FF:WA Video-in Cards

Hey everyone

I recently acquired an old JVC video camera.
I've been mucking around with it, and have been experimenting with shots...etc.

But now i want to muck around with editing!( on my comp) and to do this is realise i need a video-in port.

Does anyone know where i can buy one of these? and how much they cosT?

i've been looking around, and some that i have seen(in uk video mags) are very expensive.!

 

*deep breath*

Okay. You're saying it's a JVC Video Camera, by which I take it to mean it's *not* a digital video camera. Because that complicates things somewhat.

A regular video camera (as opposed to digital) is an analogue recording device. That means signals are recorded on magnetic tape (that miniature videotape you stick inside the camera to record stuff). It means you can't just send the stuff direct from your camera to the computer; it's got to be digitised first. The process is similar to scanning a photo: you get a computer image of the video signal, which you then edit. And, as with a scanner, there is always some loss of image quality. A digital video camera is, you guessed it, a digital recording device in that when you put the stuff across from the camera to the computer, there's no loss of quality because the camera stores the image as data anyway. No digitisation is required since the signal is already digital.

The reason I went through all that was because gear for digitising an analogue signal (ie your VCR footage) is, as you've discovered, expensive...and it seems to be getting rarer as people go to digital video cameras and just use firewire cards. I think you'd already know this, but you'll need an actual video capture card to get your footage onto your computer to edit it.

I have one . Mine's a DV500+ from Pinnacle Systems. It went for $1,795 at Austin Computers (thereby blowing most of my savings). Main reason I got it was because it was the only video capture card I could find around Perth from a retail shop. (*And* they looked mystified when I told them I was looking for a video capture card. Philistines. ) If I had to do it again, I'd go looking through Australian PC magazines, and look for an Eastern States alternative.

There are two pros to this particular card I've got: one, it can capture analogue and digital footage, so I can move up in the world. Two, the card comes packaged with Adobe Premiere 6, which is the editing software a lot of folks use to edit footage.

Note of Caution: The card and the software are beasts for memory and drive space. The card's manual suggests (and I recommend, based on many sessions of swearing at my PC) that you have one entire hard drive devoted to capturing video only, and that it's a big, fast drive--preferably with a SCSI controller or something similar. That's mainly so the hard drive can match the amounts of data thrown at it when you capture video.

Note of Caution II: Son of Note Also, if you're planning (as I am) to rotoscope the footage (ie put lightsaber blades in it) you'll need a program like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, or one of the alternatives they suggest up at TFN Fan Films. Look for student versions of the Adobe programs, or Limited Editions--these should save you money. Look in Quokka; there always seems to be a copy of Premiere, After Effects, or Photoshop floating around.

As for the card itself, you *might* consider looking for an old Video Blaster card (as in Creative Labs), which achieves much the same thing, but obviously it's much more ancient technology. Premiere comes with that card, too, but it's Version 1.0 ... which gives you some idea of the vintage. And that can create problems with newer computers, sadly.

Now, I know a lot of that sounds expensive. It was in my case. But there probably are cheaper alternatives around; I didn't have the benefit of other people around to tell me of them (insert gratuitous Yorkshiremen reference here ). Seriously, SoulKrusher's finished a fan film, and Shadow_Of_Evil's got a digital camera and some editing gear...maybe they have some alternatives to suggest (or indeed corrections to any of the above). Anyone else?
Anyone?
Bueller?

BTW: don't forget to mention you've got another camera when we meet up for the fan film.


Healing my bank balance,
Saintheart

 

hmmm........ to tel you the truth i dont know all that much about analog video....

btw: mind if i ask what you plan to do with your camera... are you considering film-making as a career... cause if you are... WELCOME!!! to my life

 

lol

yes, i am considering film-making as a career.

I mainly just want to get some shorts (about nothing, ie walking the dog) and etc, but this seems an expensive business. Would it be worth bothering looking in the quokka?

 

For software, yes. Video capture cards are few 'n' far between, though.

 

yo monkey_abbot i sent you a PM

 

Well, not to draw u away from the professional stand alone video capture cards.

Most Nvidia video cards come with VIVO.. ie Video In, Video out. (even the cheap ones)
And depending on what software u use there is a range of video capture programs that are out there that can be used with it. The VI quality of my video card is as good as the device output'ing to it.. it drops no frames and the image is sharp & clear..

So before going out and buying an expensive professional capture card it might be worth seeing if a cheaper alternative is worth a look.

Having said that, ple have a few specials on capture cards atm, see the image here.
As well as that, I found Pixelview brand of capture cards (that can be ordered at ple the cheapest of which is $89).. have a range of different features.

Hope thats of some help..

 

Yes! Yes! To Stinky_Jawa you listen!

 

GO DIGITAL!!!!! its sooo nice

 

hey

yeah...i have a Asus Geforce4 MX440 64mb video card...but there's only video-out and the other monitor one...no video-in...but there was a little cable thingo that came with it, that was basicly video-out, with video-in on the end...i think it's for me to plug it into my brand new 76cm sony flat trinitron widescreen tv...but...i donnno...

are there any sort of cables that convert the normal video inputs (that are on consoles etc.) into USB or some other computer input?

if that made any sense at all....

 

Alright Ill add my two cents worth as simple as I can.

First off you dont need a expensive card, if you plan on using MiniDV that is.

Non-MiniDV Users: You will need a card that supports video in with either composite or s-video connectors. Some new video cards these days do support it but its usaually the higher end ones which have those features. Mostly all new video cards DO have a TV-OUT of some sort, but thats TV-OUT so only really good for outputting to TV or VCR. You can buy a VIDEO-IN -> USB connector for fairly cheap but dont expect the quality or frame rate to be that crash hot.

MiniDV Users: All you need really in the way of hardware is a card that supports FIREWIRE/IEEE1394. The more expensive ones allow you to do realtime editing and/or effects. The cheaper ones only allow you to capture and then editing is done straight off the hard drive. StudioDV is a good package to start with if your just starting with video, comes with everything you need hardware & software.

What I use: I have 3 FIREWIRE ports built into my MiniPC and therefore I prefer to just download all the video to my two harddrives and then edit whats there. I have TONS of HD space to download it all and therefore its not a problem for me but you others must make sure 1) You have a HD or partition STRICTLY for editing video ie no OS and 2) the drive supports atleast 7200rpm, which most new drives now days do. If you dont you will lose frames when capturing.

Hope that makes sense... otherwise reply and ask a question. Id be happy to help ya any of ya out.