Need a little help with DV transfer...

[iamtheduck]

Hi guys, hope I'm in the right forum here...

I know very little about the DV format, most of my experience has been with other storage mediums, however, I’ve had a bunch of DV tapes dropped on me with the task of transferring them to a computer for editing.


What I do know, is that the footage was recorded onto a number of Fujifilm MiniDV tapes, with this camera, which I don’t have access to. All I have access to is this cheapy little MiniDV cam, which the Fujifilm tapes will play on; I can view the recorded footage which I need on my computer. I’ve tried using a DV-out cable to my (Windows) PC via USB on the MiniDV cam to attempt to transfer to Premiere, but the PC won’t detect it. I assume I need a Firewire port.


My first question is: Am I right in thinking that if I installed a Firewire port on my PC that I’d be able to capture the footage onto my PC this way?


And second, if I was to transfer the footage to my PC this way, would I lose significant quality based on the footage on the tape’s full potential?


Many thanks in advance!

 

[RGBaker]

Although I'm a little confused about how you know you can view the footage on your computer if you can't transfer it ... your questions are pretty straightforward.

1) Yes, a simple Firewire port on your computer will allow transfer -- years ago there were some Firewire cards that were more reliable than others, but I think today they are all much the same, and remarkably cheap;
2) You don't lose any quality at all -- a Firewire transfer of a file from tape to hard disc is a bit for bit identical copy, no different than copying a file from one hard disc to another. Your footage is pristine when transferred via Firewire from DV tape to hard disc.

Cheers,
GB

(Let me add that you don't need to use an editor like Premiere for your transfer manager -- I personally always preferred the one I link here; fast, reliable, ran as a background task. Once you have your material on a hard drive you can them import it to any editor you care to use -- http://www.scenalyzer.com/main.html )

 

[iamtheduck]

Hi GB, many thanks for the reply. Some great stuff there. I think that's all I need. Have ordered a Firewire card and cable.

Excuse my grammatical fail. I meant I can play the footage (which I need on my computer) through the MiniDV cam.

 

[RGBaker]

Glad to be of help. Note that it is important that you checked playback in the DV camcorder ... many camcorders wouldn't have played it, as the recording is likely NOT a DV recording. The camera you've linked is a DVCam device -- it records a file that is the same as a DV file, but records it in a slightly different method on the tape. DVCam recordings on miniDV tapes can be played by almost any Sony camcorder -- but some competitors hardware refuse to recognize a DVCam recording. I didn't raise that potential issue in my previous post, but if you've checked playback in the device you have (and listened to the audio) -- you should be good to go. Terminology here can be confusing -- DV is a file format, and can be recorded to miniDV tapes (typical) full size DV tapes (rare) and even Hi8mm tapes (described as Digital8) -- the file remains the same. DVCam describes the same file, but recorded on tape that travels at a faster linear speed and so less likely exhibit drop-outs. Users often mix the terms -- DVcam may sometimes mean 'DV Camcorder', a 'miniDV' tape may often contain a DVCam recording, a tape labelled Hi8 may be in fact a DV recording, et cetera.

Cheers,
GB