video capture thru usb2?

[Kevin McNerney]

Thinking of going with Vegas for my NLE, but have a quick (maybe dumb) question... but can Vegas (or any NLE) capture video thru a usb2 cable from my Optura 60 camera, or do I need firewire? OS is Win xp. Thanks.

[Edward Troxel]

Yes, you CAN capture via USB but you don't want to. You won't be happy with the results. Stick with firewire for the best results.

[Kevin McNerney]

Thanks, Edward, any particular reason why? Isn't the capture rate similar?

[Edward Troxel]

First of all, it doesn't capture into a standard DV-AVI file. Plus the USB captures require much more CPU power giving you a bigger risk of dropped frames. It can also give you very poor quality (or extremely huge files).

Capturing from MiniDV via firewire is, essentially, a file copy from the tape to the hard drive. You get EXACTLY what's on the tape - unlike USB.

[Kevin McNerney]

Okay, thanks for explaining. Great website btw!

[Dan Euritt]

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

First of all, it doesn't capture into a standard DV-AVI file. Plus the USB captures require much more CPU power giving you a bigger risk of dropped frames. It can also give you very poor quality (or extremely huge files).

gee, it sorta makes you wonder why they put a usb2 port on his optura in the first place, if it doesn't work (rolling eyes, lol).

i never tried capturing video with a usb2 port, but i can't imagine why a usb data transfer would be any different than a firewire data transfer... ed, what you are claiming here is that there is data corruption with a usb2 interface, which is basically rubbish... i use a usb2 external hdd for all of my editing, no problems at all.

if this is some kind of a bastard vegas problem, you should probably clarify it as such.

[Dan Euritt]

"I currently use scenalyzer live to do long (~3 hour) captures to my usb2 external hard drive (see previous thread). It lacks most of the features of DV rack, but it does have two: 1) it automatically breaks files into, in my case, seamless 2GB pieces (disk is FAT32); 2) it is utterly reliable, as far as I can tell." -http://www.dmnforums.com/cgi-bin/displaywwugpost.fcgi?forum=dv_rack&post=050329001512.htm

[Edward Troxel]

No, it is not a "Vegas" problem and I'm NOT claiming "data corruption". I've never seen a good method of capturing via USB. With every USB method I've seen, you have to pick the various elements such as framesize and compression. It then converts everything to the proper format on the fly. It's not so much the USB speed or the actual data transfer that's the problem - it's everything else that happens. It just doesn't work like Firewire which is, essentially, a "file copy". There's lot's of posts around with people having problems trying to capture via USB. Or it captures OK but the video doesn't look good. From what I've seen, switching to firewire has cleared up the issues for these people.

But... If you WANT to capture via USB, feel free to do so. Vegas CAN capture from USB sources given the right drivers being installed.

[Edward Troxel]

Originally Posted by Dan Euritt

"I currently use scenalyzer live to do long (~3 hour) captures to my usb2 external hard drive (see previous thread).

Huge difference between capturing to a drive connected via USB (which DOES work perfectly fine) and capturing the actual video via USB.

If you're talking about capturing via firewire to a drive connected via USB - that should work fine all day long and WILL give you a standard DV-AVI file on the USB drive. However, you're not capturing via USB in that case.

[Dennis Vogel]

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

But... If you WANT to capture via USB, feel free to do so. Vegas CAN capture from USB sources given the right drivers being installed.

Edward, I was always under the impression that Vegas could not capture video over USB. What are the special drivers you refer to? I don't plan to capture this way but this question comes up on a lot of forums and I'd like to understand how it's done.

Good luck.

Dennis

[Dennis Vogel]

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

With every USB method I've seen, you have to pick the various elements such as framesize and compression. It then converts everything to the proper format on the fly.

I believe I read somewhere once that with USB you have no camera transport control available from the PC. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Good luck.

Dennis

[Edward Troxel]

I don't specifically know that it CAN capture over USB but do know that it CAN capture by means other than firewire. It is NOT recommended that you do so but with the proper drivers it WILL work.

Here's a quote from the help file for analog capture:

If you're using an analog card, please obtain the latest WDM (Windows Driver Model) or VFW (Video for Windows) drivers from your hardware manufacturer.