miniDV to DVD via S-Video Cable

[opieandy]

Can I record to a DVR with an S-video cable from my miniDV camcorder? Is the quality good?

I have a miniDV camcorder and about six years' worth of unwatched tapes. I don't have the time/patience/interest in doing any editing on these on the PC. I just want to convert them to DVDs that can play in any DVD player.

I am considering buying the Pioneer DVR-640H DVD recorder. It appears to be excellent, the only drawback being it doesn't have a "DV in" port (presumably this is a firewire port). I could attach a S-video cable. My JVC-GRD30U camcorder has a "DV" firewire port only (apparently, at least I don't see an S-Video out port), but it's dead anyway, so the plan would be to buy a new HDD-based camcorder with an S-Video out port (would have to research this to verify).

Would this work, and would the video quality be as good as firewire?

Thanks,

Chris

[JohnnyMalaria]

Can I record to a DVR with an S-video cable from my miniDV camcorder?

My JVC-GRD30U camcorder has a "DV" firewire port only (apparently, at least I don't see an S-Video out port), but it's dead anyway

I'm confused - are these camcorders one and the same?

Anyway, I've recorded via S-video from a DV deck to a DVD recorder and the results are very acceptable.

[opieandy]

Can I record to a DVR with an S-video cable from my miniDV camcorder?

My JVC-GRD30U camcorder has a "DV" firewire port only (apparently, at least I don't see an S-Video out port), but it's dead anyway

I'm confused - are these camcorders one and the same?

Anyway, I've recorded via S-video from a DV deck to a DVD recorder and the results are very acceptable.

After much more research, here's the situation, and I could really use some help!

1. I'm planning to buy a Pioneer 640H DVD Recorder. It does not have "DV Input." It has S-Video and Composite inputs.
2. My miniDV camcorder is dead and needs to be replaced.
3. I want a Hard Drive camcorder, but need a miniDV camcorder to copy all of my tapes to DVD, so I'll be buying an inexpensive miniDV camcorder for now.
4. Not many current miniDV camcorders appear to have an S-Video connection.
5. I do not want to involve the PC in the process.

Question: Would a composite (or "av cable" as it's called in the JVC manual, I'm still unsure but I think this is simply the traditional red/white/yellow RCA-style connectors) video transfer show a significant loss of quality versus S-video or DV input?

Thanks,

Chris

[ZAPPER]

In theory, the AV cable out of your cam should give you good enough results at the DVD recorder. I mean that it is good enough output to veiw on a TV, right?

Just a thought. While maybe not criminal, but seems almost immoral to me, you could buy a mini DV cam with the outputs you need, do the transfers, return the cam and upgrade to the cam that you ultimatly want. Or maybe you could borrow a freinds cam for the transfers.

I am amazed that electronics manufactures would leave out extra features, go figure.

[edDV]

Quality hierarchy:

DV (YCbCr) over IEEE-1394 is best. Avoids analog and NTSC conversion.

S-Video next best. Converts to analog and NTSC but keeps luminance separate from chrominance.

Composite next best or worst. Combines luminance and NTSC chrominance on the same wire. This requires a Y/C separator (notch or comb) to reseparate Y luminance from C chrominance. The separation is never perfect so the resulting video will have some artifacts.

Details here
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/vidcomb.htm

In addition, DV to DVD MPeg2 always reduces quality and makes future enhancements more problematic. Therefore, if you intend to hand these down to future generations, don't destroy the MiniDV tapes. Store them in a cool dry place. Think of them as photo negatives vs. paper prints.