camcorder to PC

[swingy]

Hi
I have an old camcorder panasonic nv-vs50en model. I need to transfer videos from tapes to my pc. I have the firewire cable and card, but the cable slot doesn't support the video transfer.
the camcorder has audio video slots ( white & yellow) & an Svideo slot. It also has a digital still picture slot. further in the bottom hiding underneath a small picket is a slot with 3dc2 written on it.
Any idea how can i transfer videos using any of these slots ? On PC i have a vista and few movie programs like corel studio / ulead /
thanks

[edDV]

It looks like the nv-vs50en is an SVHS-C model right? If so no Firewire. Use S-Video and audio capture.
http://camera.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/panasonic/nvvs50ena.html

[Baldrick]

Moving you to our camcorder section.

[swingy]

It looks like the nv-vs50en is an SVHS-C model right? If so no Firewire. Use S-Video and audio capture.
http://camera.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/panasonic/nvvs50ena.html

can you pls ellaborate which cable is this ? would i need a converter also.. or how would it work ?

[edDV]

It looks like the nv-vs50en is an SVHS-C model right? If so no Firewire. Use S-Video and audio capture.
http://camera.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/panasonic/nvvs50ena.html

can you pls ellaborate which cable is this ? would i need a converter also.. or how would it work ?

You need an analog S-Video capture device. Most are out of production.

How much can you spend?

[swingy]

You need an analog S-Video capture device. Most are out of production.

How much can you spend?

I have some old memories on tapes which i need to transfer to my pc. Guess, willing to spend as long as it is reasonable. However, while going through the manual, I saw that for a PC transfer, a cable is attached to the 'digital still photo' slot. The cable has a pin head on one side and computer connectivity head on the other end ! Not sure what this cable is called and whether it is available these days.
What would be the best way to transfer the video without loosing too much on the quality and giving out too much on the size.

Also, i don't have an SVideo slot on my PC.

[edDV]

SVHS-C is an analog format so must be captured analog S-Video.

You will need to add a classic Connectix or Philips TV tuner with S-Video in (a PCI card) or a Canopus ADVC (55 or 100/110) which converts S-Video to DV format over IEEE-1394 or a Hauppauge PVR 150/250/350 (a PCI card) that encodes to MPeg2.

[swingy]

Thanks. isn't there simpler way to have it projected on the pc and do a screen capture?

[edDV]

Thanks. isn't there simpler way to have it projected on the pc and do a screen capture?

No, the analog video needs to be captured to digital. This could be done on another computer that has a capture card.

[nharikrishna]

You basically need a capture card (or) a TV Tuner Card to connect to your computer. Input will come from your camcorder. I would prefer S-Video over Composite (Yellow) for Video. For audio, you can use the White & Red. If you want the ultimate quality, go for Canopus ADVC 55 or 110 as a capture card.

[swingy]

fantastic ! I have a tv tuner card installed which takes an Svideo input. I have a cable which has Svideo slots on both ends. Will this suffice ? How would the video get relayed on the pc ? any software for that?

[edDV]

fantastic ! I have a tv tuner card installed which takes an Svideo input. I have a cable which has Svideo slots on both ends. Will this suffice ? How would the video get relayed on the pc ? any software for that?

Your tuner card should have software. What is the tuner model? Other software may work.

[swingy]

Your tuner card should have software. What is the tuner model? Other software may work.

Frankly, i have not used the tuner since quite a long time and my pc was formatted as well.. I may not have the software cd for it.

The hardware is from adcom.

Thanks for all your help !!

[edDV]

I've never heard of an Adcom PC tuner card.

[nharikrishna]

I would suggest you do a bit of homework, by trying various capturing softwares...etc. The thing that comes to my mind is VirtualVcr though I have never use it myself.

Please click on TOOLS on the left hand side and browse through various softwares listed there under 'Video Capture'.

I am sure some of those softwares should work with your card.

[CSULB71]

Another way is if you can borrow a Sony "Digital8" camcorder from somebody, then you can use it as an analog-to-digital converter. Just connect your camcorder to the Sony's inputs via S-video and audio cables, and connect the Sony to your computer via the Firewire (I-Link) connections. Install either the Panasonic DV codec or the Cedocida DV codec, and use WinDV to capture the footage.

[crenatmor1]

If you do borrow the Sony, I don't know if you are using PC or Mac but either WinDV or Windows Movie Maker will import it.
I had an old Sony Handycam DCR DRV310 and hooked it up to my computer via I-Link and it worked like a charm.
I have several computers, but only one had a firewire port...so be sure you have a firewire port.

[CSULB71]

He said he had the "firewire cable and card" in his original post, so I assumed that he meant the firewire card was already installed in his computer.

One thing I forgot to mention -- make sure the camcorder has two-way video & audio capability; some cheaper models only have output, like to watch the tape on a TV or record onto a VCR..

