best video capture cards/software

[joshdaniels]

Hello Group,

I would enjoy any feedback pertaining to Video Capture Card preferences.

I run the digi001/pro-tools le on a mac 500mhz dual processor.

Also, any advice on which VCR I should use to dump VT into the Mac.

I have been told by Mac sales in the UK that the PINNACLE MIROMOTION DC30 PLUS F/MAC PIN260033 is just about the best thing. It comes with Adobe Premier.

Thanks

Josh

ps. Guitarman, your music kicks!

[dcornutt]

Both the Pinnacle DC 30 and Aurora Fuse card have been certified by Digi.
Ive seen success stories from users of both.

I use the Aurora Fuse card.
It has better picture quality and higher data rates than the DC 30. It doesn't come with audio I/O but works thru soundmanager..ie..the little mini plug..or..
if you have an AMIII card..and OS 8.6 or lower..you can use your AMIII I/O within Premiere.

The audio I/O on the pinnacle from what I have heard..is not much better quality than the built in Mac audio.

The best thing about the aurora cards..is that all outputs are active all the time. What that means is...you can view your video full screen on an external TV while you work in Premier...or PT from any of its outputs. I believe this also possible with the DC 30 but requires you use their viewer. Not sure on this.

If you plan on ..in the future...doing more video work...then I would suggest the Igniter from Aurora. Its got a 13meg per second data rate..and has upgrade cards..that snap onto the base (read..one PCI slot) that can take you anywhere you want to go...up to uncompressed SDI, or film read (24fps native film editing..ie..no pull down!). Its more expensive.

The fuse can be had bundled with full Adobe premere for about 675 US..from Macgurus.com. The igniter with premiere runs about 1200 bucks.

DV is another way to go! You can also buy a Sony DMA2 converter for about 450 bucks! It will alow you to hook up any vcr...and it converts it to FIREWIRE...goes into premiere..or...Final cut pro.

The drawback here..is ..you have to still buy Premiere..or FCP software and..a (expensive when purchased alone).

For consumer model VCR..the most bang for the buck is the JVC models....you can get pro features in one for about 300 to 400 US. But..its still a consumer deck.

The best deal on a Pro level SVHS/VHS deck is the panasonic 1980. Its about one thousand dollars US. Its great quality and more heavy duty than any consumer deck. To get a better deck a step up from the panasonic..the price jumps up..significantly.

DV decks are great too!

A JVC 600 MINI DV deck is about 3 grand.
It can be used as a converter from any format hook up. It has composite, component, Svhs on the back..and it can be controled thru firewire in Premiere or FCP it also has time code..and RS 422 for machine control.

The advantage of using the DC or fuse/igniter is that the data rate is configurable. You can save out your digitized movie as a smaller file so when you import it into PTle..it won't bog things down.

DV is not configurable. It runs about 3.5 megs a second. Period.

Digi recommends that if you are importing a movie into PT for editing..to keep it under one meg a second. At that rate...no movie looks that great. You only use it..as a reference..to mix the audio to.

Then..you export the audio file..from pT..and go BACK to premiere..and drop it in under the origninal high res (read bigger) movie file.

So, the process..is to..digitize the movie (here DC 30 has the advantage of ease of use..because of the built in audio..but..the fuse is not far behing...use a mix board..and rca out...to..the mini plug).
The fuse has better looking video IMHO at any given data rate and esp...the higher ones.

So now you have a full res...QT movie.

Now..in Premiere...or QT pro..save out a copy of the movie..using the fuse..or DC codec..at much lower res...ie..one meg or less per second.

Import that into PTle...and..edit..mix away.
Export the audio file from PTle..and import just the audio file back into premier..and line it up..with your full res movie.
Then Print to tape.

The audio OUT still works with the 001 or AMIII in premiere. When you get ready to off to tape...you can use your digi outs...for better quality than either the Fuse or DC.

Thats the scoop.

Oh, one more thing...be aware..that PTle..does NOT have a SMPTE time line.

That just means..that..if someone is giving you a movie with timecode...to work with...PTle doesn't have a "ruler" with the timecode on it. You have to tell them to do a SMPTE window burn..where the time code..is printed on the movie frames...ie..you see it on the movie.

Finally, because the PTle is not "resolved" you may see a drift in sync on really long projects...say...over 20 mins. Some people have been experiencing this.

Others have not. Figure. For more info on this issue...see..the Digi web page..using PTle and Time Code.

Hope that helps

dcornutt

[joshdaniels]

to dcornut,

thank you so much for the extensive reply.

i think i will opt for the pinnacle, especially as i only need the picture for reference.

thanks again

josh

[dcornutt]

Anytime Josh.

Many users happy with DC 30

Enjoy.

dcornutt