<p>OK… I’ve spent most of the afternoon trying to figure this out, and am about to pull my hair out. I have some video from my D’s concert that I captured with a camcorder using DVD-R. I have finalized the discs, and I can watch them on my computer, but I, for the life of me, cannot figure out how to upload it to my computer. From there, I’d like to post it on YouTube for the group to see. But I can’t figure out how to get in on my computer.</p>
<p>It sounds like your camcorder records video directly to DVD. Since your computer can read the DVD, the data is in some useful format.</p>
<p>If you are using Windows, open an explorer window on “My computer.” Place the DVD-R in a suitable DVD drive and click on the appropriate drive. Once you have located the files of interest on the DVD, chose “list view” and “details” in the explorer window to see the details of the file format. The native format of the DVD will likely be too bulky for e-mail or youtube posting.</p>
<p>You will need to convert the bulky file to a compact, lower resolution format for posting. Several free and commercial utilities exist for this purpose.</p>
<p>Also, what is the make and model number of the camcorder and did you install any “movie” software that came with the camcorder?</p>
<p>If you have a PC: D uses a Sony movie editing software called Creative Studio. It is apparently very easy to figure out, since D had a finished video she filmed for physics project in less than a couple of hours since opening the software box. 
D also tried the free MSFT video editing software that came with her computer, and really hated it.</p>
<p>The cheapest version of the Sony software costs 50 bucks and does everything an amature video editor needs: addition of sound or background music, titles, even some special effcts. There is a free download on the Sony’s website. You can see if you like it or not before spending money on it.</p>