Still not sure wot i need

[Jaffa]

Hi,
Ive been going round in circles reading mind blowing stuff about firewire and capture cards etc..

N e way, ive decided that to convert my old analogue tapes to dvd im going 2 buy the Canopus ADVC-100.

But heres where im stuck, I now have a dv camcorder and will therefore want to put new stuff from there onto dvd.

So, wot other kit do i need?

Appreciate all help.

Cheers
Jaffa

[Craig Tucker]

The canopus and the DV camcorder both connect to the pc via firewire. So all you need is a firewire card. The good news is they are cheap, can be got in the uk for about £20

[videojoe]

First, if your DV camcorder has the ability to do analog to digital pass through you don't need the ADVC-100, just a firewire card. You could also record the analog video to the DV cam then output to the firewire card if you don't have the passthrough feature. This could save you $300 as the DV cam will do the same conversion as the AVDC-100 with only marginal quality differences.

the only thing you need for your computer is a cheap $15-$20 firewire card. Just make sure it does not use the TI chipset. All the software can be found for free (or cheap) on this site. You will need a program to import from the firewire card (DVIO). Virtualdub will not capture from firewire. Then you need an encoder. TMPGEnc Plus for $50 is the best deal out there and produces fantastic results. Virtualdub will frameserve the AVI file if you prefer to use the filters and resize features of that program, just no capture.

Once encoded burn to DVD

Have fun

[Bondiablo]

DVIO is a nice, quick, simple program but if you want something equally as good with a few more features try Scenalyzer Live for $33. TMPGEnc is an essential for conveting the files to MPEG. If you want a more significant editing/authoring program shop around for firewire cards, the cards are all pretty much the same, the price differences are really only about the software that comes packaged with them.

[Jaffa]

Thank u all 4 replies, it doesnt seem quite so daunting after all, a couple more questions though if i may.

Any recommendations on a firewire (Im UK based)

How can i determine if my dv cam has "passthrough"

I think i follow the DVIO/Scenalyzer to import, and then tmpeg to encode but wot would i b doing with Virtualdub.

Dont know if u need this but i have a 2000xp amd running win xp home ed.

Thanks again 4 the help

[Craig Tucker]

Any recommendations on a firewire (Im UK based)

Any generic card will do really, I just went to my local gigabyte store, paid £20, works a treat. The one here would do (under controller cards) and is only £15.40 + vat.

How can i determine if my dv cam has "passthrough"

Unfortunately for those of us in the UK very few DV camcorders have passthrough. First thing to check is does it have analogue connectors. This will be a red, white and yello rca socket, and possibly a yellow s-video socket.

I think i follow the DVIO/Scenalyzer to import, and then tmpeg to encode but wot would i b doing with Virtualdub.

You would use virtualdub if you were capturing analogue via an analogue capture card. You cannot use it for firewire transfer.

[pbhalerao]

Craig Tucker wrote:

Unfortunately for those of us in the UK very few DV camcorders have passthrough. First thing to check is does it have analogue connectors. This will be a red, white and yello rca socket, and possibly a yellow s-video socket.

I have heard that most west-European countries have additonal taxes where camcorders have the VCR-like recording capability (via AV or Digital Input from another source such as TV/VCR/another Cam). This would make such camcorders quite costly for the consumer. That is why European camcorders do not have this feature while those sold elsewhere have this capability. I wonder whether this "hearsay" is true or not and if true whether the policy has changed, i.e. Camcorders with recording facility are available. Those in UK/mainland Europe may be able to confirm.

Jaffa, if your camcorder has this kind of recording capability then your camcorder will definitely have AV-In terminals. In that case, most likely your camcorder will also have the "pass-through" capability as well - but that is in no way certain. You then do not require the Canopus AVDC-100.

You did not mention whether your DV-Cam is backward compatible to your existing analogue collection, e.g., Digital-8 is backward compatible to Video-8/Hi-8. If yes, then straightaway insert your analogue tape in your DV-Cam and start capturing.

[Craig Tucker]

I have heard that most west-European countries have additonal taxes where camcorders have the VCR-like recording capability (via AV or Digital Input from another source such as TV/VCR/another Cam). This would make such camcorders quite costly for the consumer. That is why European camcorders do not have this feature while those sold elsewhere have this capability. I wonder whether this "hearsay" is true or not and if true whether the policy has changed, i.e. Camcorders with recording facility are available. Those in UK/mainland Europe may be able to confirm.

Yes, this is true. Many DV camcorders which would otherwise have DVin have it disabled to avoid this tax and make the product cheaper. As far as I know this is still the case.

You can get DV camcorders with DVin, and even passthrough in the UK. Bit of course these "extra" features increase the cost of the camcorder.

[Jaffa]

Ive checked my manual, it only has a/v out and dv out. DVio is on the dearer models.

Does that mean i will need 2 buy the ADVC-100?

[Craig Tucker]

Ive checked my manual, it only has a/v out and dv out. DVio is on the dearer models.

Does that mean i will need 2 buy the ADVC-100?

Even with DVin you still couldn't do it you would need analogue in.

If you want to transfer analogue to digital then transfer via firewire then yes you need the ADVC-100 (or a similar product, however from what i've read the ADVC-100 is the best pick amongst devices that do this sort of thing). Your other option is to capture the analogue signal with an analogue capture card.

[videojoe]

Definitely go for a canopus AVDC product if you do not have an analog in on your DV cam. Analog cards are a lot more hassle to use, altough they can achieve great results too for far less money. I bought a DV cam with passthrough recently, if I had known how easy it was I would never have messed with an analog card. The AVDC is definitely worth the extra money

[henk schuifkaas]

Check out this French site http://www.dv-in-france.com for "hidden" features on your camcorder. My Sony trv6e didn't have DV-in, but with a simple cable and some software I altered a few codes et voila: DV-in.

Don't know what kind of camcorder U got, but on some camcorders U can also unlock analog-in. Check it out.

[yg1968]

What digital camcorder do you have?

If you live in the EU, you can sometimes enable the DV in and Analog In of your camcorder with a "widget". I have no experience with this as I live in North America but I have read other people mention this. Apparently, the reason for this is that tarifs are higher on devices than can record. The Japanese companies are therefore forced to have the DV in and Analog In disabled when exporting to Europe. However, I believe that using a widget voids your guarantee.

See this link:

http://www.datavision.co.uk/widgetlist.htm