[swingy]

Hi
unable to get it right. I am able to watch the video when output is to a normal television. just connect yellow white cables with tv and output is on the tv, without any issue. I have downloaded virtual vcr, but it doesn't locate the cam corder connected with the tv tuner card.
not sure which company's card is it, the hardware has an adcom printed over it and if my memory serves me right i think it was from mercury.

[CSULB71]

Not sure what you're saying:
"I have downloaded virtual vcr, but it doesn't locate the cam corder connected with the tv tuner card."

1. Are you connecting a borrowed Digital8 camcorder (like I suggested) to your TV tuner (capture) card via the I-Link/Firewire cable?

2. Does your tuner/capture card have a known working Firewire connection with working drivers installed?

3. Have you set the camcorder's appropriate menu item to "DV Out"? It must be a model that has the analog-to-digital conversion ("pass through") function. Hopefully you also borrowed the camcorder's manual, to show you how to set it up the way I'm suggesting.

4. Don't know about using virtual vcr, but there's lots of satisfied users (me included) on this forum that have used WinDV (with one of the DV codecs I mentioned before) to transfer video with virtually no problem. It's a simple little program with only 3 or 4 configuration settings to do first (where to save the file to, type of capture (AVI Type 2), max file size before file splitting takes place, and another one I don't recall, but it's all there in the Help guide).

[swingy]

Hi,
Thanks for your detailed note, my responses are marked as >>:

Not sure what you're saying:
"I have downloaded virtual vcr, but it doesn't locate the cam corder connected with the tv tuner card."

1. Are you connecting a borrowed Digital8 camcorder (like I suggested) to your TV tuner (capture) card via the I-Link/Firewire cable?
>> No , I am using panasonic nv-vs50en as couldn't lay my hands on a sony digital 8 camcorder.. none of my freinds have it.
My TV tuner card has an Svideo port apart from the TV Cable port. I am using a wire which has Svideo slots at both ends. One end, I am connecting to my Camcorder (which has SVideo slot apart from yellow & white RCA slot) and the other to the TV capture card's Svideo slot. However, as mentioned earlier, my PC was formatted once earlier and since then, I haven't run the software CD which came along with the TV capture card. I was hoping that Virtual VCR will be able to activate /resolve it by using it's inbuilt drivers.

2. Does your tuner/capture card have a known working Firewire connection with working drivers installed?
>> TV Tuner card doesn't have a firewire connection. It has an SVideo connection and I am not sure if the drivers are installed as for the TV tuner card. I was hoping that virtual vcr would detect and update the drivers for the TV Tuner.
I do have a separate firewire port though. But my camcorder doesn't have a corresponding slot.

3. Have you set the camcorder's appropriate menu item to "DV Out"? It must be a model that has the analog-to-digital conversion ("pass through") function. Hopefully you also borrowed the camcorder's manual, to show you how to set it up the way I'm suggesting.
>> Yes, I have downloaded the camcorder's manual. It details about a "digital still photo slot" which has a pin head jack on one end (something like old walkmans) and computer monitor connectivity port at the other. As per the discription, i need to just connect the two ends to their respective locations for the transfer. Also, there is driver cd menitoned in the manual which I don't have . The manual doesn't provide any more information.
Also point to note is, the moment I connect the camcorder to my TV via white and yellow wires i can get a display on the TV straight away.
4. Don't know about using virtual vcr, but there's lots of satisfied users (me included) on this forum that have used WinDV (with one of the DV codecs I mentioned before) to transfer video with virtually no problem. It's a simple little program with only 3 or 4 configuration settings to do first (where to save the file to, type of capture (AVI Type 2), max file size before file splitting takes place, and another one I don't recall, but it's all there in the Help guide).
>> I will try the WinDV option as well, but I am still searching for a sony digital 8 camcorder. As a matter of hardluck, None of my friends seem to be using sony.

Hope the above would have helped you to assess the situation better. Please do let me know if you need me to use / test other alternatives.

Thank You.

[CSULB71]

Based on your not being able to use a Sony Digital8 camcorder, I won't be able to offer anything else other than some comments:

1. I don't know anything about Virtual VCR, but "hoping" it's drivers will work in your situation is a waste of time -- you need to load the drivers specific to your TV tuner/capture card.

2. No help there.

3. Is that a USB connection you're talking about? If so, I think that will only work for digital still photo transfers (not video). And, connecting your camcorder to the TV via the A/V cables is only showing you that the TV is treating the camcorder just like any other video input device (VCR, DVD player, etc.) -- totally different than trying to transfer the video to your computer.

4. The WinDV program will only work with Digital Video (DV) through a Firewire connection. You can't use it in your situation (trying to use a capture card).

Try searching for "video capture" or "capture card" solutions in the "TOOLS" section (at left)?

Good luck.

[swingy]

3. Is that a USB connection you're talking about? If so, I think that will only work for digital still photo transfers (not video). And, connecting your camcorder to the TV via the A/V cables is only showing you that the TV is treating the camcorder just like any other video input device (VCR, DVD player, etc.) -- totally different than trying to transfer the video to your computer.
>> It is not a USB connection but a multipin jack similar to ones which were used to connect CPU with desktop monitor.

