DV-signal from digital camera into the computer´s firewire

[Mållgan]

Is it possible to strengthen the DV-signal from the digital camera when capturing the film in the computer? (Camera: DV-out, Computer: Firewire in)? I´m using a Canon digital camera as a converter when I´m tranfereing old VHS-videotapes from a videoplayer into the computer´s captureprogram (Adobe Premiere Elements and sometimes MAGIX Movie Edit Pro MX) but sometimes the capture procedure is stopped by these programs while the VHS-tape is still played and received by the digital camera (the conveter). Maybe the signals from the videoplayer-converter are too weak when the signals reach Adobe/Magix?

[Richard_G]

The DV signal is a data stream not a signal so you can't increase the level. What you may find is some transfer software will stop if there are any dropped frames due to glitches in the analogue video signal to the camcorder. Use WinDV to transfer instead.

[Mållgan]

Thank you. I´ve also used WinDV but get no improvement.

[Cornucopia]

You are thinking in an ANALOG way.

Here's what you have:

10101100111010010101

and here's what you are saying you want to have:

10101100111010010101

That doesn't make the digital data different. Since they decode as the same signal, you're still stuck with what it is sending you.

What can affect this: errors. Which would show up as total garbage for a few frames or sections of a frame. And errors that already make it past the DV decoding & error-correcting to show up on screen are not really fixable.

My guess is: that's what/how you recorded it and you are only just now finding this out.

Scott

[hech54]

Has this method worked you you before?
The reason I'm asking is....I read that European DV cameras had that "pass-thru" option blocked.

[Mållgan]

Yes, this method usually works fine but now I´t trying to convert some rather old VHS-tapes which have not been played for at least 15 years. Perhaps a better videoplayer helps?

[Mållgan]

.. and perhaps I should try another converter device

[Richard_G]

I don't think it will make any difference. What is almost certainly happening is the source tapes have errors in them and whatever you are using to transfer sees that as the end of the video so it stops the transfer. I think Enosoft can be set to ignore errors such as this, it might be worth trying that.

[Mållgan]

Thanks for the respons. I´ve now installed Enosoft and try to run it but I can´t find any option to "ignore errors such as this...". There is an Option "Time Delay/Time Lapse" but I cannot find out how to use that to ignore the errors I face.

[aedipuss]

with windv if you set the discontinuity threshold to 0 then it keeps capturing through pauses.

[Mållgan]

I tried WinDV and the discontinuity threshold to 0-setting but then the captured fil becomes corrupt. Yes, "a lot of people are better dead".

[sanlyn]

Are you talking about home tapes, or copy-protected commercial tapes? What VCR is used to play the tapes?

[Mållgan]

Home tapes transfered from vidocameras. The cameratapes are not available. I`ve used 3 different videoplayers (Nokia, Centrum, Sony, never mind the models) but these are not proffessional players. A wild idea is to try a USB-capturedevice instead of the firewiremethod I use now.

[sanlyn]

Yes, this method usually works fine but now I´t trying to convert some rather old VHS-tapes which have not been played for at least 15 years. Perhaps a better videoplayer helps?

Either a better player (you don't say what you're using now), or bypass the camera pass-thru altogether. What does the camera offer if it doesn't have a pass-thru tbc, other than a compressed format that you don't want anyway for "old" tape that's likely dried up, damaged, brittle, noisy, and has playback problems. Why would you want to capture that faulty source to a lossy format and make it worse?

[Mållgan]

Why I want to capture?? Because I want to store them as digital files and make DVDs. The imagequality is rather good.

[Richard_G]

If you are making them into DVDs, then I assume you will be compressing to DVD compliant mpeg2? In which case, there will be little to choose quality wise between that and your source footage.

One thought. Can the camera record to tape from the AV in? In which case you may be able to record to tape and then transfer that tape to computer as DV-AVI without the drop outs.

[Mållgan]

Yes that´s exactly what I´m doing now! The camera records to the cameratape, MiniDV, from VHS-VCR-tape. The next step will be to capture the MiniDV-tape using WinDV.

[sanlyn]

Why I want to capture?? Because I want to store them as digital files and make DVDs. The imagequality is rather good.

That's not what I asked. I asked why you wnt to capture old noisy VHS tape to lossy compression? Old tape is best captured to lossless AVI, cleaned up, and encoded to MPEG or whatever you want as final output.

Yes that´s exactly what I´m doing now! The camera records to the cameratape, MiniDV, from VHS-VCR-tape. The next step will be to capture the MiniDV-tape using WinDV.

You are -re-recording and encoding twice. That's what we're getting at. Great way to make a poor archive of old tape. The original tape, minus playback problems, would look better that your final encode.

But that's the way people "convert" tape nowadays. I don't know why. There must be some webiste or blog somewhere that's been advising people to capture that way.

Whatever. It's your tape.

[Mållgan]

I have now ordered this capturedevice which creates mpeg 4-files. Next step will be a new videoplayer. Thanks everebody for your help.

http://dx.com/p/usb-video-audio-capture-adapter-white-113103