Please recommend USB Dazzle product for capturing DV & V

[caseychu]

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a USB Dazzle capture hardware that can capture mini-DV in digitial format from my Sony Camcorder, and capture my old VHS & Hi-8 tapes.

Many thanks for your advice.

Regards,
Casey

[Varmit]

No one here would EVER "recommend" a dazzle product.. save yourself time, effort and money..just go buy a Canopus ADVC 100 or something similar.

[bugster]

For the DV cam, just buy any old firewire card, thats all you need.

For the old analog stuff, thats a different matter.

Why USB?

[mkelley]

Well, Varmit, I'm going to recommend a Dazzle product -- the Hollywood Bridge. Terrific analog to digital conversion, never drops frames, and the quality is great.

But not a USB device -- as the previous poster said, why not get a firewire card? Your options get a lot better (USB -- even USB2 -- is just too slow in practical operation compared to firewire).

[jdizzy40]

Give your money to me, but never Dazzle. Go firewire card for just capture. Use other programs to convert and author please. I too was burned.

[caseychu]

Dear all,

Thank you for your advice, I sure don't want to get "burned". I saw a section about Dazzle in this site's Capture section, so I though it was a good brand. I don't know any other products on the market.

A question regarding the fire wire card you recommend, how much will it cost? What cable do I need to connect it to my mini-DV camcorder? Is there sound?

Also, can the fire wire card capture my old VHS and hi-8 videos?

Thanks again for all your advice.

Regards,
Casey

[The village idiot]

Dazzle =

[pbhalerao]

Caseychu,

The USB option for capturing DV is not a good one. User 1394/FireWire Card instead. These cards (they fit into your PC's PCI slot) are available for as little as $39.99 (maybe even cheaper). This card will have 1 to 3 1394/FireWire ports. You can connect any DV camcorder to the PC using a 4-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable. I purchased a SiiG 1394/FireWire card for $69.99 which included the cable also.

I have the Dazzle Hollywood DV bridge. But my sincere advice - stay away from Dazzle products. I had a lot of problems with this product. It was not recognized by my Win2000 OS. Finally, a Google serach told me that the problem was "un-grounded" FireWire port (on the output side). I opened the DV bridge and soldered a small wire from the '-ve' of the DC-in to the "ground" of the 1394 terminal. After this my card has been capturing flawlessly (no dropped frames). But I had received no support from Dazzle during that time. I would suggest the Canopus AVDC-100 instead.

As said earlier, by connecting the DV-cam to your PC via FireWire, you will get excellent results. Sound and Video will be in sync. Make sure that you have a big and fast drive (60 GB plus, 7200 rpm or higher). NTFS is the recommended file system.

As for capturing, VHS and Hi-8 videos, does your DV-Cam have the "passthrough" feature? That is, does it allow Analog-In and convert it DV on the fly? Then you can use this feature of your cam, as follows:

VCR --> connected to --> DV-Cam --> connect to --> PC

However, you may run with the macrovision problem with commercial VHS tapes. I am told that Canopus AVDC-100 can disable macrovision.

[caseychu]

Hi Prasanna,

Thank you so much for your detailed advice.

So you mean the fire wire card can only be used for my DV. Then I also need another hardware to capture the VHS and Hi-8. Is there something you recommend?

Thanks again!
Casey

[Dragonsf]

Maybe you should try a DataVideo DAC 100.When they work, they are much better than the HDB.See the "TBC" thread for mor info on DAC 100 issues.

[yg1968]

What model is your camcorder? Many Sony digital camcorder have a passthrough feature. If that is the case, you don't need anything except a firewire card and cable. In other words, if you have a passthrough feature, you have no need for the Canopus ADVC-100 or the DAC-100.

I have a Sony TRV-25 and all I have to do is to enable DV out on the camcorder's menu to enable the passthrough feature. I then hook up my VCR to the digital camcorder and attach the digital camcorder to the computer with a firewire cable and use a freeware capturing program such as DVIO. Sony digital camcorder will generally defeat macrovision when using the passthrough feature. Don't forget that DV takes 13 gig per hour of hard disk space.

[Varmit]

The firewire card can only capture DV unless you do it in pass through mode. However, many of those "including myself" have not been happy with the audio sync and other issues passing through a dv camcorder.

The Canopus ADVC 100 and the DAC unit both have both Firewire and Analog inputs. Spend the exrtra money.. it will be worth it.



CaseyChu Wrote:
So you mean the fire wire card can only be used for my DV. Then I also need another hardware to capture the VHS and Hi-8. Is there something you recommend?

[yg1968]

I have never had in sync issue while using the passthrough feature.

Given the fact that DV is interlaced, playback of DV on Windows Media Player (which doesn't properly de-interlace the video upon playback) will sometimes appear out of sync. However, if you play it back on PowerDVD (which properly de-interlaces the video upon playback), you will no longer notice this out of sync "illusion". Another option is to ignore this interlacing effect, convert the DV to DVD or SVCD and playback the video on a TV (which can handle interlaced video). The video will playback in sync.

