hv10 analogue component out to kona card advice
 

Hi, just wondering how people are connecting to a kona card or similar (I'm going to use the HV10 as a deck for my other Canon HDV cams). I've never used a dedicated capture card before and know that they recommend going in via the component from the HV10. so do I just need some adapters (female RCA to female BNC?) for this? hope that makes sense and thanks for any help.

When you say you are using the HV10 as a deck, does that means you are transfering from the tape ? If so, why don't you use firewire ?

I believe the advantage the capture cards like the Kona have are that they can capture uncompressed video if directly connected to the camcorder while recording.

If you are transferring from the tape, the video is already compressed and the capture card will have no advantage over firewire.

I'm just an amateur, so hopefully one of the experts can confirm whether or not this is true.

That's what you would need if you're using the supplied HV10 component cable (RCA male ends) as most of those cards feature male BNC connectors.

As Ron pointed out there is no advantage capturing analog component out of the HV10 over firewire unless you're capturing to a different codec like DVCpro HD for example.

The whole idea is to have the computer import the LIVE footage to get any gain from using a card like that.

I have a Decklink HD Extreme, and I have never imported but I wish to give it a shot as well - yes.. RCA Component to BNC adapters, and import. I'd only ever do this for LIVE video (not playback) - if you import via component from a recording, you're simply recompressing the footage and will loose detail in the process.

If your only intent is to use this process to capture prerecorded footage, it's not a good idea.

thanks for all that. sorry I should've said that I want to capture as DVCProHD so I can edit the HDV easier as an I-frame HD codec which is hopefully less processor intensive. I've edited a bit of HDV shot on the HV10 via firewire already and it a bit choppy and takes an age to render any effects, e.g. Magic Bullet. btw Magic Bullet on HV10 footage looks brilliant with the extra res., I was very impressed with the results. I'd be happy to capture via firewire but will this enable conversion?

When you capture via firewire, you're essentially just copying the content of the tape 1:1 to your harddrive, no quality loss, no decompression and compression that isn't already in there. You are free to convert to DVCProHD after ingest.

I think the result will be the same when using capture card and analog outputs. Be aware that some capture card models actually have only HD-SDI input, which is digital and will not allow you to connect your HV10 without a proper converter.

That depends on the editor. Many editors convert to an intermediate codec.