Comments

RBartlett wrote on 12/30/2004, 5:57 AM
Which D8 you got UFP? Only some camcorders, even of the D8 variety support this.
Others either need you to record to tape first or have the EU tax levy feature re-added with a dongle that nobody can sell as new in Europe anymore.

Some newer D8 decks don't support analogue inputs. Typically these also don't play Hi8/8mm analogue tapes either.

Sony DCR-TRV460 is the only model that currently supports both analogue input to D8-tape and analogue to DV passthrough (without going to tape first) - AFAIK. Without external audio and without a hot-shoe - this camcorder now looks expensive next to the DV counterparts. But that is another story.

There were a number of D8 models that did support passthrough, shortly after my first camcorder, the DCR-TRV110E which wasn't passthrough capable but could be made to capture analogue and provide DV-in.

If you do find your D8 camcorder (in VTR mode) cuts you short of what you want it to do:
VHS can otherwise be captured from a composite (or SVIDEO for SVHS decks) feed into a PC TV card. If you already have such a card - see if it is supported by ShowShifter (showshifter.com) and then you can capture 4:2:2 MJPEG at bitrates higher than DV, for what it is worth from such a low quality source. These will edit in Vegas nicely even though MJPEG isn't a native file type for Vegas. It would be cheaper than upgrading your camera or buying a Canopus ADVC-100 , ADS Pyro bridge, Datavideo DAC etc.

Welcome to video editing.

If you camera does work ok in passthrough (the web will probably tell you but the saleman probably wouldn't!) then you need to go into Vegas device control and turn it off for your DV camcorder to work for more than a couple of frames of capture.
JJKizak wrote on 12/30/2004, 5:59 AM
Hook up your firewire cable from the camera to the computer, open up V5, select capture---there are a slug more things you have to do but you will have to figure them out in the options tab, etc. ---You might check the manual or the help section in Vegas.

JJK
randy-stewart wrote on 12/30/2004, 7:45 AM
If you have pass-through capability, here are the steps:
1. Hook up your camcorder via firewire to your computer, don't turn it on yet
2. Hook up your VCR to your camcorder, turn on, hit play then pause (with tape in of course)
3. Remove tape from youir digital 8 camera, turn on to VCR mode, adjust menu options for digital out if necessary (check your manual)
4. Open Vegas, go to Vidcap capture program
5. Go to options>preferneces>uncheck device control box (first one)
6. Hit play on VCR (you should be seeing preview and hearing sound)
7. Hit capture botton.
You may have to play with the camera settings a little to get the DV Out function set right(either on or off) but if you have pass-through capability, this should work for you. By the way, I have a Sony TRV-120 D8 camera and have enjoyed using pass-through for years. It also works in reverse for making VHS copies of your productions. Hope this helps.
Randy
baysidebas wrote on 12/30/2004, 8:15 AM
It's been mentioned that pass-thru digital 8 camcorders have the added benefit of built-in time base correction. Any further information on this? This would make acquiring a used D8 camcorder a no-brainer over spending bucks on a Canopus ADVC300.
RBartlett wrote on 12/30/2004, 8:48 AM
Analogue capture through a DV camcorder with analogue inputs doesn't give an infinite window timebase corrector. However it does shore up the input video and I've yet to see a black or incomplete field/frame as a result of capturing through my TRV110 to tape. What I get at the end of the field is exactly the same symptoms as I get if I run through a dedicated TBC first. My TBC has many more controls that make it still worth having to fix tape issues but the camera is definitely a good alternative to having a TBC device or hunting out a VCR with a TBC option on the output.

I wish I had waited for the TRV120 to get the aforementioned passthrough but most of my VHS recordings can be acquired via tape without too much discomfort.

I think the two aspects I like about the Sony camcorder solution to I/O into an NLE are:
1. Generally you do get good line, field and frame stability even when the source would otherwise drop a frame or two if it was pumped into a consumer analogue capture card.
2. Sony (consumer division) analogue->DV codec chipset.

Many other brands are listed in the magazine reviews as supporting analogue input and dv passthrough in addition to the better known DV-in function we all tend to use at least from time-to-time.

Going out via the camcorder to print back to VHS is inherently pixel, line, field and frame accurate (well maybe not non-drop-frame for NTSC folks,.....). A VHS deck should certainly be able to lock onto the analogue outputs from your camcorder IMHO !
baysidebas wrote on 12/30/2004, 9:26 AM
Now you threw a ringer into the discussion. You mentioned DV camcorder, all I had previously heard of TBC functionality referred to D8 camcorders.

As far as the window goes, the greatest benefit would accrue from a line TBC, not even field or full frame, since you want to rid yourself of the horizontal line-to-line displacement so common of helical scan playback.