[caseychu]

Hi All,

Again, thanks for all the advice.

I have a Sony TRV-9 mini-DV Camcorder(NTSC), I have an old Sony Hi-8 Camcorder (PAL), and I have VHS in both PAL & NTSC.

Does my Sony TRV-9 have the DV passthrough, and does the passthrough support both NTSC & PAL.

Thanks again,
Casey

[yg1968]

Casey,

It seems that your (the Sony TRV9) digital camcorder has a "video in" but not a passthrough feature. The fact that you have a "video in" means that you must, first, transfer the NTSC VHS tapes to miniDV tapes. Once you are done doing this, you can transfer the resulting miniDV tape onto your computer through firewire. Since your camcorder is NTSC, I am assuming that you can only transfer NTSC VHS tapes to your TRV9. Incidentally, a "video in" feature will not be able to defeat macrovision.

See page 63 of you manual on how to transfer VHS tapes to miniDV tapes. Page 61 of your manual explains how to transfer from your camcorder to another DV device (in your situation, your computer would be your other DV device). Your manual can be found at this webpage:

http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/dvimag/minidv/MiniDV%20Query_1.html

In summary, for your DV tapes that are filmed on your TRV9, you care better off transfering them directly through firewire to your computer. However, given the fact that you do not have passthrough and that some of your tapes are in PAL, it might be a good idea to also invest in the Canopus ADVC-100 as it seems to support both PAL and NTSC. The Canopus ADVC also uses a firewire card. So you will need a firewire card in either situation.

P.S. Don't forget that your TRV9 and the Canopus ADVC-100 both use DV and that DV takes 13 gig per hour of hard disk space. So you may need an extra hard disk for video editing.

[caseychu]

Thank you very much Prasanna! I will try it and see if it works.

[Rich927]

Dazzle was recently bought by Pinnacle systems.

[rude_skankin]

But not a USB device -- as the previous poster said, why not get a firewire card? Your options get a lot better (USB -- even USB2 -- is just too slow in practical operation compared to firewire).

I might be retarded but I thought that USB2 was just a tad faster than firewire.

USB 2.0 = 480Mbps
Firewire = 400Mbps

Course when the IEEE-1394b standard comes out it will be 800Mbps and then we will all want that instead. Luckily it will be backward compatible like USB 2.0 to USB 1.1. But I will just wait until the dual card comes out that has both USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394b, but then of course there will be USB 3.14 (or whatever number sounds good). Then I will have to buy that too. When will it all end?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[caseychu]

Thank you for all your help .

I think I will copy my VHS & Hi-8s onto my Sony mini-DV Camcorder, and then transfer the DV onto my computer with firewire. (I will borrow a friend's PAL mini-DV camcorder so I can do the PAL tapes also).

I still have a question... When the mini-DV is copied to the computer what format is it in? A previous reply said that 1 hour DV = 13 Gigs of harddrive space. I only have a 60 Gig harddrive, but with over 30 hours of tapes, there seems to be a problem. I am not sure if this is right, but do I need to convert the DV into mpeg 1 or mepg 2? If so, what software do you recommend.

If my idea is totally off , please let me know how I should store all the DVs onto my computer?

Thanks Again
Casey Chu

[Dragonsf]

As you correctly anticipated, DV stays DV as it's not converted to something else. THis conversion (mpeg-1 or mpeg-2) can be done on your PC after transferring the DV to your harddisk and possibly editing.
You can use any of the mpeg converters (standalones or plug-ins).
Just to name a few:ULEAD MovieFactory/Adopbe Premiere 6.5 as NLE or CCE/tmpgenc as standalone mpeg converters.
Depending on desired quality and footage length, you have the choice of (S)VCD or DVD.
Have Fun

[mkelley]

I wouldn't convert to anything but MPEG2 -- yes, it may be overkill for your VHS tapes, but if this is a one time conversion project you want to do it at the highest level you can -- due to the method you're using, you would in effect be downsampling to convert to MPEG1 (because you're first converting the VHS to DV).

As the previous poster notes, lots of MPEG converters out there -- but you are going to have a problem if you mean to just store this stuff on your hard drive. What you really want to do is convert it and then burn it off on a DVD, probably not more than 4 hours or so at a time (that is, you won't fit more than 2 hours on a DVD, but you can do it in 4 hour chunks and then burn two DVDs, clear your hard drive, and start all over again). For a job like this I wouldn't settle for anything less than CCE or MainConcept -- TMPGEnc is good quality but slow as molasses, and while the other two will work in near real time (so that 4 hours will be converted in 4 hours) you could spend four times that time using TMPGEnc. Then again, if you convert overnight it might not be an issue for you (all the MPEG2 converters will cost you money, although not more than $150).

