USB capturing

[simonsez]

I have a DCR-HC40 handycam... the supplied software will stream video via USB and burn a VCD, but it won't just stream the video and let me MPEG-2 encode it myself. The computer I'm using doesn't have a firewire port, and I can't install one, so connecting with an Ilink cable isn't an option. The capture software I've found here (windv and dvio) seem to be for firewire only. Is there something else I can use to capture the camcorder's USB stream?

[thecoalman]

Short answer is no, that is a usb 1 which is useless for capturing.

Why can't you install a firewire card, they are fairly cheap.

[simonsez]

I can't install a firewire card because I'm using an office computer.

The port can't be totally useless for capturing, since according to the manual, I'd be able to MPEG2 encode and burn a DVD if I had a sony vaio and it's click2dvd software.

[thecoalman]

The port can't be totally useless for capturing, since according to the manual, I'd be able to MPEG2 encode and burn a DVD if I had a sony vaio and it's click2dvd software.

Sorry missed the part about the mpeg1... If it's coming across as mpeg1 it would be a slower data rate. Can't you just transfer it then reencode it. Personally I'd keep it in the mpeg1 format, you can use mpeg1 VCD on DVD. That's about as good as it's going to get. USB1 can't handle the data rate.....

[simonsez]

No, it's not coming across as MPEG1... it's streaming via the USB port, and then it encodes it. The supplied software does a MPEG1 encode; their vaio-proprietary software would do a MPEG2 encode. Since I don't have a vaio, what I need to do capture the stream that it's using for those processes.

"Can't you just transfer it then reencode it"

Yes, that's what I want to do... but I don't know how.

[thecoalman]

I went looking around, stuff like this intrigues me. From what I can tell it's coming off the cam in ASF format which is kind of like a AVI. It's a MS extension, crazy as it sounds you might want to try Movie Destroyer or the MS encoder. Providing it will recognize the cam which it should you will only be able to record in wmv with ms encoder and I'm not sure about movie maker but you'll be able to record at a high bitrate which can be converted to mpeg 2.

Personally I'd just stick with the mpeg1 as that is as good as it's going to get most likely.