I know the XL1 can't copy from an analog source (that sucks!) but the XL1s can. Anyone know of any possible upgrades to the XL1 that would make this possible? (probably not a software update eh?) (my DV Raptor card won't either, the analog kit download for it sucks) :(

For a while Sony offered an A/D converter that could go to/from analog from/to firewire . The most recent was something like a model xxx-DA2 (where xxx are three latters I do not recall). There are other makess available as well, probably at higher prices.

No, the XL1 is a discontinued product superceded by the XL1s. It's ancient history (as far as Canon's concerned).

There are several products that enable d/a copying and transfer. I sometimes use the Dazzle Hollywood Bridge which does a pretty good job.

There's a current thread on this topic at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3791

Adam, Ken, Don:
Hi, this is interesting...what do we mean here when we say 'the XL1S can copy from an analog source?' Does this mean I can plug in, say, RCA outputs from a Beta SP/VHS system and copy to MiniDV on the XL1S? If so, how does this work in terms of what needs to be setup/plugged in? (I haven't come across this nugget of info yet, so pardon the basic question!)
Best,
RAm

Yes, you can record from an external analog signal via the cam's RCA or S-Video jacks. See the main Watchdog site for more information: http://www.dvinfo.net/xl1s.htm

The analog out of the XL1s is composite NTSC, as is the analog in. The steps are in the manual from pages 88 - 91. If you're PAL, it works the same but the pages numbers are probably off a little. You can , of course go FireWire, in either direction.

Jeff

For more choices in analog-digital converters, check out the Canopus ADVC-100 and ADVC-50 at www.canopus.com

For what it's worth, all current Canon camcorders (the entire DV product line) now include the ability to transcode analog to/from digital in realtime. This is the basic ZR40 to the XL1S and everything in between.

Thanks all; this is a real boost. Knowing I can pick up footage from a Beta player, or that I can make a VHS dub of a tape in a hurry is a boon.
However: Can I simply connect my Mac through the XL1S to a VHS recorder and dub a VHS copy straight off the timeline?
Best,
Ram

Oops, sorry: Yes, Jeff, I'm in PAL-land, and I'll consult the appropriate pages of the manual! :-)
Ram

Thanks all for the info!

It's probably more practical for me to buy a second camera (even a cheap one) using mini DV as they all have analog to digital transfer! I just wish they could make a software for my Canopus DV Raptor card that produced good quality without lost frames!

I just got the ADVC-100 through Canopus and it is GREAT! I couldn't figure out how to hook it up through the DVRaptor, but I had no problem hooking it straight into my firewire port (separate from the Raptor), and capturing through Premiere. Just use the "NO DV DEVICE CONTROL" option, and plug straight in from a VCR or whatever. No dropped frames so far, and im capturing high-action basketball footage. Worth its weight in gold

Adam,
it was much more practical for me to pick up a little Elura to use as an analog-to-DV recording device, plus I use it to lay my projects off to DV tape once done. The only problem I have is when I want to take a clip from a commercial movie--one that is protected with Macrovision--the Elura (and the GL1) senses it, and shuts down immediately, saying "copyrighted material" or soomething like that in the error message. Makes it very frustrating even when I only want a 6-second sound bite for internal use.

Just out of curiosity... what happens to the picture quality if I were to plug my VCR into my GL1, and record a tape? DV is a wider picture, with more lines of resolution. Is this going to stretch the image?

You get a mini-DV recording that is no better than the VCR playback at its output. But is the surce VCR is VHS, it will not have any significant quality loss.

DV image is nominally 720 pixels per line, but the aspect ratio and number of visible scan lines is the same.