DV cam newb help

[aphex23]

Hi folks, first off, im sorry if these are simple/lame questions, but, i really dont know much about this stuff as of yet, and am hoping i can turn here for the info! first up
OK, i want to purchase a dv cam in the near future, but, i already have video from my Hi8 cam that i need to capture on my computer and edit, so, will the dv camcorder be able to play this back so i can capture it via the firewire port?
second: (really sorry if this is dumb!) after done editing and what not, how do you go about recording to say, vhs? can i re-record the edited video onto a dv tape, then play it back to a vcr? now im guessing now you are all thinking, well, that depends if it has video/audio out.. im thinking that now myself, lol, ill have to check into! and any suggestions on a cam to get? i dont want to spend over $400, thanks alot!

[Tommyknocker]

Actually, I think they are very good questions. Most D8 camcorders can play Hi8 tapes with no problem. For the rest of projects, make sure your camera has a feature called pass through (Sony seems to want to call signal conversion, but it is the same thing).

Now, once you have the video edited on the computer, it really is very easy to use your computer to transfer video into your camera and on toyour VCR. You must have a firewire card installed in your system and a 6-pin to 4-pin firewire cable.

Depending on the camera you purchase, your computer can simply send the video to your camera, and straight to your VCR. Others have you record the video on a tape while you send it to your VCR, or play the tape back, while the VCR records it. My camera does not have pass through, so I usually make a DVD of the edited video, then I record it onto a VCR with my DVD player.

Anyway, this is the only one I found so far in the less than 400.00 range:

camera

[aphex23]

thats great news tommy! i was going to buy a advc-100 and capture that way, but then i was thinking, this would cost the same, and i would have a new camcorder! i was shopping around a bit tonight, and found this, seemed to be a real good deal, with all kinds of inputs and outputs that i would need, any one know if this is a good cam?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051826098803&skuId=5276747&type=product&pr...oryId=cat04015 seems to be, thanks again for the help, i really appreciate it!

[Tommyknocker]

It does not seem to have pass through. I also notuiced it does not have a function call line in recording, which is how you can convert VCR playback directly into DV to send it on to your computer. Pass through camera can do that, this camera does not seem to.

[aphex23]

hmm, i dont see that listed as a feature on any of them, maybe bestbuy just doesnt give "that" much detaiL? and even so, if it didnt, it wouldnt be THAT big of a deal to me, im on a very small budget here ;p im broke as heck, but could swing this camera here, unless someone knows a reason not too? other than the passthrough? i do respect your thoughts though tommy, just still lookin and seeing what my options are

[Tommyknocker]

I saw this on the Sony I found on my earlier post (the link named "camera"):

[aphex23]

sorry, i didnt understand that post, which camera did that have it on??

[Tommyknocker]

Click on the word "camera" in red font.

[hoyboy]

I didn't know the 250 had the analogue to digital passthrough- I assumed it would be like the dvrtrv140- no passthrough. If it has the passthrough it would be pretty good value. The 355 is higher specced if you stretch the budget a bit, but the 250 is ok

[Tommyknocker]

That sucks. I own the 140, but I paid more for it than I would pay for the 250 today.

[aphex23]

is that sony camera a "good" camera? im just wondering about the actual video quality? colors bright and all that good stuff? thanks alot again

[spectroelectro]

None of the lower-end Sony cameras now have pass-trhough, sad to say. Used to be different -- back int he late 90s, all Sony cameras had pass-trhough. But now Sony has changed things so they can lower the price on the lower end of their DVcams to compete with other mfrs. Now only Sony
DVcams with prices over about $700 have analog pass-trhough.
The cheapest DV video camera with pass-through is the Sharp ZR60. You can get one of these on the net for slightly < $400.
However, this would still cost you about $100 more than buying a
Canopus ADVC-100 (an excellent unit). The best price for a Canopus
ADVC-100 is around $300.
You might want to think about getting a Datavideo DAC-100. It costs
about $200 with shipping and is essentially identical to the Canopus
ADVC-100, down tothe hardware clock that insures audio/video sync.
Your best bet might actually be to find someone in your area,
possibly a business or perhaps an individual, whom you can pay
to get your Hi-8 video captured and burnt to DVD. That is, unless
you plan on capturing analog video a lot.

[aphex23]

hmm, but that site said it had the passthrough? so have other sites ive looked at about the trv250.. any thoughts on that?

[Tommyknocker]

He did not see the same ad you did. That is why he does not believe there could possibly be a $400.00 Sony with pass-through. You know what you saw and you can go to the Sony site yourself and look in the manual for the camera you were interested in and see if indeed Sony says their camera has pass through. You and I know what we saw, and Spectroelectro can believe whatever he wants.

[aphex23]

hehe, ok tommy i found a good deal on ebay and i think im gonna go for it, if i get it, ill let you know how it works out thanks again buddy!

[Tommyknocker]

My pleasure!

[hoyboy]

Just thought I'd let you know- that review tommyknockr linked to was the only place where It listed passthrough. In Australia at least, it dosen't have passthrough NOR the ability to playback Analogue Tapes. Sounds like one to keep away from if you need either of these things. Best thing to do is to go to sony's web site and check it out.

[indolikaa]

When I joined this forum I was using the Dazzle DVC-II. I read an article on the How-To sites about using your DV camcorder for passthru. I have since ditched the Dazzle...

My camcorder is a Sony DCR-TRV120 Digital8 running with the Panasonic DV Codec. I use WinDV to bring in the A/V material; I have the dreaded 4GB file limit issue but WinDV handles that seamlessly.

The only thing I can recommend after having done this on 100+ VCDs and SVCDs is to use Windows 2000. The 4GB file limit is a royal pain in the ass! Unfortunately, I am stuck with WinME until some tech-god can figure out how my RAID controller can talk to Win2Ks setup module.

DV is definitely the way to go, whether it's through a black box or camcorder. Be warned of one thing, though. Sony DV/D8 camcorders with passthru have copy-protection detectors that will not let you copy protected VHS or DVDs. Now LaserDiscs are a different story...

.indolikaa.

[yg1968]

If you look on the Sony website, the Sony TRV-250 does NOT have a passthrough feature. It doesn't even play Hi8 analog recorded tapes. For $100 more, you are better off getting the Sony TRV-350 which can do both these things.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProduc...ntentItemPage=

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/ProductDetailDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&...00n32080n32082

[yg1968]

Be warned of one thing, though. Sony DV/D8 camcorders with passthru have copy-protection detectors that will not let you copy protected VHS or DVDs. Now LaserDiscs are a different story...
.indolikaa.

Actually, the Sony digital camcorders defeat macrovision if you use the passthrough feature and most (non-Sony) capturing software (for example DVIO).

[indolikaa]

Actually, the Sony digital camcorders defeat macrovision if you use the passthrough feature and most (non-Sony) capturing software (for example DVIO).

Are you sure about this?!

I must ponder this statement. The "Copy Inhibit" flag (which on a Sony D8 scans as E-00417, if I remember right...) popped up on the fold-out LCD screen when last we tried it. However, indolikaa is not always the sharpest bowling ball in the alley...

[yg1968]

I am sure that the TRV-25 passthrough feature defeats macrovision and a number of other models do the same. However, this only works with non-Sony software such as DVIO and Ulead VideoStudio 7.0, etc. If you use the camcorder's video in and try to tape the content on a DV tape, I get the "copy inhibit" message. But when I use the passthrough feature (i.e. without using tape), with DVIO etc., I do not get such a message (unless I am using a Sony provided software).