Hello All, As part of the process of converting VHS to DVD, I have opted to go via digital camcorder, but I have a few questions, so hopefully someone can help me out. (Note: I'm clueless when it comes to camcorders.) The analog signal will be transfered to digital tape first. 1. I take it that if a camcorder's product description only says AV "out", that it's not short for AV "in" AND "out"? Just checking. 2. What would happen if I tried to record my PAL VHS tapes using a camcorder with a product description about being suited to NTSC (with no mention of PAL in the product description)? 3. Do I need to worry about the camcorder's capture rates and resolution it offers? Ie - movie clip frames per second and their relation to pixels. 4. To transfer DVD from computer back into the camcorder tape, what socket/lead do I need? 5. Anyone recommend a cheap as possible brand of camcorder for all this? I will take into account the above replies and my location. I'm not going to use the camcorder for anything else. Thanks so much for any help.
The Feature you are Looking for in a Digital Camcorder is called "Analogue Passthrough" not "AV-Out" because all Camcorders have AV-Out but few have Analogue Passthrough.... If the Camcorder has Analogue Passthrough then you generally do Not have to Capture the analogue Video to tape First, It is called Passthrough because the Signal Just Passes Through the Camcorder and gets outputted through the Firewire Output on the Camcorder to the PC, so the Analogue/Digital Conversion is Happening in Real time and Being Transfered directly to your PC without being recorded to DV Tape.... If the Camcorder is a Digital DV Camcorder Like most are then it only Captured DV Video in one Resolution and Framerate and that is Full D1(720+480) and at 29.976fps..... If for some Reason you want to Transfer a DVD you have to your Camcorders DV tape then i believe there are 2 Ways to go about it... One would be to First Rip the DVD to your Hard Drive useing a DVD Ripper Like DVD Decryptor (To remove the Copy protection) and then hook your Video Cards TV-Out up to your Camcorders Analogue Input and then to record the TV-Out Signal to DV Tape... The other way would be to use a Video Editing program that has a Record to Tape Feature and to Output the Video through the Firewire Cable to the Camcorder..... If you try to Record a Pal VHS Tape through a NTSC Camcorder One of 2 Things will Most likely happen...One you will only be able to Capture a Black and White Image or you will be able to capture in Color but the Picture will have Jumpy Playback because of the Frame Rate Differance.... If you are only going to be useing the Camcorder for Transfering Analogue Video to your PC in Digital format then spending $500 to $1000 on a Camcorder (Maybe more for one with a Passthrough) is a Big waste of Money because you can get a Device that Captures Video in the Same Format but with Better quality Like a "Canopus ADVC-100" which you can get for about $225 which captures Video from VCR or Cable Box or any analoge or Digital source and Convert it to Digital Format and transfer the Video to your PC in DV AVI format... Plus the ADVC-100 supports Both Pal and NTSC Formats...It also has an Audio Lock feature that Prevents any Chance of Sync problems and it also have a Built in TBC (Time Baced Corrector) which stabilizes the Video Signal and makes for better overall Captures.... The ADVC-100 or ADVC-110 or the ADVC-300 would be a Far better Choice if you are only going to be Transfering Analogue Video to Digital as it is Far cheaper than a good Camcorder with an Analogue Passthrough and will capture better quality and it can also take Video that is allready on your PC and output it to a VCR or any Recording Device or even a TV set so you can see what the Video will look like when Transfered to DVD and Viewed on your TV set.... Pluss the Canopus ADVC devices have a feature so you can Disable the Macrovision Detection so you can Capture Retail VHS tapes without worrying about the Copy protecting Preventing you from Captureing VHS Tapes to your PC which is a Feature that DV Camcorders do not have to you would have to buy a seperate device to remove the Macrovision Copy Protection if you were to use a DV Camcorder to capture Retail VHS tapes..... Cheers
