In the October '03 issue of PC World magazine, the following statement appeared in the article entitled "Good-bye, VHS, Hello, DVD": "Many current digital video cameras have analog-in ports that can be used to digitize your old analog videos: Just plug your old camcorder into your DV camera's video-in port, and you can transfer your videos to digital videotape and then onto your PC." What about hooking up the DV camcorder's input ports to a VCR's output ports (in place of the analog camcorder), and playing the VHS tape in the VCR. Would the DV camcorder capture the analog signal from the VCR? What if the old VCR doesn't have S-Video ports? Is there an adapter than can get around this? My Sony VAIO has the hardware to capture digital directly from a DV camcorder, and since I am already looking into buying a DV camcorder, I can bypass the TV tuners and dedicated capture devices if this process works. Thanks in advance.
I think I found the answer to my own question, although I haven't tried it yet. I did a search on Google, and found this website: http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/tutorials/lib/vaiocomp.html According to the Sony Online Support, analog signals from a VCR or camcorder can be captured using the supplied hardware (Sony DVgate Plus or Giga Pocket).
Yes this is a Very good Method for Captureing Video and In Most cases Better quality than Most analogue Capture cards...Cheers
Thanks for responding. I would have written back yesterday, but I not could not log on, no matter how many times I tried. I still would like an answer to the following: What if the old VCR doesn't have S-Video ports but only RCA female ends? Is there an adapter plug set that can accept the RCA male connections at one end and have a USB 2.0 male connection at the other end to connect to my computer? The following website (http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3891867 ) for the AirLink+ ATVUSB01 Video Capture USB 2.0 Adapter seems as if it might work, but I think I am paying for its ability to convert analog signals to digital signals, which I don't need, since my computer would do that. All I'm looking for is an adapter plug, pure and simple. Thanks again.
Don"t even go near that USB Thing I have used simular devices and they suck really bad and it it is not anything you would need Plus for the Price of that thing you can get a Good analogue PCI Capture Card with a TV Tuner attached..I thought you wanted to use the Video Pass through on your DV CamCorder?? Your Camcorder should also have Composite RCA Audio Inputs, If it doesn"t then you Patch the sound through your Sound Card But you Should Have RCA Audio Inputs on your Camcorder.... So This would be your Work Flow..You would First need a S-Video RCA Adapter which you can get at any Radio Shack..Then you Hook your VCR up to your DV Camcorder with RCA Cables to DV camera Via S-Video RCA Adapter ,Depending on the Type of audio inputs you have on your Camcorder you would Plug the audio RCA"s into from the VCR into the Camcorder or if it has different audio inputs you might need a different adapter, If for some reason there is no audio Inputs in the Camcorder then you will Need a Little Adapter to Plug the RCA audio from the VCR into the Line In on your Sound Card...Now you would Just Hook the DV Camera into your PC Via Firewire input and set up your capture Software and Capture from the VCR ,You do not need to Record the VHS to DV Tape it should Pass directly through your Camcorder to your PC... Whatever you do Don"t get a USB capture device there are Much better PCI cards for much cheaper if you want to capture Analogue, I just use the Simple RCA Input on my "ATI Radeon 7200 VIVO Graphics Card" and it captures Full resolution Good Quality Video and I got it on E-Bay for $30 and it is a Pretty good Video card also ....well good luck
Hey, Minion, Thanks again! I think you answered all of my questions. The only thing is that I have access only to an analog camcorder (my Hi-8 died years ago, but a friend will lend me his to transfer tapes to the computer. Your tip that you don't even need to run a tape in the camcorder is great news, since I was worried about wearing out the heads of his camcorder with all the many tapes I need to convert!). I haven't bought a DV camcorder yet, though I may get one in the near future. I suspect your setup will work with either an analog or digital camcorder. If it doesn't, please let me know. Otherwise, appreciate your depth of knowledge in this field, and thanks for sharing with me and others!
Hello guys, I have been using my DV camcorder as the video conversion bridge and it really works until I was trying to copy a different video system (NTSC or PAL). Reason is that the video that you are converting must be the same as your DV camcorder inorder to do so. Another setback is that video input from VHS will have this flickering border at the bottom of the screen which you might have to run it over with TMPGEnc Plus to trim it off. Moreover, it is only wise to use this method when you originally have the intention of getting a DV Camcorder and not for the video converting purpose. I'm now pretty happy with my new 10bit video capture card and the result of convert VHS into DVD is as good as using a DV camcoder.
Hi Gardener3 , This will only work on a DV camcorder with a Firewire interface to your PC..Analogue Camcorders have no way to hook up to your PC unless you are useing a seperate capture card and the Whole point is to convert the Analogue VHS Tape to Digital Video Format..You could allways Invest the $50=$75 into Getting a Fairly Good Capture card which would be easier to use and if done correctly would produce the same or better quality....Cheers
Minion, Okay, I got it! Either a DV camcorder or a capture card is the way to go. Thanks again! Gardener3
