Canopus ADVC-100 - Is it worth getting?

[iownju]

Ive been looking for a analog to dv or digital converter for a long time, mainly to work with my mac so i can take old vhs and Hi8 tapes and burnt hem on a dvd. Now, ive read all the reviews of this product on this ste, and it seems to be pretty good. except the problem with heat and burning out power supplies. And from what ive read its very good at keeping all frames.

So, my question is for a mac user (and maybe for use on a PC) is this product worth it? I was thinking of bying one on ebay, use it and then resell it once im done. Or maybe use it to watch tv on my mac or something. Its a but pricey, but seems to be what i want. Or if there are other models or prducts that are better then plz share so i can take a look at that too.

Thanks

[thecoalman]

I have one and couldn't be happier. Never heard of the power supply issue but if you get a 110 it's powered via firewire. It can be powered with a external power supply if you need too.

[dvdfreak123]

https://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCardRead=132


First read the reviews

I also have one and it was the best thing in awhile that I have purchased
Note works great with SCLive

[iownju]

https://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCardRead=132

I read all of those, but just wanted to eb certain that is was worth it.

so the 100 isnt powered by firewire (but it is firewire right?) . Does that mean that the 110 has the 6 pin firewire end on both sides of the cable?

[dvdfreak123]

ADVC110 is the ideal device for capturing and outputting analog video from any FireWire-equipped notebook and desktop computer. There are no drivers to install and ADVC110 does not require a power supply when used with a 6-pin FireWire cable.


> Connects to all widely used DV and analog video equipment
> Compatible with Windows and Mac OS DV editing systems
> Compatible with leading editing and DVD authoring applications including
Canopus EDIUS, Canopus Let’s EDIT, Final Cut Pro®, Adobe® Premiere® Pro, Vegas®, iLife®,
Ulead MediaStudio® Pro, and Windows Movie Maker
> Audio-only conversion
> No need to install drivers or any software applications
> Powered by IEEE 1394 FireWire connector*
> NTSC and PAL compatible
> Color bar reference signal generator
* Using the 4-pin IEEE 1394 FireWire connector requires a power adapter
(sold separately)

[Epicurus8a]

There are many options available to you:

You only need a capture device like this if you intend to edit heavily (transitions and such). If you only plan on simple transfers, a DVD Recorder will probably fit your needs. And you can also use it like a VCR while you're using your computer.

As for me, I use a Pioneer DVD 420H-s with a built in hard drive (the 520H has DV). The hard drive allows me to make simple cut edits before I make the transfer to DVD-R. If I want to have transitions, I'll rip the disc to my computer hard drive, then use WOMBLE MPEG VIDEO WIZARD for editing. WIZARD can also mux and de-mux your files, and even convert them to transport streams. Editing MPEG video isn't generally recomended, but WIZARD handles it quite well.

Study up carefully. I wasted a lot of time and money on stuff that ended up in the trash, and I don't want to see others make the same mistakes.

Having said that, Canopus is a great product. You'll be happy if that's what you need.

[iownju]

well, that answers all my questions, looks like ill be purchaseing one very soon.

Thanks

[lordsmurf]

Remember .... DV ONLY

[iownju]

Remember .... DV ONLY

what do you mean by DV only?? Is there something im missing?

[jimmalenko]

I'll concur with all the "fantastic" & "best decision I ever made" posts. I hope you read my review of the ADVC-100 in the capture cards section too

I suffered from a power supply problem at the very start, but apparently this was just a bad batch. Since getting a replacement PS (within about 3 days of notifying canopus, mind you) I was up and running and I'm very happy. It is great for VHS or TV caps straight into DV (I use scenalyzerlive also), and then I use this guide for editing and noise-removal. Encode and author and you're done !

[lordsmurf]

Remember .... DV ONLY

what do you mean by DV only?? Is there something im missing?

Probably.
It ONLY "captures" DV footage.

Also: http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/dv.htm
(Please note this link will be dead soon, moving this page.)

These boxes do not do ANY other AVI compression (or non-compression) and they do not do MPEG either. I hope you like encoding video for hours on end.

[jimmalenko]

These boxes do not do ANY other AVI compression (or non-compression) and they do not do MPEG either. I hope you like encoding video for hours on end.

In other words, one of these boxes is just like hooking your digital video camera up to your computer - you get minimally compressed AVI out of it left on your computer, and that's all you can do with this box. It is then up to you to re-encode it to whatever output format you desire, as opposed to a hardware-based card, which can dump your caps straight into an MPEG file if you so desire.

[iownju]

well, ill be doing this on my mac most likely, but doesnt iMovie encode it into mpeg-2 for you?? I heard that it did something like that, just not sure if it was that.

