Capturing with USB

[clayto]

My new Panasonic DVD Camcorder has USB (not FireWire) for Capturing to a computer. So far I have found very little info or discussion on using USB for capturing and there is lttle on it in the Cam manual. Can someone point me in the right direction?

clayto

[thecoalman]

Step1: Take the disc out of the cam.
Step2: Put the disc in your DVD drive on your computer.
Step3: Rip the disc to your computer.

Having specific software for working with DVD's may help ease the process... Ulead Movie Facotry is one.

[Bjs]

The camera , if bought new , would have come with it's own capture software ... install it .

Connecting camera to pc :

Pc is off at this stage .

Connect the power adapter for the camera .
Turn the camera on , set it to the appropriate mode ... for some its usb streaming ... sony
Connect the usb cable to camera , then to pc
Startup pc

Once xp has confirmed the device is connected , enter the supplied software product , and start the video streaming to pc ... it depends on the function within the supplied product as to how this is done ... each product is different .

When finished , close software product .
Use the green usb icon in the system tray to disconnect the camera properly.

When it says the camera has been disconnected ... you may remove it ... turn it off , and pack it up for next time when required .

---------------------

The same principal applies should want to use the camera as a webcam .

Some people dont read the post's too well .

[thecoalman]

Some people dont read the post's too well .

If that was a jab at me... let me point out the way I suggested is faster, easier and will save some wear and tear on the cam. IMO going through the trouble of hooking up a cam to transfer footage from a disc is pointless.

[JohnnyMalaria]

But what if you want to capture from the camcorder live (i.e., sans DVD)

[guns1inger]

If the camera supports DV over USB they will have to install the drivers provided with the camera in order to do so. Otherwise they will be restricted to standard 352 x 288 / 352 x 240 low res capture. In which case live capture is basically fruitless and the disc is the best option.

[thecoalman]

But what if you want to capture from the camcorder live (i.e., sans DVD)

Yes if the OP's question was relevant to live capture then he of course would have to hook the cam up, but I'm assuming the OP wants to take footage from disc and put it on the PC. In that case the cam has become nothing more than a very expensive external drive hence the reason I would suggest ripping it on your computer.

[clayto]

Thanks everyone. However, for me and my equipment these postings and the assumptions they make are off target for the following reasons:

1. The Panasonic Cam and my Panasonic Recorder take DVD RAM, but my computer DVD drive does not (and there are problems with using -RW / -R which I will leave for now)

2. The Cam is NOT supplied with software, a fact stated (small print) in some of the literature and confirmed by email. And the software provided with some other Cams in the series is not suitable, according to Panasonic. I have Pinnicle Studio 9 but am told it does not capture from DVD Cam or other device with USB

This is why I need some pointers to where I can get help with capturing via USB. I would not have been asking for help were I not faced with these limitations.

[thecoalman]

Have you tried browsing it from My Computer, if it's present you should be able to rip it from the cam.

[clayto]

Browsing from My Computer ----- this I will try now I have both machines in my hands. It may well be just as simple as this. It is a pity when manuals etc say "you cannot Capture using USB with this" that they do not say what you can do instead!

clayto

[JohnnyMalaria]

I'm not sure that a USB 2.0 video device appears in My Computer as a folder (in the way that IEEE-1394 devices do) - Microsoft's support for USB 2.0 camcorders is less extensive than IEEE-1394. DV via USB 2.0 is supported in XP SP2 but only for capture - support isn't provided for sending DV back to the camcorder (not even sure if such devices can record via USB 2.0 input anyway).

If the USB connection is working, you should see the device as an option in Windows Movie Maker (again, XP SP2).

(Things then take a turn for the more confusing since Vista and 64-bit XP do not make video devices available as folders in My Computer.)

[clayto]

Transferring with USB worked but the file received by the Computer is a VRO which Windows says it does not recognise and Pinnacle Studio, WMP etc do not recognise!DVD "

"VRO. Video Recording Format streaming video file. An associated .IFO file contains the various scene and timing information. This is different from a .VOB file where that information is included in the file. Several manufacturers use .VRO/.IFO files. This is a new specification for real-time recording on DVD discs. The standard DVD specification supports only the playback function. DVD Video Recording Format has several additional functions for recording."

I was expecting t to be MPEG2.

Now what?

clayto

[Cornucopia]

#1 I would suggest getting an external DVD drive that does support DVD-RAM, as this will make the process much easier/streamlined.

