Railfan Technology > How do you upload video's ? Part 2

Way back in 2010 I asked that same question. Twelve years later I'm still sitting on hours of video that I shot from about 1984 to 1999. ATSF, SP, UP, IC, CSX,SR,CR and many others,
Seventeen steam locomotives many of which are not running anymore. Estimate between 12-15 hours. Would love to share but not being computer savy I don't know how. If I could borrow an eighteen year old for a few hours I'm sure they would have all the answers but for this 72 year old its all greek to me. Now let me tell you what I have done. Everything has been put of DVD. 
At about the same time when all was converted to DVD I bought a thing called Pinnacle Studio Movie Box Ultimate Collection. The software was downloaded into an older computer which I no longer have. I had a friend at the time who helped me then but he's no longer around. In 2021 I bought a new computer. I've tried to insert the software into the drive but nothing happens. This thing is now twelve years old, I think I saw a Pinnacle 23 now offered on the internet. Should I upgrade or would it be a waste of money since I don't know what I'm doing anyway. Believe me I'm fascinated by the technology of what some of you can do with computers I just need help and a little coaching to be able to share this stuff. The clock is ticking. What I'm afraid of it that someday my relatives who could care less about my fascination of railroads over the years will take all of this stuff and just pitch it in the garbage. Thanks   

What is the format of you movie DVD's.  If it is a standard format you should be able to play as is without any secial hardware.

Pinnacle is a movie editing, do you want to edit.  quick google showed pinacle replaced by something called dazzzle dazzle.
Old pinnacle software is available but may not be compatible with your new computer as you found with older version.

I think the key might be software that is not too advance, just able to perform basic function.

If you realy want to get into editing not sure there is a short cut to doing a lot of web searching to find what you need and
then the task of learning to use.

Bob

Well, the maximum video file size on TO is 400mb, I believe.  So selected special scenes would be the best candidates.  If the files on the DVD are MPG or MP4, they would work after selecting the clips.  If the DVD is in an actual DVD format, one will have to deal with converting file formats.  Just a couple of initial toughts..

 

I have no idea what format these DVD' s are. I had a bunch of 8mm tapes that were recorded on three different Sony camcorders over the years. Took them into a video transfer store in 2009 and that was it. Cost me almost $400. and that was that. All I remember is that the lady who managed the store told me that she didn't evn like trains but that I had some well edited good stuff.
Took that as a compliment.

To follow on to what Norm wrote:  if you put the DVD in a DVD player (not your computer), does it play?

Though that sounds weird, it is a serious question. The first step is to determine if you have "proper" playable DVDs, or just DVDs with individual files burned on them. If it plays in a player, and maybe has titles, menus, etc., then it's the former and that's one path to go down. If it's just a disc with some files on it, that's a different path (and maybe a little easier).

srman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have no idea what format these DVD' s are. I had
> a bunch of 8mm tapes that were recorded on three
> different Sony camcorders over the years. Took
> them into a video transfer store in 2009 and that
> was it. Cost me almost $400. and that was that.
> All I remember is that the lady who managed the
> store told me that she didn't evn like trains but
> that I had some well edited good stuff.
> Took that as a compliment.

Yes. I have a DVD player and when hooked to my TV they play back fine. 

Were your originals 8mm tapes, or Hi8 tapes? 8mm refers to film, Hi8 refers to Tape, which was supposed to be more compact and maybe possibly a little better than VHS tape, with smaller sized cameras than the bigger and bulkier Standard VHS Camcorders.

We would all really like to see your footage!

I'm wondering if you can contact the lady or company that originally converted your footage to DVD, it might be possible they still have a backup copy of your original converted files?

They have to convert the tape or film to a digital format first, and store them on a computer, then from there, they put them on a media format that you want, so you can watch them at home, like DVD, but with DVD, you can't share them to a website like TO unless the raw files are extracted from the DVD using software that can do that.

If they still have the original .mp4 files they made from your tapes, then you can have them copy those to a portable thumb drive or external hard drive, and keep your $400 DVD's as a backup.
Believe me, backups of digital video are good and smart to have,
especially with the footage you went to all that effort to film in the first place!
3 backups are the best, in case something happens to your computer or DVD's.

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

I've attached a screenshot of the requirements necessary to successfully upload a video to TO, if you can copy this and show this to your video place or even maybe a local college with a media sharing or Audio/Video department. They might know better how to help you.

