connected to the VCR using a coax patch cable. Make sure your TV is set to receive the channel output from the VCR!
What are those other connections on the DC10plus? Why aren’t we using them?
They’re S-VHS or s-video, and they look like mouse or keyboard connectors. You can use them if your camcorder supports S-VHS (video only – you’ll still need to do sound separately to the sound card). However, compression and non-S-VHS VCRs make this increase in quality of little consequence.