H-P Has an Easy Way to Let You Convert Old Videos Into DVDs
Using a computer to transfer old videos onto DVDs should be simple, but it's a hassle. Older camcorders and VCRs are analog devices and can't translate the contents of a video into the digital format computers understand. You need an extra gadget called an analog-to-digital converter to put between the camcorder or VCR, and the computer.
A number of converter products are on the market. But they are often complicated or unreliable. I recently tested three of them that worked poorly, or not at all. Some new digital camcorders can act as converters, but they are expensive and tricky to use in this way. And you still need a DVD recorder, something most PCs lack, to actually create the discs and finish the job.
Now, Hewlett-Packard is attacking the problem with a gadget called the DVD Movie Writer dc3000. It's an external accessory for Windows computers that combines, in one integrated box, an analog-to-digital converter and a DVD recorder. It will be sold late next month at $399.
H-P promises that the DVD Movie Writer will allow users to convert old videos from their camcorder or VCR tapes to DVDs in just a few simple steps. In my tests, I found the claim to be true.
But there is one huge caveat: Microsoft's Windows Messenger, an unrelated product that comes with every copy of the Windows XP operating system, interferes with the video transfer and must be disabled for the DVD Movie Writer to work correctly. H-P says there is a new patch for Windows that fixes the problem, and that the patch will be included in the installation software for the product. If the fix really works, the company will have a winner on its hands.
The DVD Movie Writer is the best external video-conversion device I've tested. It's also the easiest to use, partly because the DVD recorder is built right in. Even when you've converted all your videos, you can still keep the unit as a DVD player and burner. It also burns and plays CDs.
Setting up the DVD Movie Writer is simple. You just install the necessary software and connect the device to your PC, which must have Windows XP or Windows 2000 and 10 gigabytes of free space on the hard disk, to hold the digital video files it creates. It will work with any USB port, but you really should have a new, speedy, USB 2.0 port, or your video transfers will take an eternity.
Then, use standard video and audio cables to plug a camcorder or VCR into the H-P gadget. The unit accepts either a standard video cable or a higher-quality S-Video connection.
H-P includes a variety of software programs for use with the DVD Movie Writer. There's a video-editing program and a program that automatically condenses a long video into a short movie. And there are utilities for using the drive for nonvideo purposes, such as backing up files or creating music discs.
The most interesting piece of software included with the unit is H-P's Video Transfer Wizard, which allows you to import an entire videotape and transfer it to a DVD in just a few clicks. It's for converting videos you don't want to edit, but simply want to get onto a DVD intact. It's simple and works unattended. Once you get it going, you can walk away. The transfers can take hours, but they don't waste your time.
I used the Video Transfer Wizard with a standard, inexpensive home VCR, and converted three different videotapes. One was a 10-year-old video of a school play, one was a six-year-old video of a TV show, taped from cable, and the third was a video of a recent technology conference, shot professionally.
In each case, I was first prompted to insert the tape and view its contents through a small window on the PC screen until I reached the point where I wanted the DVD to begin. I then pressed the stop button on the VCR. I also had to estimate the total time of the video, and was given an opportunity to select a design for the main menu, and a name and date for the DVD.
Then, I just hit "Transfer" on the PC, pressed "Play" on the VCR and walked away.
The only glitch I ran into was that the audio at first didn't come through. But this was due to the conflict with Windows Messenger. I killed Messenger. After that, the audio worked fine.
The DVDs I created played perfectly on a set-top DVD player, in a different Windows PC and in a Macintosh. The quality was decent, though not fabulous. The software automatically records videos of under an hour at its highest quality setting, and then lowers the quality as videos grow toward the maximum duration of two hours.
You can play the DVD from start to finish, or use a menu to jump to various chapters that the software automatically creates every three or five minutes.
All in all, H-P's DVD Movie Writer is a fine product. It's a good example of H-P's new commitment to innovate in the consumer market. I can heartily recommend it, if H-P can get around the Microsoft Messenger conflict.