#2 Let us know about these "problems" with +-R/RW that you seem to be having, they may be more fixable than you think. This the place for discussing such things.

#3 VRO & VOB are both types of MPEG2 program streams (though they store elementary streams as PES unlike most standard MPEG2 program streams). Also info on the navigation of a VOB is stored in their IFO's, not the VOBs themselves. It's just that the IFO of VRO files has MORE info that isn't available/appropriate to VOB files. VOBs+IFOs are created together at one point in time; the IFOs for VRO files are often revised after the VRO is created (to reflect the edits made, etc).

#4 Look at the tools <--. There are a number which will accept VRO as input for standard DVD authoring (TDA comes to mind).

What's your cam model? Sounds like recent DVDcam consumers are getting ripped off.

Scott

[jg0001]

Go to newegg.com. Spend $35 and get yourself a DVD burner capable of using DVD-RAM (there are MANY).

In the long run, that will be $35 well spent.

[clayto]

Cam is Panasonic VDR-D150.

Problems regarding +/- RW include

Recorder (a Panasonic Diga) does not recognise -RW, only -R (it does not recognise any + disc). I was told that a Recorder which does not recognise -RW will do so for playting but not recording. So far I have not found this to be the case. A recoded finalised -RW disc was not accepted by my recorder for playing, only -R and RAM.

I formatted -RW in the Cam, I burned as MPG2 a short edited trial video onto it with my Laptop and put it back in the Cam which played it OK, and then followed instructions to finalise it. But in the Recorder it was not recognised and would not play, and when put back into the Cam it now would not play either but said to format it. So I lost my edited video, which was not at all important as only a trial, but of course I dont want this happening with serious videos.

clayto

[Capmaster]

Yes if the OP's question was relevant to live capture then he of course would have to hook the cam up, but I'm assuming the OP wants to take footage from disc and put it on the PC. In that case the cam has become nothing more than a very expensive external drive

This brings up a common mistake in terminology that happens quite often here.

"Capturing" refers to digitizing video either with a camcorder or a capture card. The digital data is being generated as the video is playing.

"Transferring" refers to moving the captured video file from one device to another, like in your example - from camcorder to PC. This act is not capturing, merely moving the data.

I mention this because when you post here, using the correct terminology helps us all avoid confusion

[JohnnyMalaria]

"Capturing" refers to digitizing video either with a camcorder or a capture card. The digital data is being generated as the video is playing.

"Transferring" refers to moving the captured video file from one device to another, like in your example - from camcorder to PC. This act is not capturing, merely moving the data.

That's merely your opinion. Others will disagree with you.

Nowhere is it written that "capturing" has to involve some form of analog-to-digital conversion.

Consumer DV equipment STREAMS the data and, therefore, the analogy with copying files etc is wrong.

And if you look at the origin of the words verbs to capture and to transfer you will find that the former is more appropriate to what is occurring.

[Capmaster]

"Capturing" refers to digitizing video either with a camcorder or a capture card. The digital data is being generated as the video is playing.

"Transferring" refers to moving the captured video file from one device to another, like in your example - from camcorder to PC. This act is not capturing, merely moving the data.

That's merely your opinion. Others will disagree with you.

Nowhere is it written that "capturing" has to involve some form of analog-to-digital conversion.

Consumer DV equipment STREAMS the data and, therefore, the analogy with copying files etc is wrong.

And if you look at the origin of the words verbs to capture and to transfer you will find that the former is more appropriate to what is occurring.

Not just my opinion:

You do not "capture" DV. You TRANSFER the files

http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/dv.htm

It's found here:
https://www.videohelp.com/capture

under "DV Capturing FAQ and myth guide"

or ....

=2= Capturing video with VirtualDub ....Click Video->Video source->Video Composite or S-Video.

http://dvdguide.ennik.com/


or .....

This guide is made for capturing directly to dvd-format MPEG-2 with a Cinergy 400 TV Capture card, capturing danish TV standard wich is PAL, 25 fps. To capture from other TV-standards, remember to set the apropriate values for PAL/NTSC, fps and resolution.

First start Mainconcept MPEG Encoder

http://www.spaceplant.com/stuff/capture-dvd-cinergy/capture-dvd-cinergy.php


or ....

This guide will show you how to take anything off television and turn it into a VCD. The following software is needed: .......Click on File and go to Capture settings.

http://www.geocities.com/jamiesff7/

Are they all misguided?

[JohnnyMalaria]

Are they all misguided?

Yup.

[Capmaster]

Are they all misguided?

Yup.

Fair enough