Is it possible to captor HDV with this setup.

Thank you

The Linux tablet is working like a charm. I used it this fall to record the local high school football games and used it Friday night recording a basketball game (testing out my new Panasonic PV-GS180). I'm currently working on a new version using Xubuntu Linux to try and reduce the size of the operating system and setup partition.

Rumi,

Dvgrab is designed to capture the SD video stream via the firewire cable. The DV stream is commonly known as DV25 because it is 25Mbps (about 13GB per hour). There may be programs available to capture HD video under Linux, but I have no experience with them. Also, the slow tablet I used would not lend itself to capture formats much faster than 25Mbps. This only eliminates DV50 as an option. The new MPEG-2 and AVCHD camcorders, in theory anyway, should be very capturable via USB2. The big issue is that a lot of the new cameras are not tape based, so this capture rig isn't really necessary anymore.

Linux grab DVCPROHD
 

Hallo,
fist of all i want say iam sorry for my bad english ...

I want to ask if somebody find or try a way to record (DD-recording) DVCPRO-HD format (panasonic ag-HVX200) under Linux using IEEE1394.

i find on internet 2 way to import HDV but notting about DVCPRO-HD:
http://www.braindead.nu/wordpress/?page_id=32
http://kdenlive.sourceforge.net/hdv.php
http://www.kinodv.org/dcforum/dcforu...g_id=543&page=

some one have any idear?
maybe using: libiec61883 - Linux IEEE 1394 streaming media library
http://www.linux1394.org/index.php

and 2 more question:
some body know if some program like DV rack 2 exist under linux (vectoroscope spectograph etc).

Somo one know if a DVCPRO codec exist for linux ?

thx

Seems like it wouldnt be a problem to capture hdv with this setup or a similar one. I just tested capturing hdv directly to my laptop in windows xp using capdvhs and it worked (although i had to start the program while the camera was in playback mode and then switch to record mode for it to be detected correctly) anyway, while recording my CPU usage didnt break 10%, in fact it was even less. techincally pulling raw 25mbps data stream from firewire is no different between hdv and dv since no actual decoding is done, just dumping the data to file. I'm thinking of building myself one of these for hdv.

With firestores and citidisks at ~$1000 it would be a far better deal to buy a nice new UMPC for less than that that could double as an HDV capture device and a full featured computer that fits in your pocket. $1000 for a device that only streams data through firewire to a $80 hard drive is ridiculous.

Is running Linux on the Stylistic a prerequisite of this project? I'm curious if it can be done with the preloaded Win2K. Has anyone successfully done this? I'm really not a Linux guy - I've used windows for everything. I do have a copy of Lindows that I tried for a week, could that be used here?

Also, with regard to HD content, there are basically two different types. The Panasonic method that normally records to P2 cards - this has a stream somewhere around 100 MB per second - there is no way this would work. The other common HD format is seen with JVC, Sony, Canon - mpg compression takes place on the camera, and with my JVC at least, it outputs 19.2 MB per second (somewhat smaller throughput than the standard definition 25 MB per second).

As long as the computer is okay with the file format, in this case an MPEG file with the .m2t suffix, it should be easier than SD. Can anyone confirm my hypothesis? Alternately, can anyone tell me what I'm missing and why it wouldn't work?

Ted,

I chose Linux because, in my experience, it was pretty easy to make a special purpose computer this way. Windows tends to carries a lot of extra baggage with many programs running in the background, and interwoven applications. Also, the programs that I tried to use to capture video required a faster computer than the Stylistic 3400. That being said, Jeff Chandler posted where he is using Windows 2000 on a Stylistic and captures video with a program called DVIO. I don't have any experience with that program so I'll have to say that Jeff would be the expert there. If you wanted to try Linux I would suggest getting a copy of Ubuntu. I recently tried setting up my system with Ubuntu 6.06 and it went pretty easily... much better than Fedora. And it was much prettier than Windows

As far as HD goes, I haven't done anything with that as I don't have an HD camera. In theory what you say is correct, you should be able to capture the video stream with this tablet. The big problem would be the capture software. The only Linux capture programs I know of are dvgrab for capturing SD, DV video on firewire; and test-mpeg2 for SD, mpeg capture also on firewire. I know there is work being done in Linux for "HD Tivo" style boxes. However most of these setups rely on dedicated video capture cards that fit into desktop PCs. I don't know how much of this work will apply to capturing video from HD camcorders. Another problem is it looks like many of the newer camcorders are dropping the firewire interface for USB 2.0 connections.

Great stuff David! I have a question for you - were you able to get the "touchscreen" aspect of the tablet pc working with linux? I'm trying to come up with a home-brewed direct-to-disk solution for HDV. There is a patch out there for dvgrab to enable HDV capture, so I might go the linux route, and having the ability to use the touchscreen would be fantastic.

