What is a capture device, and do I need one?

[sdsumike619]

I see a lot of talk on forums about different capture devices... If I'm capturing video from a miniDV camera, aren't I just supposed to connect the camera to the firewire card on the computer and play the footage in? Have I missed something here?

[ZippyP.]

Have I missed something here?

Yes. Transferring video from a DV cam via firewire is not "capturing" in the classic sense. Capturing normally refers to some sort of analog video signal that is processed into a digital format by a hardware device (like a capture card) and then saved. With DV you are merely transferring the data, no conversion is taking place at all.

[sdsumike619]

ok, so since I only work with miniDV, I don't need a capture card, correct?

[OmegaSupreme]

A capture card is only required to digitize an analog source. The Firewire connection to your miniDv camera is basically a file transfer since the source is already digital.

[ZippyP.]

ok, so since I only work with miniDV, I don't need a capture card, correct?

Correct.