Camcorder confusion

[jerets]

im new to camcorder capturing so bear w/ me.
for DV would i need a DV capture card or would i just need a firewire port/card to connect the DV camera to?
If i can just use a firewire port... then what do cards like ATIs DV card do?

Also, i have some 8mm tapes that id also like to convert into SVCD/VCD... what would be the best route here? (ive read some about some DV camcorders converting or something.. not sure how that works? would i have to have one camera connected to the other and then the DV into the pc?)

Will adobe premiere take the video off a DV camcorder and then allow for editing?

been reading around the forums but haven't found any answers that really cleared these up for me
Thanks =)
jerets

[jtor]

I'm not sure how you got the idea that a DV capture card and a Firewire card are different. Maybe the DV card meant to be 'just DV', and firewire card referred to OHCI-compliant firewire card.

THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO SERVE YOUR NEEDS, to transfer DV video from your camcorder to your harddrive. People were saying that you can go ahead for the cheapest firewire card you can find, and it doesn't have anything to do with the video quality. All she does is give you a means to transfer your video to HD.

As for your second question, some camcorders have the ANALOG PASS-THROUGH Feature, that will let you pipe in video from an analog source, and would not require you to make a DV copy; instead, she will do the analog-to-digital conversion, and transfer it out to your PC thru the firewire port. You need to check the camcorder if it has this feature. If not, there are other options.

For your third question, yes, premiere will let you do the transfer and will allow you to edit the transferred DV-AVI file/s.

Keep in mind though that DV-AVI eats a lot of HD space, approx 13GB per hour of video, so you'll need a big space.

hope this helps.

[MpegEncoder]

Is your camcoder miniDV or Digital 8? Some Digital 8 camcoders will play 8mm and some don't, check the specs.

Some camcorders do pass-through and some don't, check the specs.

[yg1968]

A DV capture card will convert an analog signal (for example VHS) to DV. Certain Canopus cards will do this.

Firewire only transfers a DV stream. For example, from a Digital camcorder to a computer. If you have a digital camcorder, you need a firewire card but you don't need a DV capture card.

A digital camcorder with video in and a passthrough feature will give you more flexibility because they allow you to convert VHS to DV through your digital camcorder.

[jtor]

...just some clarification, the Hollywood DV Bridge IS NOT a card, it's an external box (the Canopus ADVC100 is also an external box).

The best example for the DV Capture card is probably the Canopus EZDV card. It's a card with the IEEE1394 interface, that you can use to transfer video from a digital camcorder to PC...and that's it.

Later firewire cards (that say they are OHCI compliant cards) does the same thing, but will also let you connect external 'thingies' such as harddrive, cd drives, ...

[vcdforme]

Hope I'm not changing subjects, but....
Has anyone compiled a list of Camcorders that allow a pass-thru
fuction?
I'm just stating to look.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I think I've found a few Sony's:

TVR320
TVR330
TVR350

[cactusjack310]

I have a Sony DCR-VX2000 and it has pass-thru.

[jerets]

thanks every1 for all the help

whats a reasonable priced DV cam out there that has pass through? and wheres a good place to buy?

Thanks again
jerets

[yg1968]

jtor,

You are right about the DV bridge. But some Analog to DV converters are PCI cards such as the Canopus ADVC-50 and the Canopus ADVC-1394.

Jerets,

In North America, most Sony and Canon digital camcorders have a passthrough feature.

[jerets]

on sonys site all i see is "MiniDV" is that about the same thing? What are some reasonably priced cameras that some of you recommend.. im kinda lost.
thanks =)
jerets

[yg1968]

As far as I know, most (but not all) Sony miniDV and digital8 camcorders have a passthrough feature.

I have the Sony miniDV TRV-25 (which has a passthrough feature) and I like it but I think that it's been replaced by the Sony miniDV TRV-22 (which also has a passthrough feature).

For Digital 8 camcorders, the TRV-350 has a passthrough fetaure (but the TRV-250 doesn't). The TRV-140 doesn't have a passthrough feature either.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProduc...AADzX%2e5wtDfx

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProduc...gAAADzlO5wtDfx

For Canon digital camcorders, I think the ZR-40 and the ZR-45 have a passthrough feature.