MiniDV to computer - Please help

[jkimrey]

Hi.

I would really appreciate feedback from those more knowledgeable than me on my attempts to convert my miniDV records to digital format.

I have tried multiple miniDV camcorders along with 2 different firewire cards on two different computers but never could get the computers to recognize the camcorders.

I tried using win10 as well as installing older OS such as win7 and Vista. I also tried different firewire cables but never could get the computers to recognize the camcorders.

I finally purchased an old iMac (around 2007 I think) and it did recognize the camcorders but I would prefer to use a windows desktop as it is easier to transfer to my network storage and the iMac cannot handle files above a certain size.

Are there any mini dv camcorders out there that have better support for win10 (drivers)?

If not I can continue to use the iMac. However my bigger issue is the following:

On some of the tapes, there is a constant distortion of the audio and sometimes the video will not play correctly. This has me concerned that on one of the camcorders I was using for playback there was a problem (perhaps dirty heads) and the tape was ruined (or at least degraded). When I try playing these tapes back on other camcorders the audio/video problems still exist but, again, I'm concerned that the initial playback caused the problem. (I have no way of knowing whether these defects were on the recordings when they were initially created years ago).

How likely is it that playback on a camcorder (with dirty heads or some other issue) could damage the tape being played?

These are recordings that have never been backed up before (trying to do that now) so I'm trying my best to make sure that the tapes are preserved until I can get them dubbed to my computer.

Any suggestions/input would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[johnmeyer]

The good news is that transferring DV from tape to the computer is nothing more than a copy operation; there is no re-encoding of either the audio or video. So, it doesn't matter what computer you use, you'll get exactly, precisely, bit-for-bit, what is on the tape. The bad news is that, if there is audio distortion, that is how it was recorded on the tape (although perhaps there is some re-encoding setting on your iMac which, if there is, should be turned off).

I'd just transfer them with iMac and not worry about the 4GB size limitation. I agree that it is a minor pain to deal with three files instead of one for each hour of video (DV is 13 GB/hour), but the transition between files is seemless and you'll never notice it on your editing line.

I do all my DV transfers on an old XP machine because the drivers all work. Win7 should also work, but Win10 is likely to be a problem, because Microsoft apparently didn't include the drivers and you have to figure out how to install them and then get all the permissions to work.

So, just transfer with your iMac, network them over to your PC, and proceed.

[jkimrey]

The good news is that transferring DV from tape to the computer is nothing more than a copy operation; there is no re-encoding of either the audio or video. So, it doesn't matter what computer you use, you'll get exactly, precisely, bit-for-bit, what is on the tape. The bad news is that, if there is audio distortion, that is how it was recorded on the tape (although perhaps there is some re-encoding setting on your iMac which, if there is, should be turned off).

I'd just transfer them with iMac and not worry about the 4GB size limitation. I agree that it is a minor pain to deal with three files instead of one for each hour of video (DV is 13 GB/hour), but the transition between files is seemless and you'll never notice it on your editing line.

I do all my DV transfers on an old XP machine because the drivers all work. Win7 should also work, but Win10 is likely to be a problem, because Microsoft apparently didn't include the drivers and you have to figure out how to install them and then get all the permissions to work.

So, just transfer with your iMac, network them over to your PC, and proceed.

OKay, thanks for the feedback. So you don't feel that the audio and video distortion on some of the tapes could be from playing them back years later on the camcorder and instead were more than likely that way from when they were originally recorded?

Thanks again.

[johnmeyer]

OKay, thanks for the feedback. So you don't feel that the audio and video distortion on some of the tapes could be from playing them back years later on the camcorder and instead were more than likely that way from when they were originally recorded?

Definitely not. Once in digital format, they don't degrade until and unless the tape deteriorates to the point that the bits can no longer be read and/or reconstructed (all digital media includes extra bits to let the software reconstruct the original material, as long as not too many bits have been compromised). When digital media finally becomes unreadable, you either get nothing, or you get massive artifacts that are not simply a little distortion on the audio.

[JVRaines]

On some of the tapes, there is a constant distortion of the audio and sometimes the video will not play correctly. This has me concerned that on one of the camcorders I was using for playback there was a problem (perhaps dirty heads) and the tape was ruined (or at least degraded). When I try playing these tapes back on other camcorders the audio/video problems still exist but, again, I'm concerned that the initial playback caused the problem. (I have no way of knowing whether these defects were on the recordings when they were initially created years ago).

Eject the cassette at a point with worst distortion. Then open the door and look at the tape. Is it creased, wrinkled, torn, etc? Does it look like the coating is flaking off? If not, then you probably have a tension problem. A large difference between recording and playback tension can cause problems, as can shrinkage of the tape over time. Small-format digital tapes (like MiniDV and DAT) are known to have less-than-great interchange between machines.