From camera to PC: Software problems.

[luxx]

Hi,

I am trying to transfer video from a camera SAMSUNG VP D73i (PAL) to a PC (Firewire port, Win XP).

I have already tried with more than 10 freeware apps but none of them work correctly. Some of them tell me something like "no capture device found" (VirtualDub), with others there is no audio or the video is totally screwed (Windows Movie Maker).

So far I got it right only with a small program called AMCAP, but I can only get the video uncompressed and 10 secs take like 50MB... I need something that can capture in a compressed format.

Any idea?

luxx.

[upshot]

hate to break it to ya... video takes lots 'o space. I just play with it as a hobby and I have 5 external drives as well as a 250gb drive in the htpc. Are you planning on doing some NLEditing on the footage? If so you'll be really pissed if you try to do it with a high compression codec (usually strains the system beyond workable)

bottom line... look for drive deals.

[daamon]

Hi luxx,

Footage from a DV cam is around 13.5Gb per hour in DV AVI format. WinDV is good for capturing from a DV cam to DV AVI.

upshot has hit the nail on the head...

Hard drives aren't too expensive for a decent size. If budget is a factor (and hence less disc space) and you're looking to do NLE then encoding to (say) MPEG, look into frameserving - it cuts out the need to save an intermediary file and so is less reliant on disc space.

[Josef K]

So far I got it right only with a small program called AMCAP, but I can only get the video uncompressed and 10 secs take like 50MB... I need something that can capture in a compressed format.

DV will only transfer in DV format, i.e. you cannot compress to another codec on the fly. Work on having at least 13GB free disk space for each hour of tape that you need to transfer, transfer on a scene-by-scene basis.

You might also want to have a look at WinDV which is generally regarded as being good at what is does for a freeware app.

EDIT: daamon jumped in and stole my thunder saying the exact same thing while I was taking pause to sit back and sup a beer. 8)

[daamon]

EDIT: daamon jumped in and stole my thunder saying the exact same thing while I was taking pause to sit back and sup a beer. 8)

At least you're having a beer - it's nearly 9 a.m. an I'm at work!

[edDV]

So far I got it right only with a small program called AMCAP, but I can only get the video uncompressed and 10 secs take like 50MB... I need something that can capture in a compressed format.

DV will only transfer in DV format, i.e. you cannot compress to another codec on the fly. Work on having at least 13GB free disk space for each hour of tape that you need to transfer, transfer on a scene-by-scene basis.

You might also want to have a look at WinDV which is generally regarded as being good at what is does for a freeware app.

EDIT: daamon jumped in and stole my thunder saying the exact same thing while I was taking pause to sit back and sup a beer. 8)

Actually you can capture MPeg1, MPeg2, wmv, etc on the fly from a IEEE-1394 DV stream. I do it all the time with normal home video suites and specialized encoders.

For best quality (e.g. camcorder originals) capture in DV. For utility recording you can cpature direct to MPeg, etc.

examples: P4 2.4GHz XP PC, motherboard IEEE-1394 from Canopus ADVC-100 or DV camcorder

Sample Apps. ULead Video Studio 8, Pinnacle Studio 9, Neo 6 Ultra, Cyberlink Director 3, Windows Media9 wmv encoder, etc. etc.

Quality depends on the processing power of the computer and the realtime capture performance of the codec used.

PS: For a typical machine (P4 2.4GHz XP PC) realtime DVD Mpeg2 captures from DV to the MainConcept encoder in ULead Video Studio 8 works quite well with appprox 55-65% CPU load. I use this as my high quality computer based DVR mode. I also use realtime SVCD and VCD capture for lower quality (higher compression) recording.

[upshot]

picvideo mjpeg 3 is my DV "on the fly" codec of choice... Some space savings and edits like a charm... transcodes at about 50% cpu load (1.8 P4).

[Josef K]

Actually you can capture MPeg1, MPeg2, wmv, etc on the fly from a IEEE-1394 DV stream.

Really! I probably knew that at one point and dismissed it because of the degradation involved and strain on hardware and have forgotten that it's possible. To be honest, I can't remember ever seeing anyone mention converting on the fly through FireWire from a DV cam - only simple, standard transfer. Still, I wouldn't recommend any type of conversion - why else use DV if not for the quality...

[edDV]

See my PS: addemdum above. This is the basis of all my computer based DVR recording from a cable box via the ADVC-100.

Also, DV is encoded in the camera (or ADVC). With IEEE-1394 you aren't really "capturing", you are transferring an already encoded file.

PS: As you say, for quality camcorder captures, it is best to transfer the DV file at full quality, edit in DV-AVI format and then encode the DVD form the DV-AVI master.

[Josef K]

See my PS: addemdum above. This is the basis of all my computer based DVR recording from a cable box via the ADVC-100.

The topic was based on using a DV cam and since I've never used a pass-through I based my reply on the standard DV codec transfer over FireWire from a cam.

Also, DV is encoded in the camera (or ADVC). With IEEE-1394 you aren't really "capturing", you are transferring an already encoded file.

Well, I already said 'transfer'...

PS: As you say, for quality camcorder captures, it is best to transfer the DV file at full quality, edit in DV-AVI format and then encode the DVD form the DV-AVI master.

When I think about it now, if I've ever read about using any codec other than DV, I wouldn't have read much further since I've never had to worry about disk space. The spec listed in my Computer Details only lists one of my computers (certainly not my cam-to-hard-drive computer) so I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones...

[edDV]

See my PS: addemdum above. This is the basis of all my computer based DVR recording from a cable box via the ADVC-100.

The topic was based on using a DV cam and since I've never used a pass-through I based my reply on the standard DV codec transfer over FireWire from a cam.

Also, DV is encoded in the camera (or ADVC). With IEEE-1394 you aren't really "capturing", you are transferring an already encoded file.

Well, I already said 'transfer'...

PS: As you say, for quality camcorder captures, it is best to transfer the DV file at full quality, edit in DV-AVI format and then encode the DVD form the DV-AVI master.

When I think about it now, if I've ever read about using any codec other than DV, I wouldn't have read much further since I've never had to worry about disk space. The spec listed in my Computer Details only lists one of my computers (certainly not my cam-to-hard-drive computer) so I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones...

I don't think we are in disagreement at all. I'm just expanding the concept of IEEE-1394 DV transfer to more forms of input and output. The input side of the DV codec can be fed by the camera or tape section of the camcorder or from the A/D "pass-through" from an external analog source. The output side of the link can be a direct transfer into a DV-AVI file on the hard drive, or it can be fed to a realtime encoder for direct encoding to another format such as MPeg or wmv.

The IEEE-1394 is bi-directional. The DV-AVI video file (e.g. from the editor timeline) can also be fed back through the IEEE-1394 either for recording in the camcorder and/or for realtime D/A to a standard video monitor or even an analog VCR.

The Canopus ADVC-100 does exactly the same thing but lacks the camera and tape transport. It's just a bi-directional analog to IEEE-1394 translator with a built in DV encoder and decoder.

I hope this helps.

[luxx]

Thanks to everybody !

These forums are great...

I will try your suggestions, I'll let you know what happens.

luxx.