Advice on item I am considering purchasing

[Old8mmArchiver]

Hi all,

FRom previous posts you know I have an old Canon 8mm (video8) camcoder that will play.

I also have a PAnasonic NV-GS17 miniDV camcorder that will play.

Having been given a amazon voucher for about £40 I was looking at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0049BE3TA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2...=I1QDE53L3WD1K

as a purchase to transfer my old 8mm tapes to avi/mpeg/DVD. What do you guys think?

Now the item says it can do miniDV tapes as well. I fail to see that.

My Panasonic NV-GS17 has the following outputs.

• USB terminal (tried this once couldn't capture a thing)
• DV terminal (The lead goes to a firewire plug but no firewire socket on my laptop)
• S-Video output terminal.
• Audio-video output terminal.

How on earth would I connect the DV Camcorder to the product ?
Can anyone recommend a cable/connector please?

[johnmeyer]

If you have a DV camcorder, the correct way to transfer those tapes is to use the 1394/Firewire connector that is built into every DV camcorder and connect that to your computer. Unlike the sketchy A/D converter you are considering purchasing, when you transfer DV tapes using Firewire, the digital bits from the video are simply copied to the computer meaning that you get exactly the original video, with no degradation. By contrast, if you were to use the analog output ports from the DV camcorder, the video will first be converted to analog, and then it will be converted back to digital by your transfer device. The quality will take a double hit.

Don't do that.

For your analog tapes, the best way is to get a Digital8 camcorder on eBay and play your tapes on that. It will take care of converting the analog 8mm (or Hi8) to digital, and like the DV camcorder, the video will be transferred to your computer via a Firewire cable.

You can easily add Firewire to any desktop computer by getting a $10 1394/Firewire card. For a laptop, get an Express Card 1394 adapter.

[usually_quiet]

Desktop card: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syba-SD-PEX30009-1394B-Firewire-1394A/dp/B002S53IG8/
This model is supposed to have a TI chip set, which should provide superior compatibility when compared to some other chip sets.

Laptops with ExpressCard slots haven't been common for several years. If you are lucky enough to have a laptop with this feature, I'll recommend a card.

Whatever you do, stay away from Firewire to USB adapters. They are a waste of money.

[Old8mmArchiver]

Thank you both for answers.

I have a laptop with no firewire card/port on it and no express port. All it has are 3x USB and 1x HDMI.

[usually_quiet]

If you have many tapes to convert, you might consider buying an older, used desktop PC for this project.

A PC would provide you with more choices, but if a DVD is acceptable, and you already own a DVD recorder, some accept input from a DV camera from FireWire and can dub to their HDD or direct to DVD.

[godai]

If you have many tapes to convert, you might consider buying an older, used desktop PC for this project.

A PC would provide you with more choices, but if a DVD is acceptable, and you already own a DVD recorder, some accept input from a DV camera from FireWire and can dub to their HDD or direct to DVD.

why always everybody advice about old pc? i only see useful for old ati stuff or its there other options? its not ok new pcs or old ones have other kind of options?

[usually_quiet]

If you have many tapes to convert, you might consider buying an older, used desktop PC for this project.

A PC would provide you with more choices, but if a DVD is acceptable, and you already own a DVD recorder, some accept input from a DV camera from FireWire and can dub to their HDD or direct to DVD.

why always everybody advice about old pc? i only see useful for old ati stuff or its there other options? its not ok new pcs or old ones have other kind of options?

You don't understand that many people who use laptops don't want to use a desktop PC anymore and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars more on a new desktop PC for which they will have no further use after completing their project?

[godai]

ok, i never use laptops, always pc.

sounds like eveybody use laptops then.

[dellsam34]

Whatever you do, stay away from Firewire to USB adapters. They are a waste of money.

There is no such Firewire to USB without a chip, Those adapters you see on ebay are either fake or meant to be used as proprietary connectors for very special custom applications, The only manufacturer as far as I know that made true data routers from DV to USB is Pinnacle, I own the 500-USB that I used to connect my HDV deck to my laptop and able to capture HDV footage and control all the deck functions from the laptop using the HDV application, All done from USB via firewire.

The 500-USB also is a good analog video capture device, I've done a lot of S-Video lossless captures with it using my JVC S-VHS TBC VCR, Here is what it can do.

[lingyi]

You can get a complete used I3 PC and firewire card for less $100 for the combo online or just buy a firewire card and search for a cheap or free PC locally.

[pandy]

Whatever you do, stay away from Firewire to USB adapters. They are a waste of money.

There is no such Firewire to USB without a chip, Those adapters you see on ebay are either fake or meant to be used as proprietary connectors for very special custom applications, The only manufacturer as far as I know that made true data routers from DV to USB is Pinnacle, I own the 500-USB that I used to connect my HDV deck to my laptop and able to capture HDV footage and control all the deck functions from the laptop using the HDV application, All done from USB via firewire.

The 500-USB also is a good analog video capture device, I've done a lot of S-Video lossless captures with it using my JVC S-VHS TBC VCR, Here is what it can do.

I can tell you only one thing - Pinnacle must use Firewire<>USB translator Integrated Circuit and if Pinnacle can use such IC then any other cheap vendor can use it too - of course there is always problem with drivers but accordingly to my experience frequently original chip vendor driver is better than customized driver provided by companies like Pinnacle .

[lingyi]

Hi all,

FRom previous posts you know I have an old Canon 8mm (video8) camcoder that will play.

I also have a PAnasonic NV-GS17 miniDV camcorder that will play.

Having been given a amazon voucher for about £40 I was looking at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0049BE3TA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2...=I1QDE53L3WD1K

as a purchase to transfer my old 8mm tapes to avi/mpeg/DVD. What do you guys think?

Now the item says it can do miniDV tapes as well. I fail to see that.

My Panasonic NV-GS17 has the following outputs.

• USB terminal (tried this once couldn't capture a thing)
• DV terminal (The lead goes to a firewire plug but no firewire socket on my laptop)
• S-Video output terminal.
• Audio-video output terminal.

How on earth would I connect the DV Camcorder to the product ?
Can anyone recommend a cable/connector please?

Checked your link and the device is yet another EasyCap clone* which ranges from mediocre to outright ripoff. From the reviews, it seems this one is at best mediocre.

*Confirmed by this pic that emphasizes they use an 8113 chip https://www.videohelp.com/search?siteurl=forum.videohelp.com&q=8113 and the case style:

[Attachment 47584 - Click to enlarge]

Another confirmation is that it only provides composite inputs [my emphasis]:

Video-2-PC Kit. Suitable for use by beginners & experts. Capture video from almost any camcorder or VCR: VHS-C, Video8, Hi8, Digital8 and Mini DV camcorders via RCA phono outputs (typically yellow, red & white OR yellow & black) & VHS, Betamax or S-VHS VCR recorders via RCA phono ouputs. Can also capture from newer set-top boxes with a RCA phono outputs.

Please stay away from this. Others will be able to provide much better alternatives for your need.