惠普新产品助你轻松转换录像带
《华尔街日报》
用电脑把旧的录像带转换到DVD上应该很简单，但也有点麻烦。老式的摄像机和录像机(VCR)属于模拟制式，不能把录像带里的内容转换成电脑理解的数字式信息。因此，你需要一个把模拟信号转变为数字信号的转换器。
目前，市面上有很多转换器，但它们通常都很复杂，或性能不可靠。我最近测试了其中的三种产品，它们要么性能极差，要么根本不起作用。一些新型的数码摄像机可充当转换器，但价格昂贵，难以操作。此外，你还需要一个DVD刻录机来制作光盘，而大多数电脑却没有这种设备。
如今，惠普公司(Hewlett-Packard)用一个名为DVD Movie Writer dc3000的装置来解决上述问题。它是Windows操作系统电脑的外接设备，形状为一个盒子，集转换器和DVD刻录机的功能于一身。这一新产品将于九月下旬问世，售价为399美元。
惠普公司承诺说，只要简单几个步骤，DVD Movie Writer就能帮助用户把摄像机和录像机里的内容转换为DVD。我进行了相关测试，发现的确如此。
但这还存在一个大问题：微软公司(Microsoft)的Windows Messenger对录像转换过程有干扰，因此要让DVD Movie Writer正常运行，就必须关闭这个软件。Windows Messenger是Windows XP操作系统的附送软件。惠普公司表示，有一个新的Windows补丁程序能解决干扰问题，而DVD Movie Writer的安装程序中将包含这个补丁。如果这个程序确实有效，那么惠普公司将胜券在握。
这种DVD Movie Writer是我测试过的最好的外接录像转换器。它的操作也很简便，部份原因是DVD刻录机是内置的。即使当你转换所有的录像时，你依然可以把它当成一个DVD播放器和刻录机。它还能刻录和播放CD。
安装DVD Movie Writer也很容易。你只需安装必要的软件，并把它连接到个人电脑上，后者必须拥有Windows XP或Windows 2000操作系统，此外硬盘上必须拥有10兆字节的空间来容纳转换成的数字录像内容。这种转换器能与任何USB端口兼容，不过你应当备有一个速度很快的新的USB2.0端口，否则录像转换过程将慢得象蜗牛爬。
然后，你用标准的视频和音频电缆把摄像机或录像机与DVD Movie Writer相连。这种转换器接受标准的视频电缆，或质量更高的S视频(S-Video)电缆。
惠普公司把好几种软件装入了DVD Movie Writer里：其中有编辑录像的程序、有把长篇录像自动压缩成小电影的程序。此外还有用于其他目的的程序，如备份文件和创建音乐光盘等。
其中最有趣的软件当属惠普公司的录影转换巫师(Video Transfer Wizard)了。你只需轻点几下鼠标，它就能导入整个录像，并转换成DVD。这项功能适用于那些不需要编辑，只需变成完整DVD的录像。它操作简便，而且无须照看。一旦开始转换，你就可以走开。转换过程可能需要数小时，但这不会浪费你的时间。
我用录影转换巫师把一个标准的家用录像机拍摄的三段录像进行了转换。一段是十年前拍摄的校园剧，一段是六年前拍摄的有线电视节目，还有一段是关于最近召开的科技会议，拍摄得很专业。
每次转换过程中，我总是塞入录像带，通过电脑荧幕上的一个小窗口浏览录像的具体内容，直到我决定从哪里开始转换。然后，我按下录像机上的"停止"按钮。我还得估计整个录像的时间，并从主菜单中选择设计，为DVD命名和日期。
接著，我只要点击电脑上的"转换"，按下录像机的"播放"按钮，就走开了。
我碰到的唯一故障是起初没有音频，但这是由于Window Messenger的干扰。我关了Window Messenger。此后，音频就正常了。
在置顶DVD播放机里、在另一个采用Windows操作系统的电脑里，以及一台苹果公司生产的Macintosh电脑里，我录制的DVD的播放效果都非常好，虽然算不上毫无瑕疵。对于播放时间小于一个小时的录像，上述软件的转换质量最好。随著时间越来越长，接近两个小时的极限，质量也随之下降。
你可以把DVD从头到尾播放一遍，或使用菜单跳到别的部份。该软件会每三到五分钟自动制作录影的章节菜单。
总而言之，惠普公司的DVD Movie Writer很个不错的产品。惠普公司新近承诺在消费市场进行创新，这个产品就是很好的例证。如果惠普公司能解决Microsoft Messenger造成的干扰，我将由衷地推荐它。
