Mini DV to MPEG1 via firewire?

[WKMac]

I'm looking to see if a program exists that would allow me to capture my mini DV tapes as MPEG-1 via firewire. I'm aware of capturing to WMV via Windows Movie Maker and to AVI via WinDV. I've been converting to MPEG using TMPGEnc, but I'd love to be able to bypass the conversion process. Any suggestions?

-Kyle

[aedipuss]

the video on the miniDV tape is in DVavi format. it has to be re-encoded to mpeg-1. not likely anything can do that on the fly while transferring via firewire without dropping a ton of frames.

[Baldrick]

I think mainconcept mpeg encoder / mainconcept reference can encode in realtime, see https://forum.videohelp.com/topic253007.html#1178094 (but mainconcept = $$$)

[JohnnyMalaria]

I was messing about in Graph Edit a short while back and was able to use the Elecard MPEG encoder to encode MPEG1 in realtime from a DV source at full frame size and rate.

[thecoalman]

All Ulead products will do this, they use a version of Mainconcept mentioned by Baldrick. From my understanding it works quite good.

This will even work on slower machines, I read on Ulead's forum a few posts where users were utilizing 2.8ghz or even 2.6ghz machines to do this. The capture program buffers the incoming DV-AVI, if the buffer fills it will pause the cam mid capture to clear it out then continue the capture/conversion.

[edDV]

Need to ask ... why MPeg1?
What application?
What bitrate?

I routinely cap TV shows (financial and newstalk) to MPeg1 or dvr-ms realtime because I want minmal CPU activity with minimal but adequate quality.

[WKMac]

Attorneys request it for their trial software. I have one machine encoding through a Canopus encoder, but I wanted to see if there was a quick, inexpensive way to capture/encode on my spare computer...

[edDV]

Attorneys request it for their trial software. I have one machine encoding through a Canopus encoder, but I wanted to see if there was a quick, inexpensive way to capture/encode on my spare computer...

Canopus encoder? Are you sure you aren't talking about MPeg2?

[JohnnyMalaria]

I can believe it is MPEG1.

Recently, I was approached by a legal firm that needed realtime date/time overlay etc adding to a DV stream and then encode it to MPEG1. According to them, the software that they use for the next step only accepts MPEG1. Apparently, it is a pretty widespread application. (That's how I came to be messing about with it....)

[aedipuss]

edDV - canopus procoder 3 will encode to mpeg-1. at least there is no problem doing it in my version. choose your target as cd/dvd - vcd - mpeg-1.

[edDV]

I knew it could do it but didn't know why one would do it.
What are the quality requirements?

[aedipuss]

quality?? in mpeg-1 there is none,

[jman98]

I can believe it is MPEG1.

Recently, I was approached by a legal firm that needed realtime date/time overlay etc adding to a DV stream and then encode it to MPEG1. According to them, the software that they use for the next step only accepts MPEG1. Apparently, it is a pretty widespread application. (That's how I came to be messing about with it....)

My best friend is a lawyer. I can give you 2 possible reasons for this.

1) As a general rule, lawyers are technophobic to an extreme. Yes, there are certainly exceptions to this, but as a general rule, they do pretty well to be able to send email. They typically have little interest in technology and little understanding of it, as becomes obvious if you read some of the legal decisions judges make in the USA in technology cases.
2) MPEG-1 is free of patent and royalty issues, so on that level it does make sense to use it.

As far as aedipuss' poor joke goes, if you use a high enough bit rate, yes, you can certainly get quality video out of MPEG-1. The fact that MPEG-1 is mostly used for VCD does not mean it's not capable of doing better. And yes, MPEG-2 is a better codec, but MPEG-1 is not garbage.

[JohnnyMalaria]

My best friend is a lawyer.

That might be handy

The fact that MPEG-1 is mostly used for VCD does not mean it's not capable of doing better. And yes, MPEG-2 is a better codec, but MPEG-1 is not garbage.

Indeed. MPEG-1 is capable of 4095 x 4095 x 60fps. What MPEG-1 cannot do is interlaced video and that is what one of the MPEG-2 extensions addresses.

The irony of this is that consumer and broadcast video is moving inexorably to progressive which means the MPEG-1 will be a perfectly viable (though perhaps not as efficient) high-def format. Perhaps we should think of MPEG-2 as an interim solution much like the Pentium 4 core was to the Pentium III core

[aedipuss]

doesn't really matter what bitrate you give mpeg-1, unless it's 1150kbps in vcd specs, nothing but a computer is gonna play it. go on put a HD mpeg-1 on a blu-ray disc, i dare ya.

ack.. let's not get started on lawyers, my wife is one. can you imagine never being able to get the last word in, or ever winning an argument, even if you're right......

[2Bdecided]

MPEG-1 is very useful for HD and near HD on older PCs!

Much easier to play than MPEG-4 etc.

[JohnnyMalaria]

ack.. let's not get started on lawyers, my wife is one. can you imagine never being able to get the last word in, or ever winning an argument, even if you're right......

It ain't because she's a lawyer though it compounds this universal truth