XH-A1 Outputs? at DVinfo.net

Billy Griffin · January 4th, 2007, 05:47 PM

I'm new to the forum, so I just have a quick question. Just purchased the XH-A1 and don't see an S-Video out. I sold my GL-2 and upgraded to the new HD camera. On Canon's website, it says the XH-A1 has an S-video output. Note: http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/HD...ications.shtml

I've tried doing a simple capture using the composite video and a very cheap "Dazzle" to USB adapter, but it looks like junk! The video I've captured using the old GL-2 and the S-video connection looks 10 times better to me.

Any thoughts, advice? How are you guys capturing? Are you capturing component? Unfortunately, my laptop does not have a firewire input, or the IEEE plug.

Am I out of luck for capturing and editing good quality video? What about the BNC output on the side - is it compressed output just the same as the composite out, or does it have better quality? Your help and advice is greatly appreciate to a newbie in the HD world!

Regards,
Billy Griffin
Orting, WA

Richard Hunter · January 4th, 2007, 06:16 PM

Hi Billy. When you record to tape, the camera has already carried out the A/D conversion and compression stages, so what is on the tape is digital data. It just degrades the video quality to output as analogue and then capture back to digial in the computer, unless you use component out and high end video capture hardware.

A PCMCIA firewire card for your laptop should cost around $30, so I would strongly urge you to make this small investment. Using firewire, you copy the digital data from the tape onto your hard disk, without any loss in quality. This is one of the huge benefits of digital video technology, so it makes sense to take advantage of it.

Richard

Billy Griffin · January 4th, 2007, 08:09 PM

Thanks Richard! I just realized on my commute home that my son's laptop, a Sony Vaio, indeed has a firewire input. I captured some video on it, and it's AMAZING !!! Wow, what a difference! Capturing composite video with that Dazzle unit looked literally like cell phone video. Yuck! Capturing via the firewire cable, it looks awesome - amazing clarity and that real HD look!

Sounds like I need to invest in the PC card with Firewire input, huh? I have Pinnacle Studio 10, nothing near as good as most of you are using, but at least with capturing digital and keeping it that quality all the way through, I should be able to get some decent clips edited together.

Again, thanks for replying. I was beginning to wonder if anyone would answer. :-)

Chris Hurd · January 4th, 2007, 08:35 PM

Hi Billy, a PC card with FireWire is worth its weight in gold -- and not very expensive. Should be pretty easy to find too.

Steve Johnson · January 6th, 2007, 07:30 AM

so now that we've solved the obvious workflow problem, i'm still curious if the XH A1 does have an s-video jack since Canon is advertising that it has one...

steve

Khoi Pham · January 6th, 2007, 08:40 AM

Must be a misprint, cuz I looked all over and can't find one.

Chris Hurd · January 6th, 2007, 11:06 AM

There is no S-Video jack on the camcorder but I'm pretty sure I know what they were thinking when they said that. You can get a different version of the triple-ring / tip / sleeve AV cable, similar to the one which comes with the camcorder (it has a 1/8th-inch plug at one end and three RCA plugs at the other). The other version of this cable has two RCA plugs and an S-Video plug. In fact Sony has this cable listed as an optional accessory for the HVR-V1U and HDR-FX7 camcorders, but any generic version of it will do.

Jay Fisk · January 6th, 2007, 02:49 PM

The 3.5mm mini-jack on the A1 appears to be plain vanilla composite video plus stereo audio. Maybe there's some hidden Y/C in the jack that could be accessed with a special cable (other than the STV-290N that Canon supplies).

Maybe the 14-pin component connector has S-Video signals on it that is ignored when using the DTC-1000 RGB component cable??

There are transcoders that can take the component output, add subcarrier, and deliver S-Video, but nothing I've ever seen in a passive cable.

Go component, it's much better!

Chris Hurd · January 6th, 2007, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

The other version of this cable has two RCA plugs and an S-Video plug. In fact Sony has this cable listed as an optional accessory for the HVR-V1U and HDR-FX7 camcorders...

I made a mistake here... the cable that Sony has listed as an optional accessory does not have the three ring / tip / sleeve 1/8th-inch plug on it. Instead it has a proprietary 10-pin connector, and that's how they're getting S-Video out of the V1U and FX7.

Billy Griffin · January 7th, 2007, 12:38 AM

So is it a misprint then, or is there some type of special cable that can be used to get S-Video out of the Component Out plug (not likely)?

Anyone tried the BNC output on the side? How does it hold up with just standard composite video out? I don't have any type of monitor with a BNC input, so can't check myself.

Richard Hunter · January 7th, 2007, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Griffin

So is it a misprint then, or is there some type of special cable that can be used to get S-Video out of the Component Out plug (not likely)?

