miniDV Tape readers - do they exist?

[The Belgain]

A friend has one of the first generation of DV cameras (one of those small JVC ones) which uses miniDV tape, but does not have a digital output from the camera (I think it probably predated Firewire).

Is there any way to copy the digital data from the miniDV tapes that have already been recorded, onto the computer? Basically a device which can read the tapes and plug into the Firewire/USB2 port on the computer? If so, are these expensive?

At the moment the only option is to capture the video using an analogue capture card (which produces not so good quality).

Thanks for your help - am a complete newbie to DV.

[bb]

Simply use a DV camcorder with firewire output.

bb

[The Belgain]

Yes, I realise that's a possibility, however I don't have a camcorder with DV output, and it would be rather expensive to buy one just to be able to read the tapes.

I was wondering if there was a cheaper solution? If not I guess I should see if I can find someone with a DV camcorder I can borrow...

[smok3]

Basically a device which can read the tapes and plug into the Firewire/USB2 port on the computer?
i have seen such a unit on a very old Fast (tm) editing pc station (actually it was internal version - built in like cd-rom i mean, lol), no idea if it was pci, usb or firewire or something else though, and no idea where to purchase one...

[FredThompson]

These are available but typically cost more than a camcorder. The market for consumer miniDV decks is miniscule.

[The Belgain]

Yeah, I thought that might be the case. As far as I can tell, there were very few DV cameras that didn't come with some form of digital out, and so not very many people need this kind of thing.

Oh well...I guess borriwing someone's camera is the way to go then.

[FredThompson]

The cheap ones run about $250USD for NTSC. You need PAL, though, so gotta pay a lot more and deal with crippled firewire. Yuck.

[Ollie W. Holmes]

Originally posted by FredThompson
The cheap ones run about $250USD for NTSC. You need PAL, though, so gotta pay a lot more and deal with crippled firewire. Yuck.

$250 sounds too low. Which manufacturer makes such a unit? The Sony's appear to be over two grand. (Put the word broadcast into the description of any a/v gear, and the price goes through the roof). Probably the best thing is to buy the cheapest brand-name mini-dv cam with 1394, and just use it for tape dubbing.

[FredThompson]

Uh, yeah, that's what I said. The post before mine talked about borrowing a camcorder. My reply was cheap ones are about $250USD.

[Foambullet]

The cheapest MiniDV deck I've ever found was a $650 combo MiniDV/S-VHS deck. Pretty good deal for what it is, but most people don't need one.

[theReal]

At my workplace we're using Sony DHR-1000VC as "cheap" firewire players/recorders (compared to professional DVCAM decks they're still very cheap).
Won't help you much, I guess, because they're still about 4000 Euro... ;)

*Edit* just talked to a colleague about the issue and she told me she'd recommend a Sony DSR-11. It's a professional mobile DV/DVCAM tape recorder with FireWire in and out and you'll get it for about 1500-2000 USD.
Even if you are going to buy a new camcorder in the future, you'll still be happy with it because you won't have to waste your camcorder's heads for editing.