Capture analogue to DV Tape realtime - Possible? [Archive]

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chaumurky

17th January 2003, 10:16

I already capture my TV tuner to HD with a software DV codec and then export to tape. I was wondering if it were possible to go one step further and go directly to tape from the tuner in DV format? Kinda like a DV VCR setup? How would such a graph be constructed?

Edit: maybe this should be in the capture forum...

17th January 2003, 11:54

You can directly connect your VCR's output to your camcorder, provided that your camcorder has analogue in. You wouldn't even need to use your PC to get your video on the DV tape.

You are trying something different, if I understand correctly:
- Capture the video through your PC's TV tuner card using a DV codec
- On-the-fly upload through firewire to your camcorder

I must admit that I know neither if such a setup is possible with existing software nor how powerful the hardware has to be for such an approach.

Maybe someone else has a clue?

bb

chaumurky

17th January 2003, 12:05

Yes, you guessed, my camcorder has no analogue input. I figured since my system can encode DV realtime (which it can easily) it could just shunt it out the firewire port without writing to the hard drive at all. I thought it could be a case of connecting the right components in graphedit but it's a little daunting. I should just play around a bit. Just wondering if anyone had tried it.

snw

27th January 2003, 19:42

If your camcorder doesnt have analogue in you can fix this in many cases by patching your camcorder. I don't know what camcorder model you have but I patched a friends sony trv-120e and I know it works for many other models and brands too. You'll need a cable to connect between the camcorders lanc port and the printer port on your pc. And then software for accessing and changing your camcorders firmware. I have found codes and descriptions for many camcorders browsing the net. And then you'll get dv-in as well of course and in some cases more functions as zebra pattern and so on... And when you've done this you can connect your analogue source to the camcorder and the camcorder to the pc trough firewire and the camcorder will convert to dv in realtime and you can either record to tape or directly to hdd. =)
Good luck!

chaumurky

28th January 2003, 10:03

Let me get this straight. So I need:

a) 25pin to 4 pin IEEE 1394 cable (???)
b) firmware update (Panasonic NV-DS 15)
c) software.

And this will allow my tv card to stream to the DV cam real time - have I got it right? Please forgive my skepticism but exactly how is this possible? How does the software work? Any links to this solution??
:confused:

28th January 2003, 10:48

I guess what snw wanted to tell you is that you can activate analogue-in and dv-in by camcorder modification. If your camcorder doesn't have any analogue plug, then this won't help you. The cable described is for modifying the camcorder's firmware (you'll loose warranty, so beware), not for transmitting the video signal.

bb

snw

29th January 2003, 16:11

yes thats what i meant... sorry if i was unclear...

chaumurky

31st January 2003, 01:51

No problem. I thought that might've been the case! There is no analogue in. Anyone else?

Endor

14th February 2003, 08:24

Perhaps the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge can help? I use this to capture from an analog source (VCR) to a DV AVI file on my HD. I can't see any reason why this could go straight to a camcorder via Firewire in, but I've never tried it.

http://www.dazzle.com/products/hw_bridge.html

yg1968

15th February 2003, 00:51

Many people suggests the Canopus ADVC-100. It is supposed to be better than the Holywood DV bridge.

chaumurky

15th February 2003, 01:00

My point was being able to do it with the hardware I already have. I should be able to go from my BT878 card, compress DV realtime with a software codec (this I already do) and send it out my firewire card all in realtime. Buying extra hardware negates my whole point of enquiry but I know you mean well. Thanks anyway.

yg1968

15th February 2003, 17:27

The answer to your question is no. You can't capture and export DV at the same time.

However, I am not sure but I believe that the Canopus ADVC-100 would allow you to export the DV directly to your camcorder.

theReal

16th February 2003, 15:59

@chaumurky,

what software DV codec are you using for capture and how is the result compared to codecs like Picvideo MJPEG@18/19 or HuffYUV?

chaumurky

17th February 2003, 09:35

I use the MainConcept DV codec. For it's compression ratio I prefer the quality it to MJPEG (of the same ratio). I use Huffman YUV if my capture is critical (ie VHS, then process before recompression) You really need a P4 for the DV codec but you may get away with a fast P3 if you're not compressing the audio on the fly too.