Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Hi guys,

I'm using FCP7 on a Mac Pro, I have an AJA IO Express. I'm thinking of buying a second hand Sony DVCAM/MiniDV deck to ingest a lot of my old Mini DV tapes.

I see that some of these older decks have RS-422A like the Sony DSR-45AP DVCAM recorder. As the IO Express has RS-422 would this work ok? Is there a list of compatible decks? AJA say they don't have a list.

I believe that there is a Sony DSR-60P that has SD-SDI but no firewire, would that be a better option coming into the IO Express through SDI rather than firewire?

So basically, what would be the best to look for on eBay?

Regards,
Lenny

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Unless you have more than 500 tapes, why not just capture using a camcorder?

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I guess I'm not clear what your goal is.

DV & DVCam will transfer bit for bit identical from tape to HDD via Firewire, and you have device control through Firewire too -- you don't lose anything in image or convenience if you avoid RS-422A, SD-SDI or even your AJA card ...

In truth you get a perfect copy from a cheap consumer camcorder -- most Sony's will even playback DVCam recordings -- so why exactly do you want a deck?

Cheers,
GB

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

The reason is I've got rid of my old MiniDV cameras, I often get in tapes from clients for edit. I'd have to get another camera, I've ran out of FW ports, I don't want the hassle of farting about with cameras on my edit suite, farting about with cables etc.

I've got a load of tapes, and just want the convenience of a deck. It would fit into my suite, I have a broadcast monitor with sdi inputs, etc. etc. It's convenient to have a deck.

So any recommendations?

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

The other reason, recently I had an editing job come into me. The camera used had a damaged FW port. I tried capturing from 3 different cameras and all had issues. I had to borrow a deck and it worked flawlessly. My local hire house advised that decent decks have more tolerance to different tapes.

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I used to own the Sony DSR-11. It always performed well for me, was PAL/NTSC switchable, played both mini & full size, DV & DVCam. But it used Firewire as the transfer mechanism, so it won't solve your 'not Firewire' problem.

Cheers,
GB

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I used to use a Sony DSR-80. It did not have FW but it had serial control, component in/out, could handle 4 channel audio, and I believe it had optional SDI support. Used mini and full size tapes. It was rock solid.

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

That's my idea, rock solid, working with many tapes.

I had seen a DSR-60 on eaby, but he insists on collection only, 500 miles away. :-(

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I'm negotiating for a DSR-60, but apparently there is no board fitted for LTC output on this machine. Which presumably means there may be an issue with time code, if I take sdi out into an aja express would this work ok or would the lack of LTC cause a problem?

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I may be better just getting an additional FW card and picking up a DSR-45P, maybe less hassle in the long run.

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Capturing through firewire retrieves an exact digital copy of the tape, whereas other methods don't.

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Sorry for all these questions, but a thought has just struck me.

I occasionally get asked to convert VHS or SVHS tapes. If I got a DSR-45 which has analogue inputs, I could input from my VHS player and then capture it via firewire into FCP?

That's right isn't it?

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Yup did that often with my Panny DVCpro deck. Only downside is that the max quality is DV25.. though that's miles better than SVHS or VHS...so not a problem for you..

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

I've won a cheap DSR-40 on eBay so will see how it goes,

Cheers guys...

Re: Which DVCAM/MiniDV Deck?
 

Hi guys,

I've now got the dsr-40 connected up, working a dream. I'll need to get another FireWire card but just swap cables meantime.

Turns out it has really low hours, chuffed with it.

Cheers for the info,

Lenny