A Hardware Question

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 1:03 pm

Hi Guys
This may sound a silly question. At some stage I'd like to be able to download direct onto my laptop whan I'm away so I can do some basic editing. My camcorder (Panasonic GS10) only has a firewire or S-Video outlets and my current laptop only has USB ports. Also, the laptops I've looked at buying in the future, do not seem to have firewire either. Can anyone tell me if there's some kind of adapter or cable I can use that would fit the USB port?

Separately, regarding mini-DV tape (and apols if this sounds dumb), a friend of mine has asked me to edit some tape for him. His camcorder is a sony. If he sends me his mini-DVs, will they function properly in my camcorder so I can download to my PC and edit?

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:00 pm

Yes, mini-DV tapes should be interchangeable between makes of cam, but you may not be able to download the date/time data.

I would not recommend downgrading from IEEE-1394 to USB, which has a lower spec. I thought most laptops had IEEE-1394 nowadays. You may be able to find an IEEE-1394>PC card, though: something like this.

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:58 pm

Thanks Devil, that's helpful.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:05 pm

I just checked my wifes laptop which is only a couple of months old.
It does not have an IEEE1394 port.

Regarding DV tapes, two of my friends who go on the same cruise holidays as myself normally hand me their DV tapes so that I can create a cumulative holiday video. Their DV tapes play find in my camcorder.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:33 pm

sjj1805 wrote:I just checked my wifes laptop which is only a couple of months old.
It does not have an IEEE1394 port.

Shows your an old meanie, buying her a cheapo laptop, while