As an alternative, I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to capture on a WinCE/XScale device (400MHz, 128MB RAM). Drivers will probably be an issue here.

These touchscreen tablets/UMPCs are definitely the way to go, although those loaded with XP are still a bit expensive (we're talking used/refurbished). I'm looking to put something together by the end of summer - any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Just to follow up - there are two freeware apps available for live HDV capture in WinXP: HDVSplit and CapDVHS. Both dump the stream directly to disk and don't require much horsepower if you don't use preview. Either one of these running on an "old" WinXP laptop will provide for live HDV capture direct-to-disk. Personally, I'm trying to shrink the "footprint" by finding a touchscreen tablet solution, but for those of you who don't mind bringing along a laptop, HDV direct-to-disk is easily achievable without having to purchase any software.

Yes I did get the touchscreen working with Linux. On the version I originally used the driver was broken but as soon as I inquired about it the author fixed it. If you use a newer Linux like Ubuntu 6 the driver works, but you still have to change a couple config files - one to recognize the serial port and the other to setup the touchscreen in xWindows (if I remember correctly).

I don't know about using a WinCE device. The processor should be fast enough but I suspect it will not work because of the limited ports and storage options on these devices. It is definitely worth a shot if you have a way to attach the camera and a hard disk.

You could probably get up to 50Mbit/sec out of the tablet I have. There are slightly faster models that are in the same price range. For $200 it would be worth trying. The Stylistic LT P-600 and ST4120 would be is slightly higher ($300-$400) but may suit your needs better. I did see a UMPC on woot.com ONCE and it didn't sell very well. So if you are patient they'll be on ebay for the right price soon. :)

Capture 2 HDV streams on one PC.
 

Did some interesting tests today and I thought I'd share the results here. First a little background: I shoot (mostly as a hobby) dance recitals and competitions. I use two Sony HDV cameras. Since these events can run quite a bit longer than 2 hours, I'm looking for a direct-to-disk solution. I've used a laptop before (for one camera) and that works just fine, but I'm looking to reduce the "footprint". Obviously, I'm not interested in shelling out $3000 for the available "off the shelf" products. For my purposes, I always shoot indoors from fixed positions, so batteries and "ultra" mobility aren't high on my list of priorities. I'm looking into tablet PC/UMPC solutions, and I'm hoping to come up with a solution by the end of summer.

There are a few freeware apps out there for Windows XP that can capture HDV live direct-to-disk: HDVSplit, CapDVHS, VLC. I was curious about the possibility of capturing from both cameras at the same time on a single PC. Unfortunately, none of these apps are capable of even recognizing two cameras. Since these apps are based on the DirectShow implementation in Windows, and since I'm a software guy, I decided to play around with the interface. Long story short: I've succesfully tested the simultaneous capture of HDV streams from two cameras on one PC. There were no apparent dropped frames. The resulting files are the "raw" transport stream files directly from the camera and they were accepted by Sony Vegas without issue and playable on any number of software video players.

I did use a pretty beefy cpu for this test (Core2 Duo, 2GB RAM), but CPU usage hovered around only 10% and memory usage never exceeded 256MB. Next up: package up a simple interface and do some testing on some "slower" laptops. Ideally, if I can make this work, I envision using one tablet PC loaded w/ WinXP to capture from two cameras. If anyone is interested in this "investigation", I'll post my progress in this thread (or perhaps start another?).

Ron

Ron,

I would definately be interested in your findings and anything you may develop along the way. When you did the dual capture, were you previewing either of the streams? If not then I can understand the low CPU usage -- a simple transfer of data from one interface to another shouldn't be too tough on it. I would be curious what the usage would be if there was a scaled-down (25% maybe?) preview of both streams displayed on the screen.

-Sean

I agree - for simple capture the limitation shouldn't be the CPU. Bus speed and hard drive speed maybe. Which is why I was thinking it should be possible to capture using a handheld WindowsCE device (no preview of course). I think drivers may be an issue on WinCE though, so I'm going to work the WinXP dual capture angle first. I'll see what I can do about adding preview for both streams.

Ron,

That's very interesting information - good work. After playing around with a stylistic 3500 (which was quite impressive for older hardware), I decided to back off - I'd still like a smaller capture device than that. So, instead, I've decided to sell mine on eBay.

I'll keep checking up on the great work you guys are doing over here, it sure sounds cool.

Thanks,

Portable 4:2:2 MJPEG recorder
 

I am trying to do something similar but to make a portable 4:2:2 colorspce and 3:1 compression MJPEG recorder. DV gives us 4:1:1 with 5:1 compression so 4:2:2 would be a step up.
There is a Linux MJPEG page
mjpeg.sourceforge.net

Initially I am planning to get Y/C S-video input and then later use SDI/HDMI for a HD recorder.
Any ideas for the initial SD version ??

