Clym -

I've used the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge with varying degrees of (very little) success. For the $300 it set me back, I would have expected that it would work a whole lot better than it does.

Since I bought the thing, I found a different box, the Canopus ADVC-1000 (or is it -100? i forget) which got pretty good press. I couldn't bring myself to pop for another $300... I'm crazy but not totally stupid, OK?

With my inability to get the Dazzle HW DV Bridge working RELIABLY, I bought a different solution that is strictly for ANALOG cameras. Pinnacle Systems makes a product called Studio 7 AV. Comes with a PCI card you jack into the backplane of your desktop. I am able to now get video from my Sony TRV615 (or similar) into the computer RELIABLY. I use Studio 7's capture function to load the tape and their editing tools to break the tape file into smaller chunks which I render using the _DV Video Encoder_. These clips can be loaded into VideoFactory2.

Some of Studio 7's functions would be "fun" to use for quickie things because it seems tailored for the beginner. Unfortunately, it makes working with vidoe from several different tapes sort of difficult.

For the money, it makes getting analog video data into the computer pretty easy and very reliable.

dennis

Clym:

I have just been in touch with Matrox (a reputable maker of video cards, etc), and they list the following cards/boards as having RCA + SS-Video INs and OUTs:

"The TV-Output capabilities of our Millennium G450, Millennium G550, Marvel
G450 eTV, and Parhelia boards enable you to output video footage full-screen
to a TV. You can output .AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, or other video formats to the
TV, using Microsoft Media Player or other video playback applucations. You
will simply enable DualHead TV-Output through our DualHead display
properties, and you will be able to output the video footage to a 2nd
display or record it on a VCR."

In other words, if you can output to the analog (RCA) jacks on a TV or VCR, you could also send your signal back to your camera or other device. In my case, I quickly became dissatisfied with MPEG rendering to VCD, and wanted to output my movies to a better format for final editing.

I haven't purchased one of their cards yet -- I'm currently checking prices in my area.

I believe the G450-eTV retails for $229 US/$349 Cdn; of course, discounters usually sell for less.

As for compatibility between card and software (ie. VF), I don't see a problem. As far as I know, it's WINDOWS that decides whether or not you can use a new device. I recently purged ME from my new PC and went over to 98SE, with improved results from external hardware and plug 'n' play installation.

Hope this helps.


sjh


PS Check out matrox.com for more info on these cards. Reviews on these products are most favourable, and have been for the past five years or so.

Clym: in my opinion, you'll be much farther ahead spending a few more dollars and picking up the Canopus ADVC-100.
It's vastly superior to almost any video card based solution, has many more features, and is simply rock-steady converting in and out. It will also allow you to use an external (TV) monitor for previewing. Browse here to get a special Canopus/SonicFoundry deal ... http://www.canopuscorp.com/sonicfoundry.htm

Note: you will need a firewire (1394) port in your computer to use this converter, but they can be picked up in the $25 range if you don't already have one.

Chienworks:

Info overload, dude! Now you're sending me back to the drawing board. I've been researching this stuff for months and I've never heard of this Canopus outfit.

Do you own and use the ADVC-100?

So many products, so many options, so many sales pitches.

I'm going for a brew. Good luck to you all ... and good night.

sjh

I don't have the Canopus unit, but i have a very similar one from Sony (sadly now discontinued). They are almost identical in what they do though. All i can say is, it's amazing. I played with several different analog video input/output cards from both ATI and Matrox, and the results were always disappointing at best. The signal from the external converter boxes is as crystal clear as watching a commercial DVD. The other benefit is that the audio & video are always perfectly sync'ed to each other, which seldom happens with the video input/output cards.

I purchased a canupus adv100 for work for use with a Mac. My boss was really pleased. (I also use it at home :) I'm really pleased too!!)

There are a few dip switches for ntsc/pal selection etc, but basically you plug computer in one end & video recorder (or camera) in the other & off you go.

It really is that simple (otherwise my boss couldn't use it !!)

I give it 5 stars

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