Connecting Your Camcorder and Monitor(s)

Now it's time to connect a monitor and a camcorder or VCR to your PC. An external TV monitor (as opposed to the monitor windows within Premiere's workspace and your computer's monitor) is not essential, but once you work with one you'll never want to do without. For projects slated for TV viewing, it gives you a truer feel for how your finished product will look, including colors and placement of titles. There's no need to buy a broadcast-quality monitor. You simply can use a small, portable color TV. Attach your camcorder or VCR to the monitor using the VTR Out jack. See Figure 2.2 for some possible configurations.

Figure 2.2. Using a separate monitor (an inexpensive portable TV works fine) lets you see exactly how your edits will look on TV. Here are three suggested configurations, from consumer level to professional.

Then attach the IEEE 1394 or analog cable to the camcorder or VCR and to the IEEE 1394 or analog input on your computer.

If you're using a camcorder, plug it into a wall outlet instead of using batteries. Most camcorders, when operating with batteries, drop into "sleep" mode after a period of nonuse. Because you not only want your camcorder to send DV to your computer but also want it to pass DV from your computer to the monitor (it acts as a real-time converter of the DV stream to an analog TV signal), you'll want to keep it turned on at all times. No need to keep a tape in record mode ”or in the camcorder at all for that matter ”while you're using it as a DV pass-through device.

Some higher-end video cards have analog video outputs as well as dual “computer monitor capabilities. In those cases you can connect your TV (external monitor) directly to the card, and you can spread out your Premiere editing workspace over two PC monitors . That's about as high-end a system as one can build with Premiere at its core .

I don't think I can remind you too frequently ”Premiere opens up uncountable opportunities to you. Its options are limitless.