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MANY PI'S HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PUTTING THE DATE AND TIME ON TO CD'S OFF THE HARD DRIVE FROM THEIR CAM CORDERS ONCE THEY COMPLETE THEIR SHOTS IN THE FIELD.

There's an old expression that says, "What you see is what you get!" What I mean by that here is simply what you record with your camera to include the date and time is what will transfer on to a CD for you. Sounds too simple huh? I know some of you techies would rather have a more scientific detailed explanation of why you can't get the date and time to transfer for you. But in keeping with the basic 101 mentality, I will prove it can be done.

In the first place prior to buying a camcorder, make sure that you can put the date and time on its screen via the menu in basic settings on the camera. I have an older Sony Hi 8 camcorder that does show the date and time on the pop out screen but only for a few seconds and then it fades away. Once again keeping in mind my old expression above, if it shows up on the screen and does NOT FADE, then it can be burned on to the CD.

Of course the camera you finally do select must have the date and time set ability or forget it. If you already have a camcorder check it to see if the date and time is turned on and it appears on the pop out screen prior to filming. Remember many consumers don't want to see a date and time on their family videos and thus it's not a real priority to the camera manufactures to sell their product. As PI's it is critical that we have this function on our camera to show our clients we were on the job and when it happened.

Very important!!!

The next step is NOT to go through a computer to transfer the date and time of your video recording. But rather use a DVR to accomplish this. A lot of PI's use the computer and Dazzle to transfer the date and time on to the CD at a risk of losing picture quality. Going right from the camera through the DVR on to the CD loses very little quality if any at all.

PI's have a variety of camera's that they use in the field. Many need to use the analogue or mini DV tape style to insure that their filming can be proven in court of not being altered since the original tape is kept by the agency and the CD is sent to their client.

Many PI's use the camcorder that has a hard drive with SD card and they do so with confidence that the court of their jurisdiction has no problem with the capture's authenticity.

Regardless of which video camera you have the analogue or the hard drive type, if the date and time shows up on the pop out screen prior to filming the target and it is present when you review the playback on the camera, it can be transferred on to a CD directly from the camcorder through a DVR. No computer is used. Once again there are a number of technical reasons why the transfer of the date and time won't transfer over to the CD using the computer or at least show up on the CD, but the point of this message is for us 101 types to "keep it simple stupid."

I have not mentioned another phase of the transfer of date and time on to the CD and that entails the DVR itself. We use the Panasonic Model # DMR-EZ28 since the menu on it is easy to use and burn the disk. We also use a hard drive JVC HD camcorder to transfer over the date and time very successfully on to a CD.

For the Mini DV analogue camcorders Sony has a standalone DVD recorder that transfers the tapes date and time on to a CD. I have added an email I recently got from another PI who swears by his Sony.

The Sony VRD-MC6 DVDirect DVD recorder, which can transfer home videos and digital photos to DVD discs without using a computer.

Recently we bought a Sony VRD-MC6. It transfers home movies and digital photos to DVD easily without a PC. It also transfers the time/date onto the disk as well. It is compatible with any camcorder, VCR or digital camera. It cost around $220.00.

Hi Cliff,

FYI, for a few years now, I have been using a Sony DVD Direct, which is a standalone unit that you plug the camcorder into. The DVD direct then burns the DVD with time and date stamp included every time. It works great for my purposes.

Best regards,

Edward E. López

I know by the many responses to my initial email that a lot of us in PI land have problems with the transferring of the date and time on to a CD and now you have the main ingredient of how it's done. For those of you who might want to actually see how to do it, we at Lindquist Investigation Services with the help of our Technical Adviser Kevin Fung, have created a video that shows you how.

It is presented in a very basic & easy to follow format.

Call it "How To Put Date & Time On CD's 101."

It is filmed in HD and it's approximately 25 minutes long. The CD you are getting shows you exactly what equipment is required, how to hook it up, and then how to use the menus to achieve the desired results of placing the date and time on to your CD to be able to turn it in to your client. The method we teach you will not lose any of the picture quality like using Dazzle or any other software out there which can lose up to 30%. We show you how to burn the time and date right from your camcorder onto your CD without losing any of the video quality.

The CD costs $20.00 plus $3.50 for shipping and handling (USA ONLY). If you're interested in purchasing it, then go to our Pay Pal button located on our Process Service section and once your payment has cleared, we will send out your CD the next business working day.

FOR ORDERING YOUR CD CLICK HERE:
http://lindquistinvestigationservices.com/page4.html

Cliff Lindquist QM PI # 22554
Lindquist Investigation Services
PO Box 302128
Escondido, CA 92030
Phone: 760-751-9557
Email: clifylq@aol.com