Capturing Video with firewire card

[^533saw5^]

I have a Sony Camcorder which i connect to my pc using the firewire connection. When I capture the film (using Adobe Premier 6) the quality has degraded a hell of a lot. I looked through all the settings and tried everything I could but no change

When I plug the camcorder straight into the TV, the quality is perfect, so, why does the picture degrade when downloading the film onto the pc?

Any help will be much appreciated

[porter2112]

Keep in mind that ALL video looks like crap on a computer monitor (no matter what type of system you have), when compared to the same footage shown on a TV. FW capture pulls a full-quality AVI file so should be no loss of quality. On a computer, colors usually look washed out and overall darker.

Once I edit my avi files and then transfer back onto my sony camcorder (or put on a DVD) they look just as great as my raw footage did when I play on my TV.
Porter

[jtor]

Keep in mind that ALL video looks like crap on a computer monitor (no matter what type of system you have), when compared to the same footage shown on a TV.

There's an exception...if your camcorder is capable of shooting 'PROGRESSIVE' (or FRAME mode, as opposed the normal/interlace mode), quality should be good on your computer. And once you play this FRAME Mode video on TV, it'll look a little jerky, which becomes noticeable on fast motion.

[^533saw5^]

So if i converted that avi to mpeg2 and burned as SVCD would that look ok through the DVD player?

[jtor]

So if i converted that avi to mpeg2 and burned as SVCD would that look ok through the DVD player?

...it should! That is...assuming your DVD Player can play SVCD.

[^533saw5^]

My DVD player plays everything :P

[EricB]

A good test is to just transfer some DV from your camcorder to Premiere, then send it back. Does it look the same?

[wackynige]

Keep in mind that ALL video looks like crap on a computer monitor (no matter what type of system you have), when compared to the same footage shown on a TV. FW capture pulls a full-quality AVI file so should be no loss of quality. On a computer, colors usually look washed out and overall darker.

Once I edit my avi files and then transfer back onto my sony camcorder (or put on a DVD) they look just as great as my raw footage did when I play on my TV.
Porter

following on from this if i use a firewire transfer how much hard drivespace would i need for a 3 hour video? do i use compression? is there an alternative to firewire.

[EricB]

DV file size is around 216 MB / minute so 3 hours is in the 38 - 39 G range. There are some programs like Video Studio6 which will do live conversion of DV to mpeg1 or mpeg2, but for the most part the quality suffers.

The alternative to firewire is to get a capture card and use different frame sizes, encoding, etc. Firewire is just a file transfer from the camera to the computer. In my opinion, it is best suited when you want to edit the file and then encode.

[wackynige]

DV file size is around 216 MB / minute so 3 hours is in the 38 - 39 G range. There are some programs like Video Studio6 which will do live conversion of DV to mpeg1 or mpeg2, but for the most part the quality suffers.

The alternative to firewire is to get a capture card and use different frame sizes, encoding, etc. Firewire is just a file transfer from the camera to the computer. In my opinion, it is best suited when you want to edit the file and then encode.

what it is, is that my kids have just done fiddler on the roof at a local theatre and it was recorded with a digital video camera. they are selling the copies on VHS but i would like it on SVCD. I currently make a few XVCD etc, how can i achieve the above?

[EricB]

Well, I would transfer the DV to Premiere, do any editing that is required, then frameserve to TMPGEnc. The Premiere timeline will support up to 3 hours. This is the method I use and the quality is great.

The alternative would be to play the video output (analog) of your camcorder into another capture card (Dazzle DVC II, ATI AIW, etc, etc) and do the conversion to an SVCD compatible file. If you don't have one of these cards, I would use the first method.

[wackynige]

Well, I would transfer the DV to Premiere, do any editing that is required, then frameserve to TMPGEnc. The Premiere timeline will support up to 3 hours. This is the method I use and the quality is great.

The alternative would be to play the video output (analog) of your camcorder into another capture card (Dazzle DVC II, ATI AIW, etc, etc) and do the conversion to an SVCD compatible file. If you don't have one of these cards, I would use the first method.

I have an AtI all in wonder pro, 1gig processor and 256 ddr but when i rtried capturing from VCR it was ruubish. do you have a guide that works with this method. Are you not loosing the point of DV with this method?

[EricB]

I'm not sure what you are asking. If you have the hard drive space, a DV camera, and firewire card, then I would recommend using DV. I use is all the time and it does a great job with VHS as a source.

If your ATI stuff looks like rubbish, then try the DV method.