Hardware for Capturing Video

[rhsiao]

I have an analog video camcorder, with which I have shot lots of video footage on Hi-8 tapes. I want to start editing the video and need a hardware to capture/digitize the footages first.

A trip to Circuit City revealed that Dazzle has several models for this purpose. There is also a device by Belkin @ $99, which seems pretty straightforward.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience in this area and can give me some more info and recommendations. Thanks.

Robert

[Jim]

Just before I retired my faithful old analog camcorder and went digital I bought a DAZZLE DVC-80 to capture its output---it worked great. ( But you just can't beat the digital/fire-wire combo though, the quality is so much better.) Jim.

[rhsiao]

Thanks Jim...

I'm in exactly the same situation... I'll get a digital camcorder soon, but I still got lots of analog footage to go through.

This will be my first foray into video editing. Can you comment on my equipment a bit to see whether I'm prepared for the project??

I have:

Pentium 3 processor

256 MB RAM

600 HMz

10 GigaByte left on Harddrive

USB connection port for CD Writer and video capturing device

[Danabw]

If you're going to get a digital camcorder soon, the best thing might be to run the video from the first camcorder into the new one, and then on from the new one via firewire into the PC for capture. That way you don't have to invest in a capture solution that is only for temporary use. Not all camcorders can do direct output of the input signal, so you'd have to check.

I did something slightly different - I copied all my analog tapes (and I had a LOT of analog tapes!) to miniDV tapes. Used the RCA cable that came w/my digital camcorder to connect the two camcorders (analog and digital) and hit play on the analog and record on the digital. Reasons:

1. My analog tapes were getting old. You can expect between 10 and 20 years, depending on tape quality, storage, amount of use, etc. Keeping only the original analog guaranteed that I would be losing content about now on some of my tapes.

2. Getting everything on digital allowed me to get rid of my old camcorder and focus on one format/tape size, etc.

3. All my capture could then be done via firewire and my digital camcorder, no need for analog capture hardware that I wouldn't want/need in the future.

Blue-light laser DVD writers are coming, allowing 27 gigs per disk. Hard drives get bigger and cheaper all the time. Sometime in the near future I'll start coping all of my digital tapes to another digital media for storage, and so on. Wish it was all on 8mm film - my grandfather's movies of my mom from 1933 still play perfectly on our old projector... :-)

If you want to go to a system that will support both analog and digital capture, Pinnacle Systems has a breakout box combined w/their sofware that provides both analog and digital capture, I believe. See www.pinnaclesys.com and look at their Studio line - I think the product is Studio Deluxe.

Studio (their software for home use) has a fantastic interface and can output to tape, MPEG, Real Video, AVI, VCD, SVCD, and DVD formats. I've recently completed a DVD of my sister's wedding - 59 minutes in six chapters w/backing music from MP3's, CD's, and Pinnacle's tool that generates music on the fly. Included stills and titles as well. Very cool. HOwever, to do DVDs you need a fast computer unless you're very patient - on my P4 2.4 it takes 3 hours to render a 1 hour movie, another hour to compile the files to DVD format. Rendering is solely processor-dependent, so the slower the CPU the longer you wait. :-)

Have fun!

Dana

[Danabw]

Oh, forgot. digitized video is 12 gigabytes per hour on a hard drive. If you want to work on any quantity of video you're gonna need more disk space... :-)

Dana

P.S. Studio has an analog-only product (Studio AV) that is $129 on their web site, likely available from retailers for less than $100.

[slau]

Dana has already given very good advise on digitizing old video footage. Let me add that DV is so much easier to work with compared to the analogy version. One thing you should consider if you decide to go DV route: make sure your computer OS is either XP or W2K, so that you can take full advantage of the NTFS format (without having the 2 or 4 GB limit in file size). Actually high quality editing in DV format is a lot less demanding on your computer than the analogy format. Some people who has lots of 8mm or H8 tape invest in one of those Sony D8 camcorders that has the 'pass-through' (convert directly from H8 to DV using the D8 camcorder as a converter) feature. The D8 may be the best if you have lots of 8 or H8 footage, and would like to venture in DV world. You end up with a back-up camcorder that is capable to paly old tapes but is also capable to record in digital format. BTW, the 1394 card is cheap and usually includes some decent editing software. I like the Pyro package myself but others will do well too. Have fun.

[rhsiao]

Thanks Dana and slau.

Is there any difference in quality between using a dazzle and using another digital camcorder?

Also, will ANY digital camcorder work??

Thanks.

