Should I ditch my analog capture and switch to DV pass-thru

[scottb721]

This post may get moved. I wasn't sure which topic to put it under.

My analog capture set-up is via an external AV breakout box/Tuner that connects to my video card's VIVO port.
VGA card came with external capture box as a package.
It is a Compro Videomate Cinema.

To upgarde my video card, from the GF4 MX440 I currently have, I have to ditch my analog capture hardware as I probably won't be able to connect the external box to a new VGA card.
Compro say they no longer support that item and can't provide any advice.

My Sony PC-108E DVcam has analog to digital pass-thru and I'm wondering if I should just ditch my analog capture set-up and just use the Sony for analog captures.
I've used the camera before and the process was totally painless, unlike setting up a good analog capture, but is the quality technically as good with DV pass-thru?

Thankyou in advance for any thoughts.

[redwudz]

DV transfers can be good, depends on how good your analog capture was for comparison. It's certainly a lot easier. If you have a Firewire card on your computer, why not give it a try before you make the decision. WinDV works well for transferring. Then encode to MPEG-2 if your destination is DVD. The quality lost or gained with DV is all in the encoding settings. But if you've done this before with the camera, you already know this.

[scottb721]

I use a Ulead app for my DV transfers and either TMPGEnc or my Ulead Video editing app for my DV to mpeg2 encoding, and their outputs are generally faultless.

My analog captures are generally in Virtualdub/VirtualVCR with Huffy codec.

I wasn't sure whether the A-D process in the cam might introduce problems.

Cheers

[edDV]

I agree you should run the same sample material through both processes and make your own judgement.

A DV camcorder is a remarkable piece of hardware and the signal path differs little from high end broadcast gear. The same hardware codecs are used from the least expensive Digital8 models up through the prosumer line. The basic recording and transfer technology is the same as used in the broadcast DVCAM and DVCPro models.

PAL users are particularly fortunate with "Analog-Pass-Through" since unlike NTSC*, levels are the same in analog and digital. The capture is immediately ready for editing, encoding and authoring. "Analog-Pass-Through" also allows you to monitor the capture on a TV connected to the camcorder to see exactly what is being captured.

DV is well supported with editing and authoring software and matches DVD Mpeg2 standards.

4:1:1 and 4:2:0 are more than adequate to sample analog up to Betacam SP level. Broadcast high end production takes the next level up with 10bit 4:2:2 sampling with lighter or no compression.

End of arguement for DV.

*Analog NTSC (North America) uses 7.5 IRE as black level and 100 IRE for white. DV and DVD use 0 IRE (digital 16) for black and 100 IRE (digital 235) for white. Unfortunately all consumer and most prosumer NTSC DV camcorders incorrectly capture analog black to digital level 32 instead of 16 when recording analog sources or when using "Analog-Pass-Through". This requires a software black level correction (32 to 16) before encoding to MPeg2 for DVD. If this is not done, the blacks will appear gray and the picture will look a bit washed out on DVD playback.

This is only an issue with NTSC analog input captures. Camcorder digital recordings are scaled properly.

Ref: http://pro.jvc.com/pro/attributes/prodv/clips/blacksetup/JVC_DEMO.swf

PS: A proc amp between the NTSC analog source and the camcorder can lower black levels to 0 IRE eliminating the need to digitally process blacks later. Another way around the problem is to use a DV transcoding device like the Canopus ADVC series instead of the camcorder for analog capture to DV. The ADVC inludes a 7.5 IRE switch that allows 7.5 IRE black to be correctly captured to digital level 16.

[edDV]

I use a Ulead app for my DV transfers and either TMPGEnc or my Ulead Video editing app for my DV to mpeg2 encoding, and their outputs are generally faultless.

My analog captures are generally in Virtualdub/VirtualVCR with Huffy codec.

I wasn't sure whether the A-D process in the cam might introduce problems.

Cheers

As a PAL DV user, your levels should be fine for analog capture. The A/D in the camcorder is probably superior to that on a typical capture card.

[ZAPPER]

I got to go with the give it a try advice, and let us know how well it works with your set up. I have used my sony for pass thru and been happy.

This is like one of the few times that I have heard that cam pass thru is a good option, it seems that many think that it is a lower standard and I have been kind of ashamed to admit that I don't see anything really wrong with the finished product. I don't have any of the apps to test or define the final specs but I still think that it works fine for my equipment. (The grey may be an issue but I always kind of thought that there is a blue or grey cast to black in just about every screen that I have seen)

[kkmike]

DV cam pass through works well, you should be happy with it. If not, I like the Canopus ADVC 110.

[scottb721]

Ended up going the whole hog.
Replaced my MX440 with a FX5500 and got a Compro DVB-T300 digital/analog tuner card as well.
And all for $200Aud.
The $60 I got for my current VGA/tuner setup was more than adequate.

Thanks all.