External Analog Capture Devices & editing .... help please

[CaptainChaos]

Hi guys

I am just about to take delivery of a brand new very fast computer

I have a load of Hi8 analog camcorder tapes that I want to transfer to my pc, then edit all the crap out, burn to dvd & then send to family all over the world.

I have researched a lot regarding external video capture devices ... and am still as confused as I was when I started.

All of the devices I've looked at (pretty much all that are available) have good & bad points ... Basically, ALL I want the capture device for is to get everything from the Hi8 tape to my pc then I'll use Tmpgenc DVD Author (or similar) to get rid of all the bad frames/rubbish etc.

Would a "cheap & cheerful" video capture device capture the same as a more expensive one? I'm not worried about features - I just want to capture everything from the Hi8 tapes & work from there. I also don't want to be "locked" to a particular software for editing ... I just want to capture to either avi or mpeg2 ... which is better/easier?

Any external video capture device recommendations would be appreciated (eg. the Kworld usb 2.0 external capture device).

Also, my new PC has a Firewire port on it - my new mini dv camcorder has a firewire port ... do I just connect this to computer to get the video across, or do I need some sort of "capture" software?

Finally, I mentioned earlier that I intended to use Tmpgenc DVD Author to edit the captured video ... I'm not too worried about fancy menus/fades etc. - I just need to edit the rubbish out of the captured video & burn it to dvd with a few chapters ... Any help here would be appreciated too.

Thank you.

[Keitho]

I've used an ATI All in Wonder card (AGP slot) for over 4 years now, and am satisfied with it. I capture in MPG2 format, so it is ready to put into a DVD author program and burn. I would be a little leery of using a USB analog capture device, but that's because I've never used one. I expect you'll hear from other users that have and are satisfied.

As far as getting your video from your dv camera with firewire, you can do that with the built-in Windows Movie Maker program that comes with XP.

[redwudz]

You might take a look here for one method of DV to DVD conversion:

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1468560#1468560

If your new camcorder has pass through, you could use that for transferring Hi-8 tapes through it to your Firewire port.

Generally in capture devices, you get what you pay for. A cheap capture card will give you poor quality most of the time.

Take a look at a Canopus ADVC card or external box. ADVC-50 is one choice. I use a ADVC-100 external box. You can do a form search for ADVC and see some comments.

[bits]

If your miniDV camcorder does DV pass through via firewire, then that might be a good route to go. They usually do a good job of converting analog to DV. Editing/cutting DV avi is generally less problematic than mpeg. You would have to convert to mpeg2 after the cutting in order to use TDA.

The workflow I recommend is analog to DV using either a digital camcorder pass through (firewire) or an ADVC110 (Analog to DV converter using firewire)--> cut using vdub(free) or VS8 or CCE Basic --> convert to compliant mpeg2 using CCE Basic ($60)-->TDA to author and burn.

A note about cutting with CCE Basic: CCE Basic is primarily for encoding avi to mpeg BUT you can choose which frames you want to encode. It is a bit clunky but with a bit of practice it works quite well.

CCE Basic is a very good mpeg encoder and it is quite fast compared to other encoders.

The ADVC110 does a great job of analog to DV conversion and it locks the audio. It is a bit spendy but it will not disappoint!

Good luck!

[ZAPPER]

I always try to reccomend the "go with what you got" route.

You got a cam or a deck that will pay the Hi 8 tapes. Right?
You got another cam that you called Mini DV. Right?
Your Mini DV will put out thru Firewire. Right?
Your Hi 8 will put out to analog. Right?
Your Mini DV will record from analog. Right?

So even if your Mini DV wont do pass thru, you should be able to get the High 8 into the Mini DV using either a custom cable or cable splice adapters or using another component like a VCR or DVD deck that has input output jacks to make the conections.

A couple of points, and they are all open to argument.

DV transfer from a cam to PC is real time. An hour of tape takes an hour, plus opening and closing and other incendentals.

DV is the easiest/quickest to edit on a PC (for what it is)

PC encoding to mpeg is the highest quality, most flexible way to do it, maybe not the fastest. (This I am sure will spark an argument, but I don't think that any consumer level black box will beat the quality of the PC)

If your new PC has a DVD burner, you are gonna have some kind of burning/editing software (or should anyway) Before you buy anything, fully check out what you have. Look at all of the possible settings and see what it can do. Don't just follow their click by click directions, while they may be just fine as is, most programs will let you have a little bit more control over the process.

With the possible exception of cables or adapters, I would bet that you will be able to do what you want with out spending a dime more on hardware.

[CaptainChaos]

Thanks all for your replies ....

Regarding my digital camcorder ... I don't think it has an "analogue in" connection ... It is a Sony Handycam DCR HC19E ... It has the forewire output, but I am sure that (when researching digital camcorders) there was no option to record from analogue onto digital ... Correct me if I'm wrong!

With regard to the external video capture device, surely whatever I input into it from the analogue camcorder will be pretty much what I will see on the PC? Again - I may be way off the mark - I know that some of the Canopus devices locks the audio to the video, but unfortunately they're a bit more than I can afford right now ...

Thanks again for advice.

[redwudz]

That camcorder apparently does not have a analog input.

In that case for the Hi-8 video, you would need a capture device.

If you are interested in a capture card, the 'Capture Cards' listing to the left may help. You can set the cost, and read the comments to help decide. You are likely wanting a PCI type card to capture with. I would get one that captures in AVI format and use a codec like Pic Video, or if your system is fast enough, HuffyUV. Huffy does take a lot of space on your hard drive, but preserves the best quality. Pic Video makes a more compact file, but not as good.

Then you edit in AVI format, encode to MPEG-2, author and burn.

The cards that capture directly to MPEG are generally higher cost and the quality of the video may be lower. And if you need to do a lot of editing, AVI is a better choice than MPEG. The downside to capturing in AVI is that it uses more hard drive space and will require encoding after capturing and editing.

You could also get a capture card with a TV tuner included that may be useful to you.

[Nelson37]

In regard to the input to the capture device being "surely the same" as what you see on the PC, no, no, no, and again, no. If you are making this assumption then you need to do a lot more reading and research.

Some won't do full resolution, some simply give poor quality, this is NOT repeat NOT simply a connection interface, it is a dramatically higher rate of data flow than anything else the PC is likely to touch, and involves an analog to digital conversion that can be done in a variety of different ways.

If all you can afford is a cheap piece of crap then wait and save your money for something that can actually do the job with reasonable quality.

[ZAPPER]

Wow! I had heard that there were cams that didn't do pass thru, but never heard that one can't even take anykind of input. If it were mine I would tamper with it to see if that was really the case. Or if it wasn't too old maybe take it back and trade it in for an upgrade. It does look like it has a killer lens though. I am still stunned, why would Sony do that?

[CaptainChaos]

Ahhh maybe that's because you live in the USA & I live in the UK & as everyone knows, we're about 30 years behind you guys hahahahaha ....

Never mind ... I'm still looking for a reasonably cheap video capture device just to accurately port the Hi8 tapes across to the PC, then work on them from there!

Cheers guys

Ian