*RECORDING* video with TR3 built-in camera?

Hi,

I want to *record* class lectures using the built-in camera in the TR3. Sony advertises/specifies the camera for 'video conferencing'. But can I *record* (tape) 2hr lectures onto the HD??

What software do I need?

I know the camera does not give high picture quality, but it should suffice for my purposes. Is there a built-in mic?

Can anybody speculate on or tried to record from camera to HD?

Thanks,
Neil

 

Depends on the teacher as to whether you're gonna be able to do this. In my 4 1/2 years of college, I only had a couple of profs that were static enough to record audio without being obvious - ie pointing the mic at them as they walk around. I'd imagine it'd be a lot worse with a built in laptop camera.
Let me know if you manage to get it to work, but I seriously doubt it's possible without making yourself conspicuous.

 

Really? All of my profs stay pretty much in one position up front. Also, I have high quality mics. Does the TR3 have a decent built-in mic I could record a lecture with?

Thanks,
Neil[8D]

 

Any built-in mic will be wide angle (so it picks up lots of nearby noise), and get the hums and buzzes of disk drives and fans. You must use a good external mic (e.g. on a stand, or at worst a lapel mic).

The builtin camera is also low-res, wide angle .... not likely to be satisfactory.

Why not use an inexpensive camcorder on tripod, with external mic. Then bring that video into a pc and use Studio 9 or other software to edit it. Much better results ...


MH

 

using windows movie maker you can record at 2.1mbps which is good movie quality. the tr has a built in mic which wouldn't be much use when recording a lecture unless you were pretty close. if you really wanted to use your tr to record, i'll have a wireless mic placed in front of the prof while you recorded him. i tried recording a lecture before in a lecture hall where i sat about 6-10 ft away and the audio echoed too much to be able to hear anything. also when he was showing slides and writing on the board, it the camera is basically useless as it can't really record backlighted images and there doesn't seem to be a digital zoom while using windows moviemaker.

if you know of a software that can record at 640x480 with the option of digital zoom, please do tell

 

Trying it out at the store, I couldnt get the camera to focus past more than 8ft or so. (with whatever software comes included with the TR3...Im not sure, I didnt check). Alas, I bet that is a function of the camera itself, and not the software. Let me know if you know otherwise, or how else to boost the image quality.

Thanks,
Neil

 

This isn't a suggestion per se, but an alternative method that could possibly spawn some other alternatives:

I have a Sony Handicam...nothing special, hi8, video and audio output, no firewire (DAMN!!!!). I purchased the Archos AV140 multimedia jukebox. Basically it's a 40gig drive that came with an Audio/Video recorder module that plugs in via a DIN connection. One night (drunk and bored), I decided to make a poor mans digicam by attaching the camcorder to the recording unit via the inputs/outputs. Both video and sound were recorded from the camcorder to the jukebox in .AVI format. Then I just plugged in the USB cable and was able to review the video.

This is by no means a suggestion, the AV140 was retailing for about $400 and is a little much if that's all you're going to use it for. However, if you have similar componets, perhaps you can come up with an alternative.