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Blown 472
07-02-2003, 12:05 PM
Is there something you can do to record it to show on the net or do I have to have a special video camera?? :confused:

dmontzsta
07-02-2003, 12:13 PM
Digital Video Cam. plug it into a firewire drive and dump it onto your computer.

Phat_Kat
07-02-2003, 12:13 PM
well using a digital camera is preferable but I'm sure you already knew that. If you don't have or can't afford a digital and are stuck with a standard HI8 then you can use a capture card which you can ask about at your local best buy. The most preferable format is mpeg or .mpg files because they're well compressed and have a good quality. Try to avoid mpeg-4 technologies because some of the older computers which are not really that old do not have any of the codecs for the format. Stick to mpeg-2 or mpeg-3 to be safe. If you want use quick time format you'll probably need a video editing program to make the convert. I don't know of any manufactures that finnalize in a .mov format. If you are looking for good digital camera, sony has a great one out for right around $800 or so but I can't be sure. I forget the name but I'll know it when I see it. The camera got great reviews in all catagories(ergonomics, storage, etc.). I'll look it up for you if you're interested.

Phat_Kat
07-02-2003, 12:13 PM
dmontzsta:
Digital Video Cam. plug it into a firewire drive and dump it onto your computer. USB 2.0 works too

Tom Brown
07-02-2003, 12:21 PM
Be careful if you end up shopping for a capture device. There are some decent ones out there but none of them are perfect and they tend to require a really fast machine (1.5+ GHz P4 typical) to capture without dropping frames.
A DV cam and firewire are where it's at but the capture devices can be OK if you have a reasonably fast machine.

Boatcop
07-02-2003, 02:47 PM
What do those "capture devices" run, and do you see any problem running one in a Dell, 1.8 ghz P4?
Also how is the resolution for making stills from the video? Sharp 8mm ViewCam.
It's funny that this came up just now. Me and Mrs. BoatCop were just talking about this the other day.

572Daytona
07-02-2003, 03:16 PM
Alan, Low end would be something like this ATI TV Wonder VE for about $50, I have one of these and it does an ok job on video, the stills aren't great...but I don't think any video capture device is going to produce stills comparable to a digital camera. Something like this requires an available PCI slot in your computer. ATI TV Wonder VE (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?cat=3951&dept=3944&product_id=1875493&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A113963%3A4467)
A higher end around $200 and easier to use analog capture device would be something like this. For this you would need to make sure that you computer has Firewire ports on it. Dazzle Hollywood DV (http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=926349)
[ July 02, 2003, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: 572Daytona ]

Boatcop
07-02-2003, 04:07 PM
Thanks, I cruised over to Best-Buy and found this for $70 bucks:
ADS Tech Instant Video (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051384555807&skuId=4770901&type=product)
Anyone have any experience with this type of device? There's another brand has pretty much the same features for the same price.
(I've got 2 extra USB fire wire inputs)

572Daytona
07-02-2003, 08:02 PM
Alan, USB and firewire inputs are different, also USB ports can either be USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 From what I've read in order to capture full motion video without skipping frames or reducing resolution you need USB 2.0 or Firewire, USB 1.1 isn't fast enough to keep up. The ADS instant video looks like it is a USB 1.1 product so I would expect the video that it produces wouldn't be that great. Check with Best Buy and see if you can return it if you don't like it, if so it would be worth giving it a try.

Infomaniac
07-02-2003, 08:24 PM
I use a firewire. My Sony digital camcorder has this output. My computer has this input.
The software that is used makes all the difference. The file size etc. is determined by the software.
The camcorder takes still pics 1.2 megapixel. I use a USB to get them to the computer.
[ July 02, 2003, 09:25 PM: Message edited by: Infomaniac ]