Anyone tried the BNC output on the side? How does it hold up with just standard composite video out? I don't have any type of monitor with a BNC input, so can't check myself.

Hi Billy. I use the BNC output with a BNC-RCA adapter, and just connect it to the RCA composite in on my monitor. It looks good, but I'd still want to use FW for capturing.

Richard

January 4th, 2007, 05:47 PM	#1
Billy Griffin Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Enumclaw, WA Posts: 58	XH-A1 Outputs? I'm new to the forum, so I just have a quick question. Just purchased the XH-A1 and don't see an S-Video out. I sold my GL-2 and upgraded to the new HD camera. On Canon's website, it says the XH-A1 has an S-video output. Note: http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/HD...ications.shtml I've tried doing a simple capture using the composite video and a very cheap "Dazzle" to USB adapter, but it looks like junk! The video I've captured using the old GL-2 and the S-video connection looks 10 times better to me. Any thoughts, advice? How are you guys capturing? Are you capturing component? Unfortunately, my laptop does not have a firewire input, or the IEEE plug. Am I out of luck for capturing and editing good quality video? What about the BNC output on the side - is it compressed output just the same as the composite out, or does it have better quality? Your help and advice is greatly appreciate to a newbie in the HD world! Regards, Billy Griffin Orting, WA

January 4th, 2007, 08:35 PM	#4
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Hi Billy, a PC card with FireWire is worth its weight in gold -- and not very expensive. Should be pretty easy to find too. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 6th, 2007, 08:40 AM	#6
Khoi Pham Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Dallas Posts: 747	Must be a misprint, cuz I looked all over and can't find one. __________________ Khoi Pham www.proeditproductions.com

January 6th, 2007, 11:06 AM	#7
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	There is no S-Video jack on the camcorder but I'm pretty sure I know what they were thinking when they said that. You can get a different version of the triple-ring / tip / sleeve AV cable, similar to the one which comes with the camcorder (it has a 1/8th-inch plug at one end and three RCA plugs at the other). The other version of this cable has two RCA plugs and an S-Video plug. In fact Sony has this cable listed as an optional accessory for the HVR-V1U and HDR-FX7 camcorders, but any generic version of it will do. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 4th, 2007, 06:16 PM	#2
Richard Hunter Trustee Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Lipa City Batangas, Philippines Posts: 1,110	Hi Billy. When you record to tape, the camera has already carried out the A/D conversion and compression stages, so what is on the tape is digital data. It just degrades the video quality to output as analogue and then capture back to digial in the computer, unless you use component out and high end video capture hardware. A PCMCIA firewire card for your laptop should cost around $30, so I would strongly urge you to make this small investment. Using firewire, you copy the digital data from the tape onto your hard disk, without any loss in quality. This is one of the huge benefits of digital video technology, so it makes sense to take advantage of it. Richard

January 4th, 2007, 08:09 PM	#3
Billy Griffin Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Enumclaw, WA Posts: 58	Thanks Richard! I just realized on my commute home that my son's laptop, a Sony Vaio, indeed has a firewire input. I captured some video on it, and it's AMAZING !!! Wow, what a difference! Capturing composite video with that Dazzle unit looked literally like cell phone video. Yuck! Capturing via the firewire cable, it looks awesome - amazing clarity and that real HD look! Sounds like I need to invest in the PC card with Firewire input, huh? I have Pinnacle Studio 10, nothing near as good as most of you are using, but at least with capturing digital and keeping it that quality all the way through, I should be able to get some decent clips edited together. Again, thanks for replying. I was beginning to wonder if anyone would answer. :-)

January 6th, 2007, 07:30 AM	#5
Steve Johnson New Boot Join Date: May 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 5	so now that we've solved the obvious workflow problem, i'm still curious if the XH A1 does have an s-video jack since Canon is advertising that it has one... steve

January 6th, 2007, 02:49 PM	#8
Jay Fisk Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: CSL BCS MX Posts: 67	The 3.5mm mini-jack on the A1 appears to be plain vanilla composite video plus stereo audio. Maybe there's some hidden Y/C in the jack that could be accessed with a special cable (other than the STV-290N that Canon supplies). Maybe the 14-pin component connector has S-Video signals on it that is ignored when using the DTC-1000 RGB component cable?? There are transcoders that can take the component output, add subcarrier, and deliver S-Video, but nothing I've ever seen in a passive cable. Go component, it's much better!

January 7th, 2007, 12:38 AM	#10
Billy Griffin Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Enumclaw, WA Posts: 58	So is it a misprint then, or is there some type of special cable that can be used to get S-Video out of the Component Out plug (not likely)? Anyone tried the BNC output on the side? How does it hold up with just standard composite video out? I don't have any type of monitor with a BNC input, so can't check myself.