HARDWARE for VV

jseldon wrote on 1/1/2003, 10:23 PM

I am going to purchase an audio/video/Midi studio for my daughter. I have been researching products and seem to have settled (almost) on the setup below. However, I am having a hard time finding the video capture hardware for VV. The VV website is especially vague about capture cards.

I decided I want to just use a 1394 PCI card and have the convertion done externally. This will also prevent noise issue inside the computer and give me a breakout box that can sit on the desk. I found the Canopus ADVC 100 and ADS PYRO AV Link but I cannot get quality specs on them (noisse loss) and am unsure if they will work well with VV. They do have DV, SVideo composite and audio in/outs. But I am not sure how it will work.

The other interesting thing in working with midi/audio and video is that all the cards that support Cakewalk Sonar are not listed as supported for audio with VV, Premiere or other products. Looks like I have to get TWO Audio to DV converters!

Thanks for any help or suggestions. I would like to stick with a standard 1394 card and do the conversion outside the box (unless it means giving up something major).

We have Dell Optiplex GX150 1GHZ, 512MB RAM w 40GB and 100GB drives and Windows XP Pro.

AUDIO/MIDI
Cakewalk Sonar XL 2.0
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 OR Echo Mia OR LynxOne

VIDEO
Sonic Foundry Video Vegas 3.0
Video capture: Do you have a Firewire product that uses a standard Firewire board for DV video but has a breakout box for converting analog video and audio to/from DV? Like Canopus ADVC100 or ADS Pyro or ???
Pioneer DVD Burner DVR-A05

SOFT SYNTHS
Edirol VSC-MP1 SoftSynth OR another with above specs
Native Instruments B4 SoftSynth

Jeff

P.S. Something should be done about certifying lots of hardware for VV. Certification is a major part of the success of any software product. Other video software companies have good lists.

Comments

MyST wrote on 1/1/2003, 10:53 PM

I would suggest the Audiophile 2496 over the Mia. If you want midi, the 2496 has a midi interface built-in(at least, I'm pretty sure it does), whereas the Mia doesn't.
Don't think I'm biased either...I own a Mia, and they're excellent cards. If the midi port isn't an issue, I'd recommend the Mia.

Baylo wrote on 1/2/2003, 10:20 AM

The only thing VV cares about is that the Firewire interface is truly OHCI compliant. I believe that that Firewire cards based on the Texas Instruments chipset have the best success rate. As long as the OHCI test is met, you can use anything. I think it would be counterproductive for Sonic Foundry to try to maintain an up-to-date list of all hardware out there - the onus should be on the hardware manufacture to guarantee OHCI compliance.

Also, bear in mind that many DV camcorders can be used to convert analog to DV by using their pass-through features. If you already have a DVcam you might want to check for this before springing for an entirely new piece of hardware.

Regarding the soundcard - you only need one. VV will use standard Windows drivers. Personally I use an M-Audio Delta 44 very succesfully with both VV and Cubase SX, so I would recommend the M-Audio card. I actually purchased an Echo Darla card first, but it would not install on my computer because the motherboard used a VIA chipset so I swapped it for the Delta. With any luck, Echo have sorted out that problem by now, but you should probably check for any known incompatibilities with M-Audio or Echo first.

Good luck,

Mark

williamconifer wrote on 1/2/2003, 5:40 PM

I have a similar rig as you have mentioned. I use Sonar 2XL along with VV3, Acid4pro, Soundforge6, Fruityloops3.56 and just about every NI softsynth. I use a terratec EWX2496 (2 in/out analog, 2 i/o digital) card for all my audio. I uninstalled my Sblive (finally). I use a Midiman midisport USB 2x2 for midi.

Keep in mind the really good cards support all drivers for all the major editing programs. My Terratec suports AISO, WMF (windows sound driver) and GSIF (giga sampler). Latency is basically not an issue. I believe the Mia has balanced 1/4" i/o's which is a big plus. I would not reccomend the Terratec I have, there is a conflict when running gigasampler and sonar on the same machine. So I use Kontakt to play gigas. I think the Maudio Audiophile is a safe play.

Another audio tip: Buy a used Peavy Studiomix controller on ebay. It's a midi mixing console/controller built for Cakewalk/Sonar. It cost $900 5 years ago and now sells for $100-$300 on Ebay. It has motorized faders and endless pots. 8 channels that shift up or down and a main channel. There is a guy who has written a program that will allow you to use the studiomix on many other apps (cubase etc). I love having a hands on recording experience plus it has a jog/shuttle wheel for scrubbing. I got mine for $91 on ebay and I absolutely LOVE it!! It doesn't have all the bells and whistles like the Mackie has but it has what you need at a fraction of the cost. Plus I love freaking out my friends by moving the faders on it without touching it. hehe.

In other words you're on the right track.

jack

jthor wrote on 1/2/2003, 6:00 PM

Maybe not much help, but back numerous months, Sonic Foundry Tech support provided me with a document via email that described 1394 compatability needs, which seemed straight forward. Unfortunately since I upgraded my HD, looks like it is gone. Might try them with email. Seemed like OCHI-1394???

vonhosen wrote on 1/3/2003, 4:28 AM

I don't have a need for an ADVC-100 myself, but if you do a search on these forums with it I'll think you will find lot's of people using it fine.