Recording directly from a digital camcorder with a DV output onto a DVD recorder is, in most cases, relatively painless. The main thing to remember is that unless you take the step of finalizing the DVD, you may not be able to play it on other DVD players, including your computer.
Instructions
1. Turn on the DVD recorder and insert a recordable DVD disc. Make sure that the recordable disc is compatible with your particular DVD recorder. If your DVD recorder only accepts DVD- discs, then you won't be able to record on a DVD+ disc.
2. Insert the FireWire cord into the DV output on your digital camcorder. The location of the DV output may be hidden beneath a slot cover. You will know you've found it when you see a small input slot with the letters DV over it.
3. Plug the other end of the FireWire into the DV input port on the DVD recorder. This slot may also be hidden behind a fold-down slot or it may be located on the rear of the machine.
4. Turn on the camcorder and switch it to camera. Rewind or fast forward to the position where you want the recording to begin. You may need to press a video or input button on your television to bring the output of the DVD recorder on to the screen. This way, you can actually see on the television what parts of the tape are recording.
5. Press record on the DVD player. Most DVD recorders will take a few seconds before it begins recording. Once you have made sure the DVD is recording, press play on the camcorder.
6. Set up the timer on the DVD recorder before playing the tape on the camcorder if you know exactly how long or how much of the tape you want to record. Setting up the timer on a DVD recorder allows you to leave the recording process to itself while you go about your business.
7. Press stop on the DVD recorder if you are not using the timer when the recording process comes to the point at which you want to end. At this point, you will be able to watch the DVD on that DVD recorder/player, but possibly not on other players. The DVD recorder will automatically prompt you to finalize the disc. Finalizing is a process that usually only takes a couple of minutes and allows the disc to be played on a broader range of players.
Tags: digital camcorder, other players, recordable disc, recording process, timer recorder