Easy way to capture other than FCP
 

Any Mac software recommendations for capturing video other than FCP? I have FCP express, but I'm just capturing the entire 60 minute mini DV tapes strictly for backup up purposes -- so I really don't need to bother with making a "project file" and getting lot of folders...
I would love great software to just capture all footage and put one file on the hardrive. What are the best options? thanks.

capture with FCP, pull in the entire thing using capture now (audio drift is cured by changing the audio settings to 32 from 48 (I think, I'm capturing DV NTSC 48Khz). The file will be in your /Users/[username]/documents/Final Cut Pro Documents/Capture Scratch/[project name]/[reel name]. You can move the file wherever you need for backup purposes, it'll be a quicktime file (it may not have a file extension though).

You can use an Apple developer utility called DVHSCAP. It's a free download from Apple but comes as a part of a package of tools. Do a search and you'll find a link.

Hope that helps,

Liam.

thanks guys, audio drift? should I know about that? never heard of it.

sorry can't find DVHSCAP, looked on Google and version tracker. what about also quicktime pro? is one simpler better than another?

You'll find it here;

http://developer.apple.com/sdk/

You'll need to download the FirewireSDK 20 DMG.

Liam.

thanks Liam, but that looks like a real maze. I'm trying to do things "simpler"

iMovie.
Simple capture, but you have to export to QT movies after.
iMovie calls it Sharing.

I use it when the ingest function of FCP doesn't connect to the camera (which happens intermittently, and for no reason sometimes.)

FCP has been acting ridiculous of late - it's stopped ingesting in the middle of a tape, or ingested two tapes and not the third.

I'm always able to get it going again by rebooting, fooling with the preferences, updaing the QT receipts, etc., but I lost patience with all of that awhile ago and just use iMovie to capture/ingest these days.

It's a bit of a pain but at least it works every time.

I've found the image softer when I capture in iMovie. You may want to do some side by side comparisons to test it, but I had done some testing for a guy on imovie-users a while ago (when that forum still existed) and we found the image to be much fuzzier. He was concerned with a graphic he was inserting, so I made graphics of lines (big asterisks) and what not. I'm not sure if it was just the display rendering, or if it would do so to disk as well.

I've stopped using iMovie as a cpature solution. It's a consumer solution that doesn't framass well with Final Cut. DVHSCAP is a great little util though, I'd go that way if you need to.

Copy that. Good information. Thanks.
DVHSCAP it will be.
Cheers
Chris

Kevin:
Just download the Firewire SDK 20 disk image (.dmg) file and open it..
Then install the package.

Then under your root directory (or the drive where you installed it), there will be a /Developer folder, then /Applications, then the DVHSCAP app (program).

I just dragged it onto my dock, since I figure I'll be using it a lot.

It's set up for capturing form a digital VHS deck, but that's a firewire device too so it should work just fine.

I just downloaded it and set it up. Very small and simple application.

I'll post more caveats if I run into them but I don't think there will be any.

Thanks again, Cole!
Cheers
Chris

This ain't hard.

Create a folder on your Desktop. Name it Video Clip or whatever.

Open Final Cut. In System Settings set your Scratch Disk to the Video Clip folder.

Start the Capture Window. Set In and Out points to define the entire tape. Name it. Capture Clip

As for project names, when you open FC it will open to your last project. Just use that. When you shut down and asks if you want to save the project, select No

Thanks Chris, but you know, I don't think I have i movie for some reason, don't see it in app folder, even though I have Tiger, and every previous OS.

thanks Cole: I'd like to get DVHSCAP, but as you can see , no one so far seems to be able to provide a simple link to it. (and I hope it's a simple app)

Kevin, I posted the link earlier in the thread. All you do is click the link. Scroll down to where it says 'FirewireSDK 20' and hit download.

Once the download has finished you need to open an application called DVHSCAP. You'll find it in a folder named 'Developer'.

The only way I can see an easier way to do this is lie back on the sofa and watch someone else do it for you.

How simple do you need it?

Liam.

it's not that as simple as finding it at version tracker because it's a sample app for the firewire programmers kit from apple. In order to get the app, you'll need to download and install the SDK referenced earlier, then get the sample app from the samples folder and move it where you want.

Kevin

I just followed Cole's instructions and have DVHSCAP up and running on my machine. Took me maybe 10 minutes, and that's with trying to find out where the developer installation program put the app.

I noticed a little softening when digitizing with iMovie. Didn't try DVHSCAP yet, but I'm sure it's going to be at least as good as iMovie and probably a little easier too.

Victor:

I use FCP 5.1.4 all day long. Have cut three feature films and a half dozen TV shows on it, all since 5.1.4 came out.

I have a stack of approximately 60 mini DV takes sitting next to this computer from the latest feature film I'm editing.

What happens is this: I set up the capture scratch and import from the deck fine.

Everything goes along great, and then I swap out tapes or run across a timecode break and the digitizing/ingest window suddenly stops seeing picture from the deck. Loss of input signal, ingesting halted.

I reboot and it all works again, for another couple or five tapes, and then it goes dark again.

I've done three totally clean installs (starting from the OS upwards) and many, many purges and reboots.

I'm tired of it, is all.. I have 40 tapes to go on this job alone and after awhile it gets very annoying. Not insoluble, not an emergency, just a bug somewhere and a royal pain.

If DVHSCAP works consistently, then that's what I'm going to use.

And yes, I did my homework, have read the threads, visited Apple and the Pro Care sites. I've already done the QT library purge, the preferences reset, and all of that. And it all works, for a while.

I guess I must have put around 200 tapes through this machine (dual G5, Aja Kona) since 5.1.4 was installed, and FCP has failed on around half of them. Ingest deck is a Sony M10U.