HELP!! TIME and DATE STAMP???

Invesetigator_Lee wrote on 5/28/2007, 7:20 PM
Hey guys and gals!!

Im new to this...Ive had someone else doing this for me at my former employer for the past 5 years and now I have to figure this out....with your help.

I work as a Private Investigator doing Surveillance using a MINI DV camera. I purchased Sony Vegas Studio + DVD and I was able to capture the video with no problems...except...the Date and Time Stamp were not visible. I must have this on the copies I make for clients, Attorneys, ...etc.

What do I need to do?

Also, my end goal is to simply produce a DVD with chapters and an intro screen with text info as to about the case/surveillance in text format. Should I be using the Movie Studio or should I just skip right to the DVD Architect 4.0?

Thanks..

Lee

Comments

MSmart wrote on 5/29/2007, 7:25 AM
To get the date and time visible in your video, give DVdate a try. It's too bad VMS doesn't have this ability as a standard plugin.

Once you have the new AVI file with date/time included, if all you want to do is add a "slide", then you should be able to do this in DVD Architect.
ScottW wrote on 5/29/2007, 7:26 AM
a date/time overlay like this is normally a function of the camcorder - so check the camcorder manual on how you do this.

--Scott
Invesetigator_Lee wrote on 5/29/2007, 8:48 AM
The date and time stamp are visible on the camcorder when Vegas is capturing the footage, but they do not appear on the captured video. So I doubt its the Camera...something in the software doesnt simply pick it up.
Starsys wrote on 5/30/2007, 10:03 AM
Actually, the camcorder will show the time and date stamp in the viewfinder, but not output it when you capture the video - unless you tell it to. I remember on some of my old Sony 8mm cams, there was a "Display" button that turned this on and off. I would think for your line of work, you would be required to use this "internal" timestamp instead of creating a title and overlaying it on the video in VMS. Check the camcorder manual to see if your cam has this feature.
MSmart wrote on 5/30/2007, 4:55 PM
NO!!, MiniDV cameras do not record the date/time in the video nor can you tell you camera to do so when transfering to the computer. The date/time information is metadata information stored in the data stream. The camera uses this information when viewing on the viewfinder of the camera.

VMS and other NLEs see this information but you have to use a plug-in or external program to encode it into the video.

Here is a site where someone has compiled information on the subject: http://www.skydiver.de/stef/datecode_en.htm
4eyes wrote on 5/30/2007, 9:09 PM
Any DV Cam I've used can output the date & time information in the analog output of it's video output connections. You can turn it on or off even from the remote control. This information is not imbedded in the dv stream but very simple to do using the analog recording transfer method.
So to make a dvd without any hassles just connect your dv cam to a good sony or panasonic dvd recorder using the analog connections, turn the function on to have the date & time displayed and hit record on the dvd recorder. Finalize the dvd and your done.

After the dvd is made you can always use VMS or other software to import the videos from the dvd and edit the video.
MSmart wrote on 6/1/2007, 10:59 AM
Any DV Cam I've used can output the date & time information in the analog output of it's video output connections.... connect your dv cam to a good sony or panasonic dvd recorder using the analog connections

Right you are, that is a simple solution. However, not everyone has a DVD recorder.