DV vs Analog capture

[tjborwn101]

Hey all,

I have a Sony with iLink connector ... I also have a system with Firewire and Analog S-Video in.

Will I see significant decrease in quality should I capture via SVideo (MPEG2) versus DV-in via Firewire?

Tx TJ

[Richard_G]

Why would you even want to try? DV via Firewire is not a capture but a data transfer, what you get on your hard drive is absolutely identical to the data on the DV tape. Once you've got it there you can degrade it in any way you like, but at least you'll start with something decent.

[Zetti]

Why would you even want to try? DV via Firewire is not a capture but a data transfer, what you get on your hard drive is absolutely identical to the data on the DV tape. Once you've got it there you can degrade it in any way you like, but at least you'll start with something decent.

E-N-O-U-G-H S-A-I-D, DEFINITELY !!!!!!!!!!

Zetti

[Capmaster]

Hey all,

I have a Sony with iLink connector ... I also have a system with Firewire and Analog S-Video in.

Will I see significant decrease in quality should I capture via SVideo (MPEG2) versus DV-in via Firewire?

Tx TJ

You have to do a "balance sheet" comparison. Take all the "Pluses" and "minuses" for each. But more importantly do captures both ways and compare them, preferably with the same material, using the output device you plan on using for them. A sample balance sheet might be:

DV "Pluses"
Higher inherent quality
More flexibility in post-capture processing
Editing DV generally yields better success than editing MPEG
Less expensive if you already own a camcorder
DV "Minuses"
Huge file sizes. Expect to wait at every stage.
Requires mongo-sized HDs and fairly new PC processors to minimize time.
Conversion to MPEG extremely time-consuming
Quality may be overkill for average home use
More expensive if you need to purchase camcorder to get started

MPEG Hardware Capture "Pluses"
Fast, fast, fast!!
Easiest approach if editing is not required (for example, if commercials don't need to be removed afterwards)
Quality is good enough for most uses
A better choice for capturing analog from tapes because quality loss inherent in this type of capture won't matter
No camcorder needed
MPEG Hardware Capture "Minuses"
Bitrate during capture can be critical ...practice needed to find that "sweet spot"
Editing is clumsy and often yields lip sync and stuttering issues. Needs frame-accurate editing
Hardware can often introduce lip sync issues if clocks are not locked and registry settings are not fine-tuned

Bottom line: Try both and see how you feel. Some people can't detect much difference between the two and others can't stand anything that has been one-pass encoded (typical of hardware MPEG encoders).

[tjborwn101]

CapMaster...

Thanks for taking the 15 minutes to write the small DV / MPEG guide....

I will have to see how my 2Ghz machine makes out with the DV conversion.

Thanks again

TJ

[Josef K]

I will have to see how my 2Ghz machine makes out with the DV conversion.

Computer Details/Setup:
Operating System: Win2k
CPU Speed: 800
Harddrive space: 20 + 80
RAM Memory: 384
Video Card: ATI AGP
Capture Card: DC10 / IEEE1394 / DVD Xpress
Motherboard: Intel
CD-ROM: HP
DVD-ROM: Dell
CD Writer: TDK 8G
DVD Writer: TDK 8G
Standalone DVD Player: Sony DVPS330
Other:


I'm sensing a Computer Details update in the very near future...