4. The WinDV program will only work with Digital Video (DV) through a Firewire connection. You can't use it in your situation (trying to use a capture card).
>> I am "hoping" that i will get a sony DV camcorder. Just got through someone who even though is not sure whether it is digital 8, but is happy to help. Will let you know.

Appreciate, If you could give out some more details on how one can connect the old camcorder with the other (sony ) and I'll try this out first thing when i am able get the sony camcorder


Good luck.

Thanks !!

[swingy]

Hi
Just a quick update the sony camera that i am getting is the following Sony DCR-DVD7E Camcorder . Not sure will it work.

thanks

[dbanimal]

You may want to try this product:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-SVID2USB2-Video-Capture-Cable/dp/B000O5RIWO

It has right and left audio, composite video and s-video inputs and plugs into the USB port on your PC. It comes with GrabBee capturing software. Worked great for capturing VCR tapes to PC.

[CSULB71]

Hi
Just a quick update the sony camera that i am getting is the following Sony DCR-DVD7E Camcorder . Not sure will it work.

thanks

I don't think that one has the needed inputs or outputs.

You might be better off trying something like the StarTech capture device mentioned above. The main "bad" thing I've heard about those kinds of units that use USB connectivity is they drop frames during capture, and sometimes the audio gets out of sync with the video.

[nomisage]

Glad I came upon this thread. This is my first post =)
I have been reading a lot on this forum for about a week or two and had some thoughts about transferring VHS tapes or Hi8, Video8 tapes to digital format. Maybe it'll help you but I am also running on some issues.

Equipments:
Plextor ConvertX M401U
Sony CCD-TRV608 <-- analog camcorder
Sony DCR-TRV240 <-- digital camcorder
Computer

So lately I've been trying to transfer my memories on tape from analog to digital format. After reading numerous posts, it was inevitable that I either had to buy/use a capture card or a dvd recorder. Fortunately for me, my uncle had the plextor converter (there are many different ones at different price but skeptical about the cheap ones) with winDVD and my father has his TRV608. After installing drivers and software, hooked up the camcorder to the converter and converter to the PC. Opened winDVD and started recording. Works also with VCR, however, there were tape skipping/stuttering and quality recording issues I believe is related to the camcorder.

Then I came upon a post about using specific digital8 camcorders to convert tapes to digital format. After asking several people, I managed to borrow a TRV240 that supports pass-through. This is the part where I am stuck. Considering that I don't have an iLink cable, is there any other way to convert the tapes using winDV to capture the video? I am using the same method that I used for the TRV608. I read the manual, did the USB streaming, LCD display, hooked the mini-USB to my pc's USB but driver wouldn't install. Found the one on the Sony website but still won't work.

Any advice? will order the i-Link cable tomorrow plus a pci port for ieee-1394

[dbanimal]

You might be better off trying something like the StarTech capture device mentioned above. The main "bad" thing I've heard about those kinds of units that use USB connectivity is they drop frames during capture, and sometimes the audio gets out of sync with the video.

This is true with many but I have had none of those issues with this cable and have many hours of footage captured so far.

[CSULB71]

Considering that I don't have an iLink cable, is there any other way to convert the tapes using winDV to capture the video? I am using the same method that I used for the TRV608. I read the manual, did the USB streaming, LCD display, hooked the mini-USB to my pc's USB but driver wouldn't install. Found the one on the Sony website but still won't work.

Any advice? will order the i-Link cable tomorrow plus a pci port for ieee-1394

No, WinDV is used only for transferring ("capturing") Digital Video (DV, hence it's name) through a Firewire/I-Link cable to your computer. It's not a "capture" program for any other capture device/PCI capture card that I know of. WinDV requires a DV codec to be installed, either the Panasonic DV codec or the Cedocida DV codec. I've used WinDV and the Panasonic DV codec to transfer many Hi-8 and Digital8 tapes, and never dropped a frame or had an audio sync issue.

I've made a partial list of Sony Digital8 camcorders that have the "pass-through" function (analog inputs and I-Link/Firewire digital output): DCR-TRV230/330/530, 240/340/
740/840, 730/828/830. The benefit to using one of these is that they can play older 8mm and Hi-8 tapes directly, or you can hook up any other camcorder or VCR that has the yellow composite video or S-Video output, plus red & white audio outputs, to the Sony Digital8 camcorder's analog inputs.

[swingy]

Hi All,

I managed to obtain some basic information . The TV Capture Card is SAA7130 Analog Tv Card. I managed to find it's installation CD which I tried to run on my Vista Ultimate. Though I managed to set it up, but looks like it is not fully compliant with Vista .
I have tried video capture programs like - sony vegas, videostudio. But I kept getting messages like 'your SAA7130 Analog Card device cannot be opened' or 'USBTV MFC Application has stopped working'. Anyway around this please? I tried running the installation CD which came with the tv card, since it is of a time when Windows ME was the last version launched by microsoft, no help for vista there too...

Thanks