VCR with DV port?

[robcg]

does anyone have any experience with this?

im thinking of buying the Pinnacle Studio DV version 7 but it only has a hardware I/O for digital. however, i read that you can connect a vcr with a dv port to it. i have a lot of tapes on vcr that i want to transfer to VCD.

does anyone know anything about this set up?

thanks.

robert

[robcg]

anyone?

[yg1968]

I would be suprised to find a firewire or DV port on a VCR unless it's a digital VCR such as D-VHS (which are very expensive). See the links below.

The other possibility would be to connect your VCR to your miniDV camcorder (if you have one and if it has a video in with a passthrough feature). Sony miniDV camcorders usually have this feature.

Incidentally, some satellite receivers have a firewire connection which can be captured to your computer assuming you have the right software program.


http://www.jvc.com/featured_product.jsp?modelId=MODL026758
http://www.askfor1394.com/consumer_products/consumer_products.html

[robcg]

thanks for your reply.

i'm trying to decide if i should buy a capture card with analog inputs along with the firewire inputs. don't know why i didn't think about using the dv camera to capture from the vhs.

so what you are saying is that from my dv camera i can capture from the vcr and then when i have the data i can then capture/trasfer it back to my computer?

thanks.

robert

[yg1968]

It depends on the camcorder but with a Sony miniDV camcorder, you can connect your VCR to your miniDV camcorder and then connect your miniDV camcorder to your computer through a firewire cable (you have to enable DV out on the camcorder's menu). (For other companies, it depends if the mini DV camcorder has a video in or a passthrough feature). For a SONY, there is no need to tape to a miniDV tape as a first step since it has a passthrough feature. Furthermore, the SONY defeats macrovision protection.

[robcg]

im buying dv camera in the next couple of weeks so i will look to make sure it has a "passthrough" feature.

in the worst case scenerio if it doesn't have one then i can still just capture the vhs to my dv camera and then transfer it to my computer via firewire???

do all Sony's have this passtrough feature? what is macrovsion?

thanks for your help.

robert

[yg1968]

If the miniDV has a "video in" but not passthrough, you can tape to a miniDV tape and then, as a second step, send the movie to the computer.

In my opinion, the Sony TRV 18, 25 or 27 are good choices. Macroviosion is a protection on copyrighted DVDs and VHS tapes (which prevents you from copying them). I believe that all Sony miniDV have a passthrough feature (also called analog to digital conversion feature). Here is a link to the Canadian Sony page (prices are in Canadian $) but the description is more detailed than on the US website. I have also put a link to their U.S. website.

http://www.sonystyle.ca/webapp/commerce/servlet/CategoryDisplay?merchant_rn=1&cgrfnbr=...ent=CAMCORDERS

http://www.sonystyle.com/home/scat.jsp?hierc=9682x9129x9012&scatid=9012

[tlegion]

I use a Dazzle Hollywood-Bridge device. It converts the a/v to DV/Firewire and works well with two exceptions: 1) if the video signal is not steady, the audio will start to sound scratchy and the framing will shift. This is relieved by cycling the Hollywood device once through its capture modes.
2) forward and reverse scanning will not work through the device. You would need either an analog capture device working in parallel or route a second signal from the vcr to a tv/monitor.
The dazzle retails for $300 but street is cheaper.
Canopus makes two equivalent devices and Sony makes at least one.

[robcg]

i'm wondering if the regular DV 8 camcorders have this feature, or is it just the minDV's. I have all my tapes in Digital 8 so that's the type of camera i was thinking of buying.

Maybe i'll go for the minDV and just borrow a camera to transfer my Digital 8 tapes to miniDV.

[robcg]

i have another question. i'm trying to decide which card to buy over at Pinnacle.

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/docloader.asp?templ=10&doclink=/WebVideo/pinnaclestudiodeluxe/English(US)/doc/StudioCompare.htm&product_id=1&Langue_ID=7&menuDow n=dt_70

what is the difference between "Include Capture Hardware I/O," and "Capture Hardware Supported"? i can't decide between the DV Version 7 and the Express DV.

From what I understand the first one only has an onboard input for firewire but can capture dv and analog (via a passthrough feature).

the second one also has a firewire input and but can only capture digital.

is this correct???

basically i want a card that can capture analog and digital but i don't to spend the extra money to but a card with the analog inputs.

thanks.

robert

[yg1968]

Some (but not all) Sony Digital 8 camcorders do. You'll have to check on their website. The US website indicates that the TRV 240,340, 740 and 840 have a pass through feature. The TRV 140 does NOT have it.

As far as software I would wait for studio version 8 that is coming out on august 8th. Digital includes the passthrough feature since the passthrough converts the analog signal to digital.

I had problems using Studio version 7 as it did not support my camcorder. Hopefully that will be fixed in version 8. Software is kind of secondary as you can use other software or even freewares such as DVIO or amcap to capture DV.

[pacoreguenga]

If you are deciding on a Pinnacle product, your choice is clear:
Go for the Studio Deluxe. It includes both analog and DV capture and is not expensive, besides having good overall quality.
I've owned several Pinnacle products including analog and digital and I'm sure you won't regret buying one.

[yg1968]

The deluxe version will also be updated next week. So I would wait a week to get the newer version (which is supposed to be much improved).

[robcg]

cool, just checked their web site and saw the info.

i think i'll get the DV Studio Version 8. Good timing!

robert