camcorder to 'puter to DVD-r...

[rubberman]

I'm gonna borrow my father-in-laws camcorder which uses hi-8 tapes. I want to record my buddies wedding then burn it onto dvd-r. I think the camcorder came with VideoWave software. I know its not a DV camcorder but can i tranfer the video that i record to my computer using this camcorder? I only have USB connections. thanks

[Tommyknocker]

Yes, you can. The camcorder can give your computer video through its RCA port, its S-Video port, or depending on the camera, its USB port or fire wire port. The quality you can get from a camcorder is respective of the order I just listed. RCA (fair), up to fire wire DV (the best).

Now, to get the video into your computer, you will need a capture card if you want to use the first two formats, although if your camera has fire wire, it is the best solution. The fire wire cards start at a very reasonable price.

[FulciLives]

If the camcorder is not a DV cam but merely a normal analog Hi8 camcorder then you can't transfer to the computer via the firewire as the camcorder won't have one.

However, I'm sure the camcorder has standard a/v outputs. This can be copied to the computer BUT only with some sort of analog capture card.

For the money the best such card is the DataVideo DAC-100 which will accept any analog a/v source and convert it to DV video. It is just a simple little box with a/v inputs and outputs. It connects to the computer with a firewire connection. Most computers have that. If not then you need to buy a firewire card to use it with. The DataVideo DAC-100 is $200 and if you need a firewire card then you probably are looking at around $30 to $50 (I'm guessing there as my computer has firewire built-in so I never had to buy a seperate firewire card).

If you need to do a lot of editing on the computer this is the best (though not cheapest) solution. The DV format is best suited for extensive editing such as the kind needed with cam footage.

However, rather than get the $200 DataVideo A/V to DV converter you might want to consider buying a new Sony Digital8 camera. This records digital (like a DV cam) but uses standard Hi8 video tapes. Also I believe most (if not all) Sony Digital8 models feature analog conversion. For instance if you have a standard 8mm or Hi8 recording (from your current cam) simply put that tape into the Digital8 cam and hook it up to the computer (firewire again) and the camera will play back the analog 8mm/Hi8 tape and convert it to DV for you.

I've seen Sony Digital8 cams for as low as $400 recently. So for double the price of the DAC-100 you are getting a new digital camcorder that can convert analog tapes to DV format. Also most if not all of the Sony Digital8 will accept any analog input (such as a VHS VCR) and pass it thru to the computer in DV so basically it does the same thing as the DAC-100 but at least you are getting a new cam for the money. Course $200 vs $400 (or more depending on model) will be the deciding factor.

For more info on the DataVideo DAC-100 vist the following website:
The Electronic Mailbox
Look towards the left hand of the screen for the product Quickfinder (also called the Product Index) and choose DataVideo from the drop down list then click on GET INFO. Doing this will take you to the page of the website that has all of the DataVideo products, including the amazing DAC-100

Good Luck!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

*** UPDATED EDIT ***
I'm not aware of any camcorder that can output video through a USB port. If I am wrong and your non digital Hi8 camcorder has such a port then I'll be damned surprised. However, if that is possible then I suspect that the quality would be very poor compared to proper conversion to DV using the DAC-100 or a Digital8 cam.

[Tommyknocker]

My Sony camcorder has a USB cable. It is DCR-TRV140. And even though I prefer to capture in DV, I have seen its USB video, and it looks pretty good.

And as far as the DAC-100, I would also look into the Canopus AVCD-100. The gurus here are giving it rave reviews.

And getting a D8 camcorder versus a true encoder sounds like a logical ideo to me as well. Although make sure the camcorder has the pass through function (mine does not), but I still intend to get an AVCD encoder later. Because sometimes I edit my friend's videos and would prefer using a dedicated encoder (I own a ADS IDVD now), rather than having to take out my camera to do it.

[rubberman]

i found out its digital-8 and i got ahold of the manual. USB connection to computer to get the video transferred.

[FulciLives]

Hello

Well good news that it is a Digital8 camcorder!
I highly suggest that you get a FireWire DV input card for your computer. To the best of my knowledge such a device (which is a PCI plug-in card) should cost no more than $50 and using the FireWire to transfer you will get an exact digital copy in DV video of what it recorded on the cam. In other words it would be better quality than the USB capture as I doubt the USB connection method is a pure DV digital stream.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[MrKGB]

Check out www.pricewatch.com
I bought a card with cable for just $17 few days ago from there.