DVD players as uncontrollable capture device...how?! at DVinfo.net

Evan Seccombe · January 5th, 2006, 11:41 PM

in my video productions class at school i have become used to useing the class's dvd players in FCP as uncontrollable devices for capture. Now, at home i use a pc with Adobe Premiere Pro and have also available Avid Xpress Pro. Where can i find dvd players to purchase online or elsewhere that will give me the capability to link them with firewire for capture? And/or, do these programs even allow that? Do the firewire connectors have to be 6pin to 6pin? 6 to 4?

Sorry if this sounds like a noob question.
Thanks to anyone who can assist!

Boyd Ostroff · January 6th, 2006, 01:31 PM

I haven't shopped for a DVD player for awhile, but last time I checked, none of the consumer models had firewire output. They have firewire input so that you can connect them to a camera or computer to burn a DVD. And they output control signals via firewire, so the DVD recorder can tell the camera to start, stop and fast forward. But they don't send video back out via firewire.

There may be newer recorders which have this feature, but I haven't seen one. Last time I checked, that was only available in very expensive pro models. Look at the specs on the manufacturer's website. Most of them will indicate that they have "DV IN," which means input only.

Of course, you could capture from the component or s-video output of the DVD player if you have an analog capture card in your PC.

January 5th, 2006, 11:41 PM	#1
Evan Seccombe New Boot Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6	DVD players as uncontrollable capture device...how?! in my video productions class at school i have become used to useing the class's dvd players in FCP as uncontrollable devices for capture. Now, at home i use a pc with Adobe Premiere Pro and have also available Avid Xpress Pro. Where can i find dvd players to purchase online or elsewhere that will give me the capability to link them with firewire for capture? And/or, do these programs even allow that? Do the firewire connectors have to be 6pin to 6pin? 6 to 4? Sorry if this sounds like a noob question. Thanks to anyone who can assist!

January 6th, 2006, 01:31 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I haven't shopped for a DVD player for awhile, but last time I checked, none of the consumer models had firewire output. They have firewire input so that you can connect them to a camera or computer to burn a DVD. And they output control signals via firewire, so the DVD recorder can tell the camera to start, stop and fast forward. But they don't send video back out via firewire. There may be newer recorders which have this feature, but I haven't seen one. Last time I checked, that was only available in very expensive pro models. Look at the specs on the manufacturer's website. Most of them will indicate that they have "DV IN," which means input only. Of course, you could capture from the component or s-video output of the DVD player if you have an analog capture card in your PC.