Clear some confusion please

[lilhobo]

1. i have a DV camera and i would like to import to Computer with the best quality.

2. would the DV codec affect the transfer??? as from the comparison thread.

3. Can i do a direct conversion to a lossless codec like HUFFYUV. or do i save as DV avi first, if so which codec.

4. is there a utility to enable me to see whcih codec is on the system and whihc one is being used by which program?

[bb]

1. Ok, fine :)

2. No. The transfer is merely a copying process, or you may call it streaming as well.

3. The video is stored as DV on the camcorder's tape already, thus it doesn't make much sense to convert it to a lossless format. A lossless codec is a tiny little bit better if you need to edit the video across multiple generations. But DV is pretty stable across generations, too. Most NLEs feature so-called "smart rendering", i.e. only edited parts are reencoded. This way degradation typically happens to smaller parts of the video only.

4. VfW programs will use a VfW codec, whereas others use DirectShow filters (typically the one from Microsoft). Which codec is currently used can be examined by programs like GSpot or MediaInfo. Certain NLEs may use a different ("hard wirerd") codec, though.

bb

[lilhobo]

so how do i do a 1:1 transfer??? which software??

ie. what ever the codec is on the camera is on the file rather than reencoding to system codec??

[bb]

You can do a 1:1 transfer via firewire using your favourite NLE's capture function, or software like Scenalyzer ($$$) or WinDV / DVIO (free).

DV is a well-defined format; any DV codec can decode the DV video no matter which DV codec was used on the encoding side. There is no reencoding involved when capturing the video from the camcorder to the PC (which has been posted in this forum many times, by the way). There are minor issues, though, regarding picture sharpness, correctness of colour space handling, etc.

bb

[henryho_hk]

The DV data transfer to PC is just a digital data copy (really big volume... remember to set aside plenty of disk space). Selecting the right target format (type-1 or type-2 AVI) and using the right codec are the tricky points. It all depends what you want to do _after_ you transfer the DV data from your DV tape to your harddisk. Would it become a web clip, a DVD or other format? Or do you simply want a backup? (BTW, it was believed that a new DV tape is more reliable than a DVD+/-R for backup)

[davidhorman]

Windows Movie Maker, WinDV (simpler), or DVIO (incredibly simple but crashes for me) will all directly capture DV over Firewire.

David

[lilhobo]

The DV data transfer to PC is just a digital data copy (really big volume... remember to set aside plenty of disk space). Selecting the right target format (type-1 or type-2 AVI) and using the right codec are the tricky points. It all depends what you want to do _after_ you transfer the DV data from your DV tape to your harddisk. Would it become a web clip, a DVD or other format? Or do you simply want a backup? (BTW, it was believed that a new DV tape is more reliable than a DVD+/-R for backup)


yes i wanna to back it up....if its a data transfer why would it matter where you store it?? be it C/DVD-/+R, HDD zips etc???

data is still zeros and ones....so unless you reencode it , it should be as was on the DV tape

[henryho_hk]

If you want to back it up, and for a reasonable period of time, you should make sure:
1) the media itself is reliable
2) the storage condition is appropriate
3) when you want to retrieve it, you have the necessary equipment for reading it.