[racerxnet]

Unless you do no editing/transitions at all, a hardware MPEG encoder is ideal. Once the AVI file is on the hard drive, encoding to MPEG is about a 1:1 ratio time wise. This is with the faster PC/MAC available today.

Not sure if your MAC has a software encoder application.

MAK

[iownju]

well, right now i made a quick movie think with some avi files on my mac, and i guess it encoded it for me because it is burning and im about to try it in my dvd player. As for editing, yes and no. right now there are a few videos that are just going to be copy and burn to a dvd, but i have a lot of stuff that i would like to edit and clean up in the future.

[thecoalman]

but i have a lot of stuff that i would like to edit and clean up in the future.

Then AVI capture is what you want. Particualarly if your going to be applying noise removal filters or other filters etc.. Mpeg is a final product it's not for extensive editing besides maybe trimming it.

[iownju]

well, i just finished the burning and the dvd plaies fine, the video looks like crap, but it was only a 10 meg file. So i gues this si the product ill be looking for.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[lordsmurf]

the video looks like crap,

A good portion of this problem is because you don't quite know what you're doing yet, AND you're expecting an all-in-one program like iMovie to do all the work. A separate encoder would yield better results, as would some knowledge and experience into DVD video.

Good luck. Lots of reading you should do.

[iownju]

well, the video looked like crap when i downloaded it. So im not blaiming anything or anyone, just thought id say it. But yeah, i have a lot to learn and ill be going through a lot of dvds.

Thanks

[thecoalman]

lot of dvds.

Thanks

One word.... RW's....... shhhhhhhhh

[SatStorm]

Just to add: It is DV input only but there are software realtime converters to mpeg 2 that do a good job (not perfect). Mainconcept is among those.

The deal with Canopus 50/100 and variations, is that they don't have hardware / drivers issues and they don't have lipsynch issues (the great terror for some users). Overall, I would call that it is an ideal solution only for us, the PAL users, and only if we wish to go the old fashion root (transfer,filter,convert). It is not the easy root, it is very demanding for time and HD space (prepare to buy lots of HDs...), but: For the PAL users is the top of the mountain, the best way, the only "perfect" way to transfer any analogue source to your PC.
Just my 2 euro Cents....

[jimmalenko]

Just to add: It is DV input only

ummm ... what is ?

[SatStorm]

Wrong expression, sorry! (it is morning here. My brain still not fuction well)
I mean, those cards do DV they don't capture! They convert any source to DV and you transfer this to your PC. It is not the same as capturing...

[jimmalenko]

Oh OK

spot on

[Phantom Of The Opera]

They convert any source to DV and you transfer this to your PC.

The ADVC-100 also does the reverse, i.e. you can feed it DV input and it will output the analog equivalent.

[iownju]

hmm, i might be reconsidering this after what ive read. Im kind of new to the video editing market, so some stuff i dont get. But im also going to have to get a new camcorder, and was thinking about a GL2 or something, would that be better for what i want to do, take video from vcr, put it on dv camcorder, and then firewire it over to my computer?? Ive heard a lot of people say that this is the better way to go. But I just didnt want to geta camera yet. Still looking around.

[jimmalenko]

If the camera you're getting has analog passthru, then yes, you can hook the VCR up to this and then hook the camcorder up to the computer AFAIK.

[lordsmurf]

Ive heard a lot of people say that this is the better way to go.

Not even close. Just cheaper and dummy-proof.

[iownju]

well, im still not sure which way to go, or if both ways i stated are not the right chocies. Most of the stuff said here is about PCs and thats good to hear, because ill probably use my pc for certain stuff, but i really want to use my mac.

The things i want to do are:

• *Take a few short movies, and just copy them over to a dvd.
  *I have some old documentarys on laser disk that i would maybe like to clean up, and put on a dvd with maybe a menu or something.
  *I would like to take odl home movies and stuff, and bring them over toa computer, fix them up, make nice little dvd menus and stuff and then burn.

these are things that i would like to do with either a dv camcorder or something like the ADVC-110. But if you guys know of better products or another way to go then please tell me. Like i said im new at this so any advice and hel is much apperciated

Thanks

[thecoalman]

I have the GL2 and it does have pass-thru, I've never tried it since I have the ADVC. I don't see the purpose of using a $2000 cam for that purpose when I have the ADVC. Anyhow if your going to buy a GL2 or other cam with pass thru simply hold off on buying a ADVC. Give the pass thru some tests and if it's good enough so be it. That's the best advice I can give you, you may even want to look into spending that money on something else like a good VCR, TBC or some software instead of the ADVC.