Capture via usb or firewire

uleadme · Post by **uleadme** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:51 pm

Hi,

I'm a newbie using VS9.

My new digital camcorder, a panasonic nv-gs250, comes with a usb cable and Motion DV Studio software to capture the video to the computer.

I am wondering whether it is possible to bypass the Motion DV software and use the usb cable to capture with VS9. This would be handy because it would mean I didn't have to load and install Motion DV which I wouldn't use for editing anyway.

Basically, I want to know if, using VS9, I have to capture via firewire. If I do, can I just buy a IEEE-1394 firewire and plug it into the usb port, or must I first determine whether my computer has an IEEE port to plug the firewire in to.

I have 18 month old Dell dimension 8400, 3.2gh, 1.5g RAM, Radeon X300 SE video card.

thanks

Post by **Ron P.** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:00 am

Hi Uleadme,

First if you are wanting to edit your video, and subsequently create a DVD, then forget about the USB (I made a rhyme

). Manufacturers always include a free USB cable, but not a Firewire. If you have a USB 2 port then you may not have that many problems.

Your computer does not sound too old to have a firewire port. If not save yourself headaches and purchase a Firewire Kit. They come with a PC Card, and a Firewire cable. If your camcorder has a firewire (iLink, 1394) then you should be able to use VS to capture.

Can you plug USB into Firewire? No, not even. They are totally different Forms, and the size, and shapes of the plugs are not the same.

Ron P.

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:35 am

vidoman wrote:Can you plug USB into Firewire? No, not even. They are totally different Forms, and the size, and shapes of the plugs are not the same.

Not that people haven't tried, and even succeeded. Well, not for long though...

raygo · Post by **raygo** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:54 am

I have the same Panasonic G-250video camera and at first I used the supplied USB cable with the supplied Video software and Windows movie maker just to get used to the camera..
I have a pretty strong computer so I did not see much difference in capturing to after I installed a firewire card but Now that I have it, Capturing thru firewire with Ulead 9 is my choice as the beginner software got old quick and from all the posts I have read, everyone pretty much swears by firewire capture so who am I to argue..
I assume with my rig, firewire capture is as good as it gets..

[Amazing that Panasonic does not supply a firewire cable with it's camera..] how much more would the camera have cost anyway?
Me thinks it's due to the fact that most new pc's in the past several years come with USB ports and they outnumber factory installed firewire ports but I'm just guessing here.

uleadme · Post by **uleadme** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:22 am

Thanks for the replies, they were really helpful!!

My next question is do I have to just buy a firewire cable, or a full firewire kit, with PC card (which would require opening up the computer in order to intall them). Obviously, it would depend on whether my computer already has these things, something which I can't tell. Do newish Dell high end desktops (the dimension 8400 was top of the range 18 months ago) usually come with a PC card and firewire connection? How would I be able to find out if my computer has these things. Certainly, a check of the hardware in control panel doesn't reveal I have them.

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:47 am

If your PC has one, even the Network connections would show an IEEE 1394 connection. Firewire is listed as IEEE1394 device in the device manager also. If you can't find that, chances are your system doesn't have it. It'd be surprised though if it doesn't.

A PCI firewire card, you don't need to buy a kit, comes in many flavours and price ranges. The software you get with a kit is unnecessary and only inflates the price. It would be basic at best anyhow. VS does all you need in that respect.

Even though my PC already had a firewire port, just one though, I added a PCI card providing me with two more firewire ports as well as two more high speed USB 2 ports in the sane card because I wanted to connect an external HDD via the IEEE1394 port. Just popped this into a free PCI slot and didn't even need the drivers since XP Pro already had this installed previously.

gordon_fan_24 · Post by **gordon_fan_24** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 4:04 am

I also have the Dimension 8400, and it is about 17-18 months old just like yours is. If you didn't specify firewire when you ordred the computer (like me), you do not have the firewire card, and should buy the full kit (again, like me) And I recommend that you buy from DELL, they design/choose their parts to work on their computers, without problem.

uleadme · Post by **uleadme** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 6:16 am

Thanks Heinz and Gordon for the clear advice.

Yeh, Gordon, I remember seeing the firewire option, and remember not ordering it, so, yes, I guess I don't have a firewire port on my dell and will have to buy the full firewire kit and kaboodle and install it myself with my clumsy computer-incompetent hands.

I'm starting to think it might be worth while capturing video from camera to computer via USB 2.0 and the supplied Motion DV Studio software and then editing it in VS 9. What would be wrong with this? Would it not capture as well as firewire? Somebody say it won't and I'll go out and buy the firewire.

thanks for all the help. This is a great forum.

Phil

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 6:29 am

Most manufacturers don't supply a firewire cable because of the cost and there are different firewire cables depending whether it's a laptop or a desktop computer They can't go wrong with a usb cable.
Another reason is the average person doesn't read instructions. They plug cables in because they are excited with their new investment etc. The USB is plug&play hot-swappable.
Technically a firewire port isn't.

Almost every camcorder book I've read warns about connecting BOTH the usb and the firewire cables to a computer at the sametime. You can damage the circuitry in the camcorder having both cables connected to a computer at the sametime.
So make sure to only connect one cable to the computer at a time.

MD

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 6:42 am

If it helps you identify if you have a firewire port or not compare the pictures of the various cables.

