IntroDV

Rating:
Summary: In a word: Disappointing.
Review: After using my friend's iMac to edit Mini DV video, I finally decided to buy an editor for my PC. Using my Canon ZR10 camera, I have acquired a lot of footage and had no editor.

After the package arrived today, I went through the easy installation and booted up the program. I captured some video from the camera, and immediately was disappointed. Don't be fooled by the "DV" in IntroDV. A more fitting title would be "IntroMOV," because rather than capturing in DV format, the program takes your videos and puts them in more generic .mov format.

I also noticed a change of the color of the video, which never happened with Apple's iMovie. I spent several hours fooling around with it, then decided I am going to stop screwing around and buy a TRULY functional DV editor: an iMac. If you're serious enough, don't waste the "$..." on this product--save yourself the disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Good Product, Lousy Install in Win 2000
Review: I purchased IntroDV in October 2000 because at the time it was the only consumer grade digital video solution that worked under Windows 2000. Amazon does not indicated that, but Digital Origin's web site does. After much pain and suffering it is actually working on Windows 2000 and I'm quite happy with it. The installation was unreasonably difficult.

The first problem was that Amazon sent me a 1.0 CD whereas only version 1.1, released in May 2000, works with Win2k. Selling an old version months after the new one is released is not very nice. Digital Origin's web site contains an updater from 1.0 to 1.1, so I figured that updating would not be a problem. Wrong. It seems that the updater only works after you have installed 1.0 and 1.0 will not even install under Win2k.

I emailed Digital Origin and they sent me a 1.1 CD at no charge. I was then able to install IntroDV, but it didn't work. I emailed Digital Origin again and received no response so I called them. The support person said that he would email me a 40 step procedure that would solve the problem. I followed this procedure several times very carefully and still no luck. The problem was a missing entry point in a dll. I emailed Digital Origin again and they sent back a replacement dll. I deleted the original, which was installed by the IntroDV 1.1 installer, and dropped the new dll in place. That got it working. And about time.

I've only made a few movies so far. Mostly I've been experimenting with the different export formats, learning what the tradeoffs are in terms of file size and image quality. I can't comment on the editing features except to say that I've been able to figure out how to do everything I want to do without too much trouble.

Rating:
Summary: What a great product
Review: I read many reviews for this type of product. MOst of them were horror stories but decided to go ahead and purchase it anyways.

I followed the documentation, step by step, for the installation (Win98). The installation document reflected what I saw. I rebooted my PC, connected the cable , cranked up the app, and voila! I creatde my first movie with 20 minutes. It was pretty intuitive. What wasn't intuitive I found through the help files.

While the first movie wasn't great, I learned how to tweak various settings to get an acceptable jitter-free playback.

Does it have all the bells and whistles of other products? Probably not but for my purposes it satisfies my needs. I showed my 10 year old how to use it and to him it was intuitively obvious how to use it.

There's even a tutorial included that I may get around to looking at some day.

I can't wait to shoot some movies over Christmas. I'll CDs with movies and give them to my parents to replay later.

The only reason why it didn't get five stars is that the system requirements were stated three different ways; once on Amazon, once on the outside of the box, and once on the instructions. Also there were addendums to the instructions that if I hadn't looked at them would have really screwed me up.

Rating:
Summary: Easy and cheap Digital Video editing with IntroDV
Review: The IEEE 1394 bus (also known as Apple's Firewire or Sony's i.Link) has been available for quite some time now. The prices of digital video cameras are dropping fast, and digital editing solutions are now accessible for the average consumer.

Digital Origin's IntroDV package consists of an IEEE 1394 card and simple software to edit movies. With a clear and easy manual the card installs straight from the box. All the software is included on a single CDROM and is easy to install. No problems there.

The card itself is compatible with most DV or Digital8 cameras, though you might want to check DigitalOrigin's website for compatibility information.

The software is based on apple's Quicktime, and works like a dream. It isn't fancy, but it is effective and offers all the basic functionality you need. I captured, edited and uploaded a movie back to my camera without reading the manual - it really is that simple.

If the basic software isn't enough, it is always possible to upgrade to one of the more profesional packages - without the need to buy the capture card again.

In summary this product offers excellent value for money for people who are new to videoediting or don't want to invest hundreds of dollars in fancy professional software they will never use.