Let me leave you with one last thought -- 60 hours worth of recording and playback is a lot of wear and tear on your camcorder. If it were me, I'd opt for a separate capture process like you were originally considering.

[caseychu]

Hi Dragonsf & MKelly,

Thanks for your advice. I have one last question (I hope), I do not have a DVD recorder (they are very expensive!). Can I make my videos into Mpeg 2 and record it onto standard CD Roms using VCDEasy?

Thanks,
Casey

[Dragonsf]

You can convert DV into mpeg-1 (VCD) or mpeg-2 (SVCD or DVD).
Please, don't confuse DVD recorders (standalone) and DVD writers (like CD-Writers for the PC).DVD Writers are now not expensive at all (compeared to last year's prices).A Pinoeer A06 goes her in Germany for 180 Euro (around 170$).Should be a lot cheaper in HK anyway.
But with 2 CDs you can have up to 2 hours of movie on SVCD or VCD.
1 hour, if you want to make a Mini-DVD.
You can't of course use standard CD-ROMS (that's read only), use CD-R or CD-RW instead.
VCDEasy works best on VCD and that's mpeg-1.

[caseychu]

Thanks Dragonsf.

Good News... I have convinced a friend to lend me his SONY PC 101E mini-DV camcoder (PAL system) which has a pass-through feature !

Since it is a PAL camcorder, can the pass-through work with NTSC tapes?

Also, in the SONY manual, it says that I will need software on my computer to capture DV, what software should I use? Can TMPGEnc be the caputure software, or does it just convert DV to mpeg?

Looks like all I need is to buy fire wire card for my computer, and my project can finally get started !


One last question, what is an SVCD, can I burn one using my CDR writer, and does it play on standard VCD or DVD home players?

Many, many thanks for all your help and support! I hope everything will work...

[pbhalerao]

Since it is a PAL camcorder, can the pass-through work with NTSC tapes?

Also, in the SONY manual, it says that I will need software on my computer to capture DV, what software should I use? Can TMPGEnc be the caputure software, or does it just convert DV to mpeg?

Looks like all I need is to buy fire wire card for my computer, and my project can finally get started !


One last question, what is an SVCD, can I burn one using my CDR writer, and does it play on standard VCD or DVD home players?

Many, many thanks for all your help and support! I hope everything will work...

1. PAL (DV) camcorder will not convert NTSC to PAL. I am not even sure whether you will be able to use the passthrough feature on this camcorder for NTSC tapes.
2. TMPGEnc is an encoding software and you will not be able to use it for capturing. There are many packages available for capture. I use ULead Video Studio 5, which is useful for Non-Linear Editing (NLE) also. The best one available for capturing and NLE editing is Adobe Premier 6.5. Both of these are not free. I am planning to buy Adobe Premier soon.
3. You should buy a FireWire Card. The small investment is worth it. For connect any DV device such as miniDV/Digital8 camcorder or an Analog to Digital Video converter such as Canopus AVDC-100.
4. SVCD is an adavncement to VCD. It stores the movie in MPEG2 format. It is much better than VCD but inferior to DVD quality. For more info look at this topic: What is SVCD
   
   You can burn an SVCD on a standard CD-R(W) using the CD writer. Because of the high quality video, SVCD store only 35 to 40 minutes of video per 80-min CD, as opposed up to 80 minutes of video for VCD.

Regards,

[caseychu]

Thanks Prasanna ! You have been a great help to me!

[Dragonsf]

My Sony PC5E can play NTSC tapes (outputs real NTSC and not PAL 60).

[Bob W]

Dazzle was recently bought by Pinnacle systems.

Now that scares me and I'm normally fearless.

[Bob W]

BTW anyone here use one of these Plextor things to capture?
http://www.plextor.com/english/products/ConvertX.html

[turk690]

If it helps: I have Sony DCRTRV120K and DCRTRV330E camcorders. These are D8 models. The 120 is NTSC but can play both analogue and D8 PAL tapes, outputting them as PAL DV AVI on the PC (through FireWire capture), and as NTSC 25fps on the analogue outputs. The 330 is PAL but can play both analogue and D8 NTSC tapes, outputting them as NTSC DV AVI on the PC, and as PAL 60 on analogue out. No documentation is there for PAL playback on the 120, but the 330 manual says NTSC tapes will play back as "NTSC 4.43". I found these by accident because I only used the 120 exclusively for NTSC recording & playback, and the 330 for PAL for a long time. From the foregoing it appears Sony has only one type of multiformat codec for each. Since they are D8 it would be interesting to see if the same holds true for Sony DV camcorders both PAL & NTSC that have both analogue and DV in/out. I also have an NVDS28 DV PAL Panasonic camcorder that resolutely refuses to play back NTSC DV tapes or accept NTSC analogue inputs.