[Danabw]

Is there any difference in quality between using a dazzle and using another digital camcorder?

Not sure what you mean here...dazzle is a capture device (gets video from your recorder to your hard drive) and a digital camcorder captures video to tape of one type or another. If you mean will capturing analog video (8mm or Hi8 tapes) via dazzle be as good as video from a digital video camcorder, the answer is no. Digital Video (DV) will be sharper and clearer than analog, ceterus parabus.

The other cool thing about digital video is that the date/time info is encoded right into the digital info on the tape (rather than optically recorded as w/analog camcorders) so when you capture your video it can be automatically be broken down into scenes by the video software - that makes for much easier reviewing and editing of your content. You can break video captures up by analyzing scene content and other methods, but using the date/time method is simpler and usually provides the most usable results for editing.

Will ANY digital camcorder work??

Again, not clear what you're asking. If you mean are all digital camcorders the same, yes and no. :-) You'll get similar quality from DV (digital video) camcorders. There are two DV formats in the consumer market now - Digital8 and miniDV. Digital8 was pioneered by Sony. Digital8 reworks the Hi8 format to allow recording digital video on Hi8 tapes. So these units are about the same size as current Hi8 camcorders, and can play both tapes. Digital8 started out as a Sony-only format, though a few other vendors picked it up as well.

MiniDV units are the next format, and is not tied to a particular vendor. Tapes are about half the size of Hi8 tapes, camcorders range from 2/3 the size of Hi8 camcorders to 1/3 the size - quite small in some cases. That's what I have, and I really like the smaller size of tapes and the camcorder - makes it easier to make sure that I actually have the camcorder w/me when I'm out and about. I can fit my Sony miniDV camcorder and my Oly 2020z camera in a small belt pack, along w/an extra miniDV tape, extra batteries and smartmedia cards for the Oly, etc.

Another new digital format (though not a DV format) is MicroMV (aka MMV). This is from Sony as well (about 8 months young), and records to even smaller tapes in MPEG2 format in real time. I haven't really researched this format much, as I'm not in the market for a camcorder. Benefits are that these units are smaller still. One con would be that the video from these units is compressed at time of capture to MPEG2 (12 megabits/sec vs 25 megabits/sec for Digital8 and miniDV). A review I read here (http://www.dansdata.com/dcrip7.htm) said:

Mini DV cameras have better video quality than Micro MV, they're cheaper, they've [miniDV] all got i.LINK ports, and their i.LINK ports actually work with normal DV gear.

So I would choose between Digital8 and MiniDV. More specifically, since you're going to have to move away from your 8mm tapes anyway in the future (they are going to age and die) I would go to miniDV if I were you. You can find good miniDV camcorders for as low as $500 or so at Costco/PriceClub type stores, they are smaller and more convenient, the tapes are smaller and easier to store/transport, and you get standard DV output. On the con side, miniDV tapes are a bit more expensive than the 8mm tapes you can use in Digital8 units, but prices have fallen steadily as the format has become widely popular.

Digital video (either miniDV or Digital8) will be higher quality than your old analog stuff, so you'll get that benefit no matter which DV format you choose.

A site with a lot of info on this area is http://www.videoguys.com/, check out their "getting started" page at http://www.videoguys.com/started.html. They are marketing products, so their advice is centered on selling stuff, but the overall DV info there is accurate and relatively clear.

If you have more specific questions, fire away.

Dana

[rhsiao]

Whew, lots of info to digest... The videoguys.com site is great, Dana, but it's gonna take me another 2 weeks to figure everything out....

In the mean time, plz let me ask this other question. If I get a Digital camcorder, will I be able to hook the input end to my TV to record TV programs, and then hook up output end to my computer to download and do further processing/CD burning?

Robert

[Danabw]

Robert:

Yes. I use the output from my VCR - hook that into the analog input on my Sony digital camcorder using the analog RCA cable that came the Sony. Just make sure that the digital camcorder you purchase includes analog in capability. I think most have that capability, but check to be sure.

ONce you've recorded the content you would use the firewire connection to download your digital video to the computer for editing, etc.

One cool feature w/the Sony (don't know if other manufacturers have a similar capability): Sony sells an infared receiver unit that you can hook up to your VCR or TV video inputs. Then you can press a button on your Sony camcorder to put it into "remote" mode (don't remember the exact name of the selection) and send your video across the room from the camcorder to the infared receiver and onto your TV (or videotape). Makes it a snap to watch videos - sit the camera down across the room from the receiver and you're watching video.

Dana