Got a question with RCA CKC021

[jbro]

So I recently acquired an RCA CKC-021, it is meant to record to a VCR unit but I'm wondering about doing something like using an A/V converter to HDMI to a capture device. What kind of results could I expect from this? Would I be able to record at 16:9?

[usually_quiet]

This seems like a prank thread, but here goes nothing...

Would I be able to record at 16:9?

No, not in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen unless there was an anamorphic lens made for the camera, which is highly unlikely because this camera dates from 1984, when TVs were strictly 4:3.

[jbro]

Sounds like a prank response

[LMotlow]

The response was that your camera was made for recording to 1980's VCRs, none of which recorded a 16:9 image. Since the camera doesn't output a 16:9 image, you can't record a 16:9 image. Are you mentally challenged, or just a typical newbie freak with no concept of simple video basics?

Hook the camera to a TV and see if you get a 16:9 picture from it.

As for composite to HDMI adapters, you're wasting your time. Makes absolutely zero improvement and usually looks worse. There must be hundreds of threads over the years covering this issue.

[jbro]

Wow sorry for asking a question I'll see myself out

[jbro]

Video"Help" my left ass cheek

[LMotlow]

Wow sorry for asking a question

No problem with the question. The problem was your rude response to a reasonable answer.

I'll see myself out

You are too kind.

[usually_quiet]

Sounds like a prank response

It was a real reply. Look up "anamorphic widescreen". The only way to squeeze a 16:9 picture into a 4:3 frame (like VHS uses) is to use "anamorphic widescreen" (like DVD does) and then use a picture setting on the 16:9 TV to stretch the picture to fill the screen.

Obviously I was wrong about this being a prank. Clearly you have no sense of humor.

[jimdagys]

I think VideoHelp should require a week to pass after registration before allowing posting. Reasons:
1) greatly reduce spam
2) reduce number of people that just register, ask a question and then never return to see the posted answers
3) I think it will cause people to more carefully consider and explain their question, giving necessary information

[solarfox]

Assuming that the OP is being serious:

jbro, you wouldn't even be able to connect that camera to any kind of A/V converter or capture device in the first place, without some significant effort. That camera was specifically designed to be connected to a "portable" VTR (such as the RCA VKP-900), and it depends on the VCR to feed it +12V power through that single 10-pin connector at the end of the camera's cable. It can't be connected directly to a modern piece of hardware, such as a composite-to-HDMI converter or a video-capture device, not just because of the different connector, but because no devices of that type are capable of feeding 12V @ 1 amp to the camera to make it work in the first place.

Now, some cameras of that type did come with a "docking station" that would let you hook it up directly to your TV; they basically did the same thing as described above, supplying 12V power to the camera through the 10-pin connector, and bringing the audio/video out to standard RCA connectors that would plug in to the TV. If you're lucky enough to have gotten one of those along with the camera, then you're good; otherwise, you'll have to cobble together something which will do the same job -- which is certainly possible to do, but it's not trivial unless you've got a good knowledge of electronics and know what you're doing.

That being said, if you do have the dock (or did manage to cobble an adapter and suitable power supply together) to get it working: No, you will not be able to get 16:9 video out of it. That camera is far too old for that; it dates back to the mid-1980s, and there wasn't any such thing as "widescreen" 16:9 TV back then. All television (at least at the public-broadcast level) was 4:3 only, so video cameras and VTRs sold for consumer use were made for 4:3 operation as well; widescreen 16:9 didn't start coming into use until the mid-to-late 1990s.