New editor here - ?'s about adding firewire

ihatedv

ihatedv

Well-known member
I'm completely new to editing and have a few questions. I was initially going with a MAC but decided on a PC. My cam is a DVX100B

Not sure which editing suite I will go with yet.


  1. When I capture, I need to do it via Firewire to get uncompressed DV right?
  2. Can firewire be added to any Desktop like this model? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9999116500050000&type=product&id=pcmprd116600050000
  3. How do you know if the monitor is good enough to color correct?
  4. How about this machine http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/pr...umpid=in_r329_personalization/browse1/PDP_PDP
I really like the last PC because it has a free upgrade to Windows 7

  • Anything that you can enlighten me about video cards will be nice too.
  • How about 32bit vs 64bit bus

I only have about 400. to spend

Thanks
 
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To capture footage from tape, yes you need FW. Remember that DV is heavily compressed in the camera. A FW card simply permits one and zero transfers of digital data.

If it has PCI slots, you can add a board.

It isn't good enough to professional grading.
 
ihatedv said:
Add a board?
Click to expand...

A PCI board with FireWire ports is your best option for upgrading a Windows desktop.

ihatedv said:
What kind of monitor would I need to do professional grading?
Click to expand...

No computer monitor is going to suffice. Ideally, you'll have a professional production monitor hooked up to your DV device.

Without getting another debate started on why it is or is not acceptable to use your DVX as a capture deck, I'll leave it at this: a dedicated deck for ingest/output is going to give you more options in work flow for post-production. More frame-accurate control and frame-accurate insert/assemble editing are two major benefits.

But whether you have a deck or use your camera, connect the device's video outs to a monitor (look for a good deal on a used Sony PVM L2 or L3 monitor), and connect the audio outs to audio monitors. In the DV world, audio follows video, so if you monitor video externally, monitor audio externally as well.
 
Firewire Connection Question

Firewire Connection Question

OK. So I got the PC, monitor is on the way. Just picked up a 1.5 TB external, and now here is the new thing that puzzles me. I always hear to capture, you need to connect your capture deck to the PC.

On my DVX there is the DV port. This is the one I should be using correct? If I need to connect my deck to the PC via FW, how can I do this if the DV plug is smaller than the FW port? I thought it would be FW to FW. Is there a special plug I should be look for?

Thanks in advance.
 
ihatedv said:
OK. So I got the PC, monitor is on the way. Just picked up a 1.5 TB external, and now here is the new thing that puzzles me. I always hear to capture, you need to connect your capture deck to the PC.

On my DVX there is the DV port. This is the one I should be using correct? If I need to connect my deck to the PC via FW, how can I do this if the DV plug is smaller than the FW port? I thought it would be FW to FW. Is there a special plug I should be look for?
Click to expand...

Yes, you need to connect your capture deck to the computer in order to capture.

Your camera has a FW400 4-pin connection, and your computer, I assume, has a FW400 6-pin connection. So get a 4-pin to 6-pin cable and you'll be fine.
 
C2V said:
Yes, you need to connect your capture deck to the computer in order to capture.

Your camera has a FW400 4-pin connection, and your computer, I assume, has a FW400 6-pin connection. So get a 4-pin to 6-pin cable and you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Ok I see, I didn't know FW came in 4 and 6 pin. My PC is FW400 so I guess its a 6 pin. Ill research it.
 
I just got a new iMac and it only has one Firewire port, the new FW800 9-pin spec, and I can't find a cable at any of my electronics retailers, so it looks like I'm going to have to go to one of the mega-stores to find it.
 
kyotonils said:
i just got a new imac and it only has one firewire port, the new fw800 9-pin spec, and i can't find a cable at any of my electronics retailers, so it looks like i'm going to have to go to one of the mega-stores to find it.
Click to expand...

ebay
 
kyotonils said:
I just got a new iMac and it only has one Firewire port, the new FW800 9-pin spec, and I can't find a cable at any of my electronics retailers, so it looks like I'm going to have to go to one of the mega-stores to find it.
Click to expand...

It's best that you do not capture to your internal hard drive on your iMac. Get an external FW hard drive that has both FW800 and FW400 ports. Connect the drive to the iMac via FW800, then connect the camera to the drive with FW400 4-pin to 6-pin.
 
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