I have old Mini DV tapes I want to capture to my new laptop and edit. Does anyone know what equipment I would need to go from Firewire IEEE 1394 to USB? Is it even possible?
OR I have an old Canopus Digital Video Editing System... is there a way to retrofit this device to interface with my laptop which has USB 2 and USB 3 ports?
Hi
. . . . Does anyone know what equipment I would need to go from Firewire IEEE 1394 to USB? Is it even possible? . . . .
It is possible, however the proper converters are difficult to find.
If your laptop has a PCMCIA card slot then you may be able to find a PCMCIA FireWire adapter.
'Adapters' such as these below are useless - they only convert the cable connections, they do not convert the digital signal from the Firewire format to USB format which must be done - the formats are different require the proper conversion.
If your laptop has a PCMCIA card slot then you may be able to get a PCMCIA FireWire adapter.
Other than that, if the camera has a video / audio output then capture by USB video converter is the only way to go.
Use a good quality converter eg Terratec for the purpose.
. . . . I have an old Canopus Digital Video Editing System... is there a way to retrofit this device to interface with my laptop which has USB 2 and USB 3 ports . . . .
If you are referring to the system which connected to the printer parallel port - this is not possible - the technology required is obsolete and there is no software available that would work with this.
HTH
John EB
Having been in the Mini DV world for many years, and now transferring VHS via an analogue capture solution (in my case, an internal capture card), I would strongly strongly strongly recommend finding a Firewire PCMCIA card for your laptop. DV transfer via Firewire guarantees the original quality goes into the PC (and MEP, which loves DV). Any solution which involves conversion of that DV to analogue for USB transfer (or if you you use the camcorder's yellow or S-video ports), will create a second-generation video.
Other advantages of capturing (or should I say more correctly, transferring) DV are that time stamps are transferred as well, meaning your clips will already have dates and times on them/available. Scene splitting will be frame-accurate, which makes life very much easier when editing. Apps like WinDV can name each clip with date and time as it is transferred.
Drivers, especially if you are on Win 10, will be an issue whichever way you go, so be ready for a hunt there.
Having been in the Mini DV world for many years, and now transferring VHS via an analogue capture solution (in my case, an internal capture card)
+1 to this.
BTW, @AAProds
Hi Alwyn(?)
It's great to see you back in the forums after an absence of some years.
Jeff
Cheers Jeff! Although I will admit to not using VPX! 😉
Al
Thank you all for your advice and knowledge. I have an old custom built Windows PC workhorse Editing System running XP with Canopus Storm and Rex Edit software and all associated hardware if you can believe it. Hooking up my old relic AG-DVC80 via Firewire IEEE, I typically capture my old footage then transfer to a external hard-drive. Then transfer into my new laptop to edit with VPX, but have been looking to reduce the steps.
Capture card for the laptop is out of the question. I have a new streamlined Dell with no room for extra cards. I think an external capture device is my only solution. Hopefully they're not too expensive. Know anyone who maybe interested in my old equipment? :-) Thank you all again!
I found this device online. In your opinion, do you think it would do what I need? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1540615-REG/xcellon_little_brother_thunderbolt_3.html/accessories
Hi
The linked to device is for a MAC and although Thunderbolt 3 and USB C use the same connector they are, AFAIK, not totally universal.
A USB C device eg eternal hard drive can be plugged into Thunderbolt 3 and the MAC will recognise the device and be able to use it.
The reverse may work, ie Thunderbolt 3 device is recognised by Windows if the PC USB-C has Thunderbolt 3 capability, connecting to a USB-C port without Thunderbolt 3 capability will not work.
This also implies the USB type A connector (most common on a PC) will not work, nor will USB C to A cables.
Hi Alwyn - +1 to Terry's comment, long time no see and welcome back.
BTW you may struggle finding PCMCIA device and laptops now, it has been obsolete for many years.
John EB
Does your laptop include a Thunderbolt port? Presumably so if you are considering that device. In which case it should work, I think. My only reservation is about the included firewire card. From my experience and for reliability I would always favour a FW card with a TI (Texas Instruments) chipset. A very rapid read of the linked page does not seem to include details of the chipset manufacturer. A pity!
I would also have to say; that unit is not cheap! Can you get it "on test" from B&H?
HTH
Jeff
Regarding...The linked to device is for a MAC and although Thunderbolt 3 and USB C use the same connector they are, AFAIK, not totally universal.
I have a Thunderbolt 3 port. So fingers crossed it will work. :-) I'll post the results when I get the unit.
I have a Thunderbolt 3 port. And I have 30 days to test the unit from B&H. I only have to pay return shipping if it doesn't do what I want, but I am very hopeful it will.
Does your laptop include a Thunderbolt port? ...
I would also have to say; that unit is not cheap! Can you get it "on test" from B&H?
HTH
Jeff
I really would just use your workhorse to capture your DV tapes onto an external drive and then transfer the DV-AVI files onto your laptop. All that very expensive box does is provide firewire access, something you will not need after you have transferred those tapes. Remember that it will also transcode your videos to another format, meaning potential loss of quality.
Hi Alwyn
. . . . I really would just use your workhorse to capture your DV tapes onto an external drive . . .
The only way to do that is capturing the Composite vide and audio, assuming the camera has th connections, via USB converter/capture device with a resulting loss in quality.
DV tapes are already digitised in camera, there is no loss of quality when transferring from camera to PC via Firewire - it is the equivalent of copying files eg from a memory stick to the computer.
Another option to the expensive firewire box is to use a Mini DV tape player that has a USB port for transferring to computer, also expensive, however more practical if there are a lot of tapes to be transferred.
John EB
John, it appears to me that keruxjeff can capture ("transfer", as I mentioned in my first post) DV with firewire into his old computer without recoding (the Storm card looks like it has a 4-pin Firewire socket):
I have an old custom built Windows PC workhorse Editing System running XP with Canopus Storm and Rex Edit software and all associated hardware if you can believe it. Hooking up my old relic AG-DVC80 via Firewire IEEE, I typically capture my old footage then transfer to a external hard-drive. Then transfer into my new laptop to edit with VPX, but have been looking to reduce the steps.
@keruxjeff, the other thing to consider is how much space do you require for your video. If you are going to max-out your lappy and have to use an external drive anyway, you may as well just "transfer" the DV the old way and leave it on the external drive (backed up of course!).
Hi Alwyn
My apologies - I thought you were referring to using a USB capture device on the old PC -
. . . . been in the Mini DV world for many years, and now transferring VHS via an analogue capture solution . . . .
John EB
P.S. The device from B&H works like a dream! Rock solid transfers, plus expandable for other applications such as external hard drives and monitors! Well worth the money!
Excellent. Your MEP will love your DV! Not to mention scene split, shooting date and times. Oh how I love (d) DV...