Capturing from Sony Digital8 Camcorder via i.LINK: DNR and software

[ballsoup]

I am going to capture some old tapes from a Sony DCR-TRV530 camcorder, using i.LINK. The camcorder has the option to turn on the built-in TBC and also DNR. I assume the TBC should be turned on (I don't have an external one), but what about the DNR?

Is it better to allow the cam to do DNR or should I turn it off and do it myself, with AviSynth?

Also, I hear that using Edit mode turns off the built-in sharpening. Does this apply to Sony's old Digital8 camcorders too?

Lastly, I am using Sony's PlayMemories application for Windows to do the capture. Any better software to use or is this acceptable?

[Brainiac]

WinDV and Scenalyzer are two free alternatives to use for capturing. Neither is being further developed. I don't know what OS you are running, but I am on Windows 7 Professional and I have no issues running either program.

As far as the DNR, I suggest capturing a portion of one of your tapes (the same portion) - once with DNR on and once with DNR off and compare the two after using AviSynth on the clip with DNR off. And I would leave the TBC turned on.

Brainiac

[smrpix]

If these are D8 tapes, the TBC shouldn't make any difference. If they are Hi8 or just video 8, you may want to make a trial for those as well. If it helps it should be fairly obvious.

[Brad]

I hear that using Edit mode turns off the built-in sharpening. Does this apply to Sony's old Digital8 camcorders too?

I don't think they made Digital8 cams with an EDIT feature. On the Hi8 cam I have, EDIT does not disable sharpening, which is always-on for Hi8 & Video8 playback (particularly egregious for Video8). It just disables chroma DNR, something that the DNR switch doesn't do.

[ballsoup]

Thank you for all the great replies. I have one more, slightly unrelated question: I also tried to use the camera as a TBC passthrough, between my VCR and computer. The TBC does make a difference, in that the waviness goes away. However, the resulting colours appear to be extremely unsaturated compared to the original VCR's output I captured using a USB capture device.

Why would this be the case? Could it be the fault of the DV codec's compression?

[JVRaines]

How is the VCR connected to the camcorder?

[ballsoup]

The VCR is connected using an RCA cable. The other end of the cable is some sort of 3.5 mm plug that goes into the camera. The camera is connected to a PC via i.LINK.

EDIT: I should also note that the video quality on the camera's screen is normal. Colours are good and the video is not too dark. I am not using this as a baseline to compare with (due to display setting differences), but still an interesting observation.