Here's an update for anyone thinking about building your own portable capture rig running Linux....

dvgrab has been updated to version 3.0

The new version allows capture of HDV video and also allows DV capture via USB.

Since I don't have an HDV camera, I can't attest to how well the new features work. But for standard def I just keep plugging away with mine without any problems. Since August I've captured over 700GB of video directly to my tablet. The only dropped frames happened one night when I used a retractable firewire cable (no shielding) too close to some two-way radios.

David

Still going strong...
 

FYI to anybody who visits this thread...

While I don't visit the boards very often, I still use my Fujitsu tablet for capturing video. I used it filming 88 sporting events during the 2007-2008 school year and have already filmed over 30 events this year. All without lost frames or other issues. That's over 1.7 TERABYTES of video files in the past 15 months.

The proof is obviously in the results and I have been nothing but pleased with how the system works. If I had it to do over, would I? Absolutely!

- David

David- thank you for posting this. It was quite a long read and I am happy to have learned so much. I actually was looking for Direct to DVD articles (and I may seek your advice when I find the right thread) when i came across this jem of an article. Thanks for sharing!

Re: Homemade Direct-to-Disc on the cheap
 

Hi David and everyone,
You inspired me to stop dreaming and build my setup of a direct to disk system.
I'm running 2 FX-1s and 1 Z1u, via firewire to a 3 firewire PCI card inserted in an Intel
D510 atom mini-itx mb. It's housed in a Rosewill mini-itx htpc case, with a 2.5" 160
Gb 7200rpm notebook disk, a WD Blue 500 Gb 3.5" drive (handy), and one 1GB DDR
800 memory stick. H/W cost of around $300. Using left over keyboard, trackball,
15" LCD.

I installed Fedora Core 14, then followed the instructions for adding dvgrab 3.2, samba,
and setting up security and samba to share the 500GB where I put the video streams.

I tested it for a day, including recording one 3hr continuous take from the 3 cameras.
Yesterday was the first real test, I recorded 2 shows, for a total of around 120 GB.
No tape, no tape swaps during the show (which is a real headache),
no rewinding of 10 or 11 tapes and reading them into the computer, just a regular
file move from one computer to another (though I need to get a Gigabit switch now).

Another nice thing was being able to do a quick check during intermission and
between shows, we could see what each camera was doing for each scene and
talk about adjustments. That was really nice.

Next up is a 24 or 32 track recording setup with another computer using FC14.

thanks
jim cowan

Re: Homemade Direct-to-Disc on the cheap
 

Jim,
That set-up sounds nice. One thing you might consider for transferring the data, assuming you are going from the HTPC to a desktop and assuming both have a full-size 5.25 external slot available for a drive is installing a HDD swap bay. I have two on my primary system and one on my secondary. It is awesome for taking back-ups off-site, transferring huge chunks of data between different systems or expanding storage on a system. I use the Kingwin SATA Black Alum Mobile Rack w/ Triple Fans from TigerDirect.com. This would be a quick way to take a data drive directly from your DTD machine to an editing machine for immediate work or full-speed sata dump to a drive on your desktop and would probably be less expensive than a gigabit switch. Thanks for sharing info about your build. If you get time, post a few pics so we can see what it looks like in action.

Re: Homemade Direct-to-Disc on the cheap
 

Hi Bryan,
I put up a album with some picts from yesterday. Here is the final in theater setup:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/members/...mera-floor.jpg

I've already ordered the gigabyte switch, I've been out of room on my wireless router for
a while. With the switch I'll be able to put all of my computers on it and work on a new
backup scheme. Now that I'm not recording the shows to tape I have to think about how
to backup the raw data and I may rebuild one of the computers into a storage facility.
But thanks for the heads up on the kingwin.

Right now I'm running a notebook 2.5" for the system. I'd bought 2 with the intention of using
both, but ended up using a 3.5" 500Gb that I'd used with my 1st try that had parts of a show
on it. It was already formatted and I needed to if I had some usable video on it. The Rosewill
case has plenty (too much) room. If I rebuild I'll be looking for a smaller case and 2 2.5" drives
will used.

thanks
jim cowan

Re: Homemade Direct-to-Disc on the cheap
 

So how does the Vacuum cleaner figure into the system?

j/k

Very nice setup.

Obviously I hope you are gonna use a headless (linux) system for your backup storage system on that spare computer you are talking about. You can jam in 3+ hard drives into a raid 5 setup for some redundancy in that backup. It is very easy to do and will work really well. I have four 2TB drives in a raid 5 giving me 5gigs of usable storage (1024 crap and file system over head ate up a whole gig!) I use rsync on several of my clients servers to backup data over the internet to this box and that is what I would do if I was doing something in house. It could easily be automated with a script and/or just use a script to fire off the backup when needed.

Hit me up if you need some help with that.