Firewire:
http://www.cwol.com/firewire/1394_cables.htm

USB:
http://www.usbcable.com/cat6.htm

raygo · Post by **raygo** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 4:11 pm

I'm starting to think it might be worth while capturing video from camera to computer via USB 2.0 and the supplied Motion DV Studio software and then editing it in VS 9. What would be wrong with this? Would it not capture as well as firewire? Somebody say it won't and I'll go out and buy the firewire

Again, as a Panasonic G-250 owner, I used to use USB thru motion dv or movie maker, or both, to capture/save as an avi file.
After that, yes, you can import your new avi into Ulead9, so if you don't want to go thru buying then installing a firewire card,[ not a big deal to install] what you want to do will work. The final result [avi file] is the same regardless of how you captured it..
Would I go back to using USB? no reason to..
20.00 bought me a fire wire card with 2 ports and 2 xtra usb ports.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 7:49 pm

Hi,
I also have a "Canon Optura 60" that will stream DV Type-1 after installing the 2 drivers.
Using XP there are 2 drivers to install.
1 - Driver to Control the camcorder
1 - Driver to transfer DV via the new USB 2-x spec.

Ulead products can capture DV Type-1 with the canon drivers IF their Canon camcorder supports this in the interface circuitry.
You can only capture DV.avi format though. The program will not allow real-time DV to Mpeg2 recording.
Processor usage is the same whether capturing firewire or usb.

The reason I don't use the usb connection to transfer dv material is it's simply another driver to install. Firewire is more reliable, flexible and easier to work with.

This person's usb drivers may work under VideoStudio 9, when using the capturing module goto "Advanced Settings" -> "Change Capture Plugin" and select his/her correct usb2 capturing plugin driver.

MD

uleadme · Post by **uleadme** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:51 pm

Thanks all for the continuing support and advice. I'm getting pretty clear on what to do. I think, for starters, I will caputre via USB.20 and then edit the AVI in VS9.

My last question, is whether I should do the USB capture using the supplied Panasonic software, Motion DV Studio, or attempt to do so directly using VS 9. I was under the impression that VS.9 required Firewire for capture, but the previous post by maddrummer3301 seemed to suggest, if I read it correctly, that I could do this via USB.20. Is this really the case?

thanks

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 11:51 pm

In my opinion you should use firewire to transfer video from your camcorder to your computer and not USB.
However for some independent advice here are a few links:

FireWire Vs. USB 2.0
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,847716,00.asp

What is the difference between a Firewire port and USB port?
http://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t140428.html

USB 2.0 vs. FireWire
http://www.digit-life.com/articles/usb20vsfirewire/
This link includes a number of graphs where both types are compared to each other.

FireWire vs. USB:
http://www.firewire-1394.com/what_is_firewire.htm

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:24 am

>>> but the previous post by maddrummer3301 seemed to suggest, if I read it
>>>correctly, that I could do this via USB.20. Is this really the case?
First, you asked and the experienced people gave you the BEST Professional Advice.

I stated that with the "Canon Optura 60" I can capture Full Dv.avi Type-1 using VideoStudio_9.
Yes, I can. That's because Canon writes good computer code to interface with windows XP. I would think Pana should work. They are an excellent company.

Start VideoStudio_9 with the camcorder plugged in and turned on.
Goto "Tools" -> "Change Capture Plugin" .
In the next screen there should be 4 listings that ulead provides as drivers:
1- Ulead DirectShow Capture Plugin (This is the Firewire driver)
2 - Ulead DSW MPEG Capture Plug-In (For analog TV cards etc)
3 - MICROMV MPEG Capture Plug-in (Sony's old camcorders, special)
4 - Windows Media Format Capture Plug-in.

Your USB driver for the panasonic camcorder ALSO should be listed if it can be supported by VideoStudio. (That is if Panasonic has written good computer code to interface with windows XP. If not, your SOL and stuck with their program to capture via the usb interface)
It should say something related to your camcorder (you have to find it if it's listed).
Select it as the Capture plugin if it's listed, Then click OK.
If it was listed and you selected it you can then check to see if your camera was picked up by the driver.
Goto "Tools" -> Select Device Control. If it's working the panasonic camcorder should be listed as "Current Device". Click OK and go back to the timeline.

Then from the timeline click on the Capture Tab, go to capture mode and give it a whirl.
Now, Make sure the FORMAT your capturing in will be DV.avi and NOT Mpeg.
(Adjust that dropdown box for the type to capture in and make it DV). The program will make some changes.

Then before you capture make sure to change the DV Type-2 to Type-1. Change the default DV Type-2 to Type-1 first. I had trouble with type-2 or it may have been greyed out. I don't remember.
Then try controlling the cam.

If none of the above works purchase an Adaptec 3 port Firewire card and a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire cable.
Make sure your using windows XP with Service Pack 1 or 2, That is mandatory.
If the card is more in price than the other cards buy it because they "Work".
Running XP DO NOT install the CD into the drive. Windows Service packs 1 and 2 provide the drivers for that compliant card.
Do not use the CD if running XP or trouble. That is how "Compatible and Compliant" Firewire is.
I'm only stating Adaptec because they work and are reliable firewire cards.

Good luck, I can capture USB 2 Full D1 and I DON"T. I capture using the firewire port because it's more flexible and compatible.

Hope this helps,

MD