PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video [Paperback]

Jan Ozer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764543601 | ISBN-13: 978-0764543609 | Publication Date: November 24, 2003

What does it take to make great digital video? The right equipment, the right skills, and Jan Ozer's advice.

PC Magazine's digital video authority delivers the details that will help you make videos you can be proud of. Here's the lowdown on which camera to choose (and why), how to shoot the best footage, how to capture the best sound, how to get your video from the camera to your computer, what to do when you get it there, and how to produce a showstopper from start to finish.

Author Jan Ozer offers expert advice on:

• Deciding what you do and don't need in a digital camcorder
• Selecting a DV or analog capture solution
• Picking the perfect video editor
• Getting the right DVD-authoring package and recorder
• Shooting terrific footage and capturing sound that's just right
• Outputting your project in various formats
• And producing professional-quality DVDs

The book's CD-ROM includes audio and video files comparing consumer and prosumer camcorders and demonstrating techniques like noise removal; MyDV D, Pinnacle Studio, Ulead Video Studio, RealONE Player, muvee auto Producer trial versions, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Digital cameras for still pictures have become pretty commonplace, but digital video remains less widely adopted. This must be purely because of equipment cost, because everyone with a recent-model personal computer has access to excellent editing software, and has all the required data ports. PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video shows how to capture, edit, and publish digital movies with the tools available for the Microsoft Windows operating system. This is a fairly comprehensive guide meant for someone who's never had training in videography, doesn't really know about the multimedia file formats Windows uses, and doesn't want to invest a lot of money in professional-grade software for editing and publishing. It's all you need to take some digital home movies, edit them so they're not too boring, and burn them to DVD for distribution to the remote parts of the family.

Jan Olzer explains how to shoot video properly in the first place, offering advice on lighting, composition, and action. Then, focusing on Windows Movie Maker and (to a lesser degree) Pinnacle Studio, he walks the reader through techniques for chopping up the raw footage, disposing of the dull parts, and reassembling the rest into a coherent storyline. Titling and other production techniques get attention, too. His style is highly example driven, and easy to follow. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to capture, edit, and publish (to DVD) home videos and amateur movies. There's coverage of composition, lighting, and sound for when you're filming, and explanations of how to use popular editing suites when you're back home assembling a final product.

From the Back Cover

What does it take to make great digital video? The right equipment, the right skills, and Jan Ozer's advice.

PC Magazine's digital video authority delivers the details that will help you make videos you can be proud of. Here's the lowdown on which camera to choose (and why), how to shoot the best footage, how to capture the best sound, how to get your video from the camera to your computer, what to do when you get it there, and how to produce a showstopper from start to finish.

Author Jan Ozer offers expert advice on:

• Deciding what you do and don't need in a digital camcorder
• Selecting a DV or analog capture solution
• Picking the perfect video editor
• Getting the right DVD-authoring package and recorder
• Shooting terrific footage and capturing sound that's just right
• Outputting your project in various formats
• And producing professional-quality DVDs

The book's CD-ROM includes audio and video files comparing consumer and prosumer camcorders and demonstrating techniques like noise removal; MyDV D, Pinnacle Studio, Ulead Video Studio, RealONE Player, muvee auto Producer trial versions, and more.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764543601
• ISBN-13: 978-0764543609
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,725,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan produces live and on-demand streaming events for a variety of clients and consults widely on encoding-related topics. He has taught courses in video and streaming production since 1994, most recently at Streaming Media seminars in New York City, Los Angeles and London.

Jan is a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine and Online Video.net and blogs for other outlets. He has written or co-authored over 15 books on digital-video-related topics.

In addition to streaming events, Jan shoots, edits and produces DVDs for local performers in southwest Virginia. He blogs at www.streaminglearningcenter.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for anyone new to Digital Video !!!, July 24, 2004

By 

J. Marszalek (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video (Paperback)

I have been shooting video as a hobby for over 14 years and editing on the PC for over 9. I have to say Jan Ozer makes all the proper recommendations to beginners from type of equipment to purchase to the type of software that will suit your needs. The book also includes a CD with trail versions of MyDVD, Pinnacle's Studio, Ulead Video Studio and more. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to make great video.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have for the Budding Scorsese, February 22, 2004

By 

Philip H. Newman - See all my reviews

This review is from: PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video (Paperback)

Old in years but youthful (senile?) in interests and outlook, a few months ago I decided to move on and convert the travel videos that have accumulated over the years from places as exotic as Xian, China to down-to-earth as the Grand Canyon, most being throughout continental Europe and the U.K. There are 72 two hour VHS analog tapes and fifteen one hour tapes. An embryonic bunch of DVDs, right?

With, principally, the logic of a dart thrower I opted for Pinnacle's MovieBox USB to do the "capture" and conversion from analog to digital and their Studio 8 editing software. It was one of my better decisions, for I quickly found my way from the pedestrian manual accompanying the products to Amazon and the book "Visual QuickStart Guide to Studio8," where I learned more than I dared hope for and which is an earlier work of Jan Ozer, author of the subject of this review: "Guide to Digital Video."

However, had I found this "Guide..." I'd probably be in even better shape, for my decisions would have been based on logic, solid information and fact rather than gut-feel and cross-the-fingers intuition and the learning curve would have been a ski jump rather than the emulation of a water-bug's skitters from hither to yon. I've not found the book's weaknesses; its strengths are:
1. For anyone at any stage in videography, from the tyro to the near-pro.
2. Specifics and recommendations for fine-tuning your system for movie-making..
3. Comparative data and hardware and software products that have track records for use in producing video movies. Brands, model numbers, pros and cons covered.
4. A reference book that can be picked up at any time to refresh a point or to review the details at any stage in the process.
5. Last but as significant as the foregoing: Ozer has not only a broad knowledge of the subject but a command of the language to impart it. In a word, he writes with flair.
6. Buy it!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the money even if not perfect, August 12, 2004

By 

GrandBay Guy "GrandBay Guy" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PC Magazine Guide to Digital Video (Paperback)

My impressions of the book:

(1) It was better than I expected. A lot of beginner material but he does cover some key concepts. I agree that his tone is not too novice-targetted, nor is it too technical. He uses Microsoft Movie Maker 2, Pinnacle Studio 8 and Ulead VideoStudio 7 for most of his illustrations. Unfortunately, although the book came out this year, as is common with software, Pinnacle is up to Version 9 and Ulead up to version 8. He does cover other prosumer editors like Vegas, Liquid Edition, and Premier, but the book is primarily focused on users of consumer editors and equipment, not the professionals. That was Ok with me.
His advise on equipment and technique was interesting to read although, in my opinion, he did not spend enough time on accessories. This is not the best book for advice on accessories. Most of his time is spent on video editing software. As is also unfortunately common, he did not talk about set-top stand-alone DVD recorders, which some people use for archiving. I found his advise on "The Basics of Shooting" to be quite helpful.

(2) The book can be a bit wordy and he overuses the adjective "lovely" to describe software features, effects, pictures, etc. It sounds a little odd sometimes.

(3) For equipment and software, his focus on Sony camcorders sound unnecessarily. Similarly, he sometimes sound like a salesman for Pinnacle Studio. Now, I happen to like Sony camcorders (I am on my third) and Pinnacle Studio (warts and all) but I would have preferred more balanced descriptions. So, if you do not have Pinnacle or Ulead VideoStudio (both of which I have) you may feel a little put out.

Overall, a useful book. It could be better, but for $20.39 on Amazon, I think anyone relatively new to digital video would find the book helpful and worth the money.