The transition from linear to digital

pkidd wrote on 2/14/2003, 2:47 PM

Okay, so I admit it, I'm a NEWBIE! With that terrible confession off my chest, here's my concern. How do I go about downloading S-VHS linear tape onto my computer so that I can manipulate (edit) it?

I'm out here in the hinterland with little experience and even less knowledgeable assistance. I teach a high school class of video production. We'd like to get into the real (digital) world...but all our equipment is linear. I'm looking at Video Factory 2.0 with a possible eye on Vegas 4.0. My only concern at this point is how do I feed my linear tape into my computer? Is there an adaptor? Am I missing something here?

P.Kidd

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 2/14/2003, 2:58 PM
You will need some sort of digitzing adapter for this. Probably the best option out there right now without costing a mint is the Canopus ADVC-100 unit. It has composite & S-video and stereo line level audio in/out and firewire digital in/out. You'll connect the outputs of the VCR to this box, and then connect this box to a firewire port on the computer. Analog from the VCR will be digitized to DV, sent through firewire, and captured by VideoFactory's (or Vegas') VidCap software and stored as a DV .avi file on the hard drive. This device will also function in the other direction if you want your output to go back to analog tape. As an added bonus, it also facilitates previewing your project on a standard television for composition and color correction.

The street price for the ADVC-100 is probably about $280 (US) these days and some report finding it as cheap as about $230. You'll need a firewire port in your computer and a 6pin-4pin firewire cable. If you don't already have these, pick up a generic 1394 (firewire) card. Most any one will do as long as it is OHCI compliant. Expect to pay $20 to $30 for the card and about as much for the cable. Do NOT install any software that comes with the card; let Microsoft install it's own drivers instead.

Let us know how it goes!
RRR wrote on 2/21/2003, 10:29 PM
I like pkidd am just starting to get into Digital Video and am considering buying the VideoFactory2.0. I have lots of analog video plus 8mm footage and need to know the best way to downloading so I can edit in digital. I'm told in lieu of Analog to Digital Converter Software, that many Digital Camcorders can perform this function.

I would appreciate receiving advise on the AD Converter versus a Digital Camcorder.

Also, how do I load the 8mm information?

RRR
JohnnyRoy wrote on 2/22/2003, 9:07 AM
I don’t think there is any advantage in the end results. Both methods will get DV format footage on your computer with the same quality. If you have a camcorder that will do analog-to-digital pass through you could use that. The advantage is you don’t have to pay for a converter, which is $299. The disadvantage is you have to hook your digital camcorder to your PC every time you want to do an analog capture. Also, many digital camcorders can’t do this. So that’s when a converter comes in handy.

I have an analog capture card and a VCR hooked up to my computer at all times. This way I can easily capture from VHS or output to VHS at any time and I’m not fussing around for my digital camcorder. It’s just a matter of convenience for some.

> how do I load the 8mm information?

Just plug your 8mm device into the AD converter box or the analog in of your digital camcorder and press play. Then press record in VideoFactory.

~jr