Keep in mind that if you have say maybe 10 or 12 minutes of a video of Steam engine UP#844 in Salt Lake City, Utah for example, You will have to name that file as stated, then have them cut into 5 or 6 minute segments, same name as example, but add #1, ,# 2 and so on to each 5 or 6 minute segment, to successfully upload them to TO.

Just be sure not to cut off the ".mp4" at end of each file name each 5 or 6 minute segments as you name each file!

These opinions are not set in stone and subjectto otheropinions! Only trying to help, and I share your anxiety about getting your footage out there for others to see!
(63 years old, still struggling with the digital age, and especially with converting analog pictures and video to digital!)

Hope all or part of this helps, they told me in a Drug and Alcohol Recovery program years ago: "Take with you that which you can use, leave the rest behind"

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/22 01:16 by RailRat.

---

srman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Way back in 2010 I asked that same question.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?9,2281643

> Twelve years later I'm still sitting on hours of
> video that I shot from about 1984 to 1999. ATSF,
> SP, UP, IC, CSX,SR,CR and many others,
> Seventeen steam locomotives many of which are not
> running anymore. Estimate between 12-15 hours.
> Would love to share but not being computer savy I
> don't know how. If I could borrow an eighteen year
> old for a few hours I'm sure they would have all
> the answers but for this 72 year old its all greek
> to me.

An average 18 yr old would be in about the same spot as you, because he'd have to learn the history of video standards the past 12 years or he'll have no clue what to do either.

Todd (webmaster) gave you an answer 12 years ago that made sense - a Firewire bridge. That WAS the best way to preserve quality of an analog video (Sony 8mm, in your case) while "digitizing" (converting) it to your PC. From there, you use a video editor and upload segments (6 minutes or less) to TO. Not impossible to learn, but you had to understand how each step of the process worked to be successful.

While you can still find Firewire (IEEE 1394) hardware to convert your 8mm videos, the standard has been basically abandoned in favor of newer USB standards.  So webmaster's advice is more difficult to follow 12 years later. 

> Now let me tell you what I have done.
> Everything has been put of DVD.

Your videos exist in MPEG-2 format in your DVD. You can find them using a file manager tool (Macintosh Finder, Windows File Manager) in the VIDEO_TS directory in your DVD, as VOB files, for example, VTS_01_1.VOB.

If you are computer-savvy, you can playback the file directly by right-clicking on the file. Sounds easy, right? Nope. But this should get you started in your research, to figure out how to convert VOB or VIDEO_TS via Google search. 

> In 2021 I bought a new computer. I've tried to insert the
> software into the drive but nothing happens.

Back in 2010, some PCs (and ALL Macs) came built-in with Firewire hardware. That is NO MORE, as even Apple has abandoned Firewire. Any video converting hardware will now have to be done with USB. 

> This thing is now twelve years old, I think I saw a
> Pinnacle 23 now offered on the internet. Should I
> upgrade or would it be a waste of money since I
> don't know what I'm doing anyway.

Don't buy anything right now. There are free video converting tools available that you might be able to use. The catch is that you need to learn technical stuff in order to use them effectively. Handbrake and FFmpeg are some examples of these tools. FYI, Handbrake is much easier to use. FFmpeg is a command line tool, which will likely be overwhelming, but there are graphical front ends you can download to make it easier to use.

> Believe me I'm fascinated by the technology of what some of you
> can do with computers I just need help and a
> little coaching to be able to share this stuff.

The learning process will take a while, because you'll also have to learn the details of your operating system (Windows, Mac OS X). This is where an 18 year old might have an advantage. You'll just have to learn step-by-step, as I don't expect anyone to post a school semester material here on TO.

Sorry, there are no easy answers, not 12 years ago, not now.

Railrat asked type of tape. Mine was the regular Sony 8mm tape. They made both High 8 and regular 8mm  at the time. The High 8 was to rich for my blood at the time. Always used the best quality of tapes at the time.  Tapes are about the size of the old audio cassette tapes from that time. I actually still have all the original tapes too. 

I use a converter tool called clear click 2. Very easy to use. Just get the video to play out of a VCR or video camera. It auto formats to a mp4. It saves to usb or plug in your external storage. You can break down your video into clips, makes great for sharing. Just set date/time and your good to go!

And I went the other route- burned DVDs. Then struggled to make clips with computer software.

Much easier!

-Lee

---

---

---

After my dad passed away in 2004 my stepmother asked if she could have his 8mm home movies transferred to DVD.  I took them to a local camera shop and had them done very easily and relatively inexpensively.  I found these short clips and uploaded them after some basic editing (added text intros and fade-ins/fade-outs).

<https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?15,2623732,2623732#2623732&gt;

J.