capturing video using usb

[SSJ4Thiran]

hi i have a question. I have a sony digital handycam model DCR-TRV350. I was wondering if it is possible to capture video using the usb connector that was provided with the video camera. And if so what software would i need? Thanks alot.

[SilverBlade]

you need a video capture device, which plugs into the USB slot. The software always comes with it to capture.

It could also be for a 'makeshift' TV too, if you have a VCR/Cable/Satellite box but no TV. Just open the capturing program and watch it like that. You don't even need to record anything. I did that for 2 yrs to watch cable in my room :P

[SSJ4Thiran]

video capture device? Im confused. Before i used the i link on my camcorder and hooked it up to the firewire and transferred using that. however i got a new motherboard that doesnt support firewire. So thats why im asking a way to do it using usb. So what exactly is a video capture device? If you can explain a little bit more that would be gladly appreciated.

[SilverBlade]

oh!..through firewire.

Well, then what you need is a firewire card. Its much cheaper then a 'real' video capture device, and the video quality you get will be superior too.

[SSJ4Thiran]

okay...so what you are saying is that i need a video capture card. I did a quick search at tiger direct and found some usb capture cards. However, is there any other possible way to do this without buying a capture card? Because i just used my i link with my firewire and hooked it up to a firewire port on my old mobo. SO is there a similar way to do this using usb? Or is my only resort a video capture card? And by using a capture card can i just capture the video and edit it somewhere else? For example, capture it and use adobe premiere pro to edit the video? Thanks again.

[G)-(OST]

Using the usb from your sony cam to capture video will give you less than vcd quality, i have tried this using many different softwares with no luck on getting good quality. If you need good quality use the DV to a firewire card, if you don't have a firewire card you should get one to get the best quality possible, anyway there pretty cheap these days ($30 australian)

[SSJ4Thiran]

ya thanks. well it seems like i am getting a cpature card. I believe this will be the best buy for me. But there is some firewire cards at tigerdirect.com for 20 dollars. Plus it is pretty good. Thanks for the advice.

or do you recommend not getting a capture card and rather get a firewire card? Which one will provide better quality?

[G)-(OST]

FIREWIRE!!!!!! 100%. When you capture DV through firewire you are only transfering data. When you capture using usb from your digital video cam you are compressing the data to mpeg thus loosing quallity.

[SSJ4Thiran]

ok thanks alot for your help. But i have anew problem. I bought a pci firewire adapter for my computer. Now, whenever i hookup the i link cable to the firewire, my computer freezes...What am i supposed to do about this?

[pchan]

1.Power off your PC and take out the firewire card. 2.Power on your PC without your firewire card.
3.If it boots OK. Power off your PC and this time, plug your firewire card into another PCI slot. (I hope your firewire card is not VIA chipset. It has compatibility issue.)

[SSJ4Thiran]

well i was getting really really really pissed off at my computer so i reformatted both of my partitions. So now i put in my firewire card and im stumped again. I dont know exactly how to capture the video. I was just experimenting with windows movie maker (note this is typically not what i use. I havent installed everything). And windows movie maker says that it doesnt recognize a video capture device. It does this when i turn on my digital camcorder on the vcr mode and while it is hooked up to the firewire. My digital camcorder model is a DCR-TRV350 sony handycam. Im using a 4pin to 6pin cord as my camera has an i link feature. If someone could tell me how to upload my video, that would be greatly appreciated.

[G)-(OST]

Use winDV or DVIO, (my preference because its small 32kb) both downloadable from this site, just look up capture