A couple of questions about the Canopus ADVC-100

[gbvideo]

Question: Canopus ADVC-100 I am interested in getting the Canopus ADVC-100 and I sent a email to their tech support asking the DC resolution and bit rate of the Canopus ADVC-100 and I believe the person who replied mis-interpreted my question, they gave the DC resolution of 720 X 480 when the answer I was looking for was ie 8, 9 or 10 bit DC resolution at D1 resolution. The answer I received for the bit rate was “The ADVC will stream what is pushed through it, it is generally constrained by its source.” From what I know is all Hardware codecs will have a maximum bit rate. If anyone has a Canopus ADVC-100 I would appreciate if they would answer the following:

1- Selectable DC resolution of MPEG2 stream @ D1 720 X 480 29.97 on ADVC-100.
2- MPEG2 stream Bitrate @ D1 720 X 480 29.97 on the ADVC-100

Thank you

[TheSeven7hSon]

Sorry. I'm not really sure what you're asking for. You're not thinking that the ADVC-100 can do MPEG right? It uses a Canopus AVI Codec.

Seven

edit:
Actually, I'm not sure what encoding it does but I do not believe it is MPEG like the Dazzle DVCII. I use the RaptorRT to capture the ADVC-100's digital video in AVI.

(I'm kind of new to the Video scene so if I'm wrong, please someone correct me.)

[bertmartin]

I have the Canopus unit but don't know if I can answer your questions. The manual is sparse. First there is no MPEG compression or decompression. This unit takes analog and converts to digital, or converts digital to analog. It's bi-directional. I recently captured an exercise video and using Sceneanalyzer software (to capture) I selected type 2 avi and captured a 30 minute video. I encoded with TMPGenc the 3 files and merged them and burned a VCD with VCDeasy. You have no software control over this box. It just converts what you give it and you can plug in cables to output to whatever. There is a button to tell the unit you have analog or digital as a source. Ther are a few dip switchs for NTSC/PAL and other things. Also it works with the Canopus video cards in an intelligent way. There are no specs with the manual but the VCD looked ok. Not quite as good as the original video. I'm happy with the unit because it's a no hassel solution. I had a DC10+ card but it was not stable since I am always changing things in my computer. This way I have a very stable Firewire card to capture both digital and analog via the Canopus unit. Digital is the way to go for quality but for converting old analog home movies or backing up VHS tapes this is good. All my new video is digital.

Hope this helps.

[gbvideo]

I guess I misread the info on the Canopus ADVC-100 and also I just realized I did not post to the capture area oops, thanks for the info.

[silverbeetle]

There are no specs with the manual but the VCD looked ok. Not quite as good as the original video.

Is the video not as good as the original source because it was made for VCD or was it the capture process that lost the quality?

[bertmartin]

Silverbeetle
I wish I knew the answer to that but there are a lot of variables. I went back and looked at the captured avi versus the encoded (via TMPGEnc) mpg video and thay look about the same on my 19" monitor. I used Windows Media Player to view both. Then I played the original video tape. After looking at the original I don't think the original is that sharp but brighter. I also compared with the VCD on a Sony 35" tv switching between the VCD and original video. Here is where it showed the biggest difference in quality. I didn't like the difference I saw. The VCD was not as sharp for sure. Looks like it's a combination of the capture with the Canopus converter and loss through encoding. I can't think of anything else to do right now. I plan to capture some home video soon from the old Sony analog camera. That will be another test. I already converted some using a friends Sony digital camcorder as a converter. I could compare these also.

[Betamax]

1- Selectable DC resolution of MPEG2 stream @ D1 720 X 480 29.97 on ADVC-100.
2- MPEG2 stream Bitrate @ D1 720 X 480 29.97 on the ADVC-100

I think I have the answer for you.
I studied the options of this device thourougly while also I am thinking buying it..

First an explanation of the device :
The device is a VDAC, meaning it only converts the analogue sources to digital video (having the audio synchronised), or the way back (digital v/a from your pc to an analogue device, like a vcr).
The on-board codec is compatible with most 'plain' DV-codecs, which makes the converted digital video to be compliant with most camcorders and almost all digital captureboards (like the cards of Canopus, Pinacle and Matrox' RT-2000 fanily), so you don't need to have a Canopus captureboard in order to use this device.

The video it exports will have the resolution of standard DV, meaning 720x480 for NTSC or 720x576 for PAL.
You can only use this device if you're captureboard has a IEEE1394 (=FireWire/iLink) connecter (either 4-pin or 6-pin).

About your questions :
I suggest you want to capture directly into MPG.
Well that's not possible with this device. This has to be done on-board of the capturecard. Canopus has one that will do the job if you buy an extra card (plugged into the capturecard) of Canopus.

I hoped this informs you enough.

[gbvideo]

Thank you all for the info, I think the best way to go is to get a MPEG2 capture board, I already have a AIW128 and the DC precision for that is 8bits, I am trying to find a card that has low noise and 10 bit DC precision, I might have to wait awhile because I do not want to spend a arm and a leg for that.

[TechJunkie]

And how does this all compare to using your miniDV or Digital8's analog to digital passthrough capabilities? I returned my $250 Dazzle Hollywood DV-bridge because I could spend the money on the digital camera and have only one device sitting around.

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