Analog to Digital at DVinfo.net

Jim Pulfer · November 4th, 2002, 08:22 AM

All,

I'd like to get into the digital area and I thought I'd start by moving my Hi-8 stuff off of tape and through to DVD (step .5 will be to buy a DVD burner I guess). I don't own any NLE software at this point, just assume a strong PC with pleanty of HD space and cycles.

I found one thread that suggested the ADVC 100 by Canopus. Is this still a great choice? Should I look at other products?

http://www.canopus.com/US/products/advc-100/pm_advc-100.asp

Tanks for your assistance.

Zac Stein · November 4th, 2002, 09:18 AM

If a friend has a digital hi-8 camera you could pop your tapes in and use the firewire port to output to your pc. Might be a cheaper option?

kermie

Robert Knecht Schmidt · November 4th, 2002, 09:47 AM

It's my opinion that Canopus engineers top-notch products. I have been users of their DVRex and DVStorm products for 5 years now, and have always been pleased with the quality of their hardware. I haven't tested the product you reference, but it likely uses the same hardware codec found in the DVStorm.

As Kermie suggests, borrowing somebody's Digital8 cam would also do the trick.

Kai Leibrandt · November 4th, 2002, 03:27 PM

There is another, but more involved way; you can capture through an analogue capture card, making sure that you capture full-field (i.e. 640x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL), and then either capture straight to DV (if you have a fairly powerful PC), or do it afterwards in a seperate step (you may choose to do this if you will be doing a lot of editing with your footage in which case you may choose to use the HuffYUV lossless codec [1]).
I strongly recommend VirtualDub [2] whatever codec you use.
I have taken in some VHS material this way using the video-in on a Geforce 4 Ti4200 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality using huffyuv - at least on par with a DC30's mjpg at top quality (7:1 IIRC but someone correct me if I'm wrong).

Kai.

[1] http://math.berkeley.edu/~benrg/huffyuv.html
[2] http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net

Jason Wood · November 4th, 2002, 07:07 PM

Using the ADVC100 (w/XDV) for SVHS output. It seems to be a solid little unit. For non composite stuff, it's more than adequate.

Regards,
Jason

Richard Alvarez · November 8th, 2002, 09:34 AM

I used the canopus advc100 with Xpressdv... sweet unit. No problems, no dropouts... good deal.

Bill

Jim Pulfer · November 8th, 2002, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll go ahead with the purchase of this product - the digital Hi-8 was a good idea I hadn't considered, but I can't track one down around here.

I was looking at another product from Europe but the price here in Canada is higher and the features appear not to be as strong.

Again thanks for suggesting alternatives, and for the feedback on this product.

Keith Luken · November 8th, 2002, 12:07 PM

I love my Canopus AVDC-100 and have since removed my Pinnacle AVDV capture card that came with Studio deluxe.

November 4th, 2002, 08:22 AM	#1
Jim Pulfer New Boot Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 15	Analog to Digital All, I'd like to get into the digital area and I thought I'd start by moving my Hi-8 stuff off of tape and through to DVD (step .5 will be to buy a DVD burner I guess). I don't own any NLE software at this point, just assume a strong PC with pleanty of HD space and cycles. I found one thread that suggested the ADVC 100 by Canopus. Is this still a great choice? Should I look at other products? http://www.canopus.com/US/products/advc-100/pm_advc-100.asp Tanks for your assistance. __________________ James,

November 4th, 2002, 09:47 AM	#3
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	It's my opinion that Canopus engineers top-notch products. I have been users of their DVRex and DVStorm products for 5 years now, and have always been pleased with the quality of their hardware. I haven't tested the product you reference, but it likely uses the same hardware codec found in the DVStorm. As Kermie suggests, borrowing somebody's Digital8 cam would also do the trick. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 8th, 2002, 11:02 AM	#7
Jim Pulfer New Boot Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 15	Thanks Everyone Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll go ahead with the purchase of this product - the digital Hi-8 was a good idea I hadn't considered, but I can't track one down around here. I was looking at another product from Europe but the price here in Canada is higher and the features appear not to be as strong. Again thanks for suggesting alternatives, and for the feedback on this product. __________________ James,

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November 4th, 2002, 09:18 AM	#2
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	If a friend has a digital hi-8 camera you could pop your tapes in and use the firewire port to output to your pc. Might be a cheaper option? kermie

November 4th, 2002, 03:27 PM	#4
Kai Leibrandt Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Munich, Germany Posts: 70	There is another, but more involved way; you can capture through an analogue capture card, making sure that you capture full-field (i.e. 640x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL), and then either capture straight to DV (if you have a fairly powerful PC), or do it afterwards in a seperate step (you may choose to do this if you will be doing a lot of editing with your footage in which case you may choose to use the HuffYUV lossless codec [1]). I strongly recommend VirtualDub [2] whatever codec you use. I have taken in some VHS material this way using the video-in on a Geforce 4 Ti4200 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality using huffyuv - at least on par with a DC30's mjpg at top quality (7:1 IIRC but someone correct me if I'm wrong). Kai. [1] http://math.berkeley.edu/~benrg/huffyuv.html [2] http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net

November 4th, 2002, 07:07 PM	#5
Jason Wood Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 87	Using the ADVC100 (w/XDV) for SVHS output. It seems to be a solid little unit. For non composite stuff, it's more than adequate. Regards, Jason

November 8th, 2002, 09:34 AM	#6
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	I used the canopus advc100 with Xpressdv... sweet unit. No problems, no dropouts... good deal. Bill

November 8th, 2002, 12:07 PM	#8
Keith Luken Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 200	I love my Canopus AVDC-100 and have since removed my Pinnacle AVDV capture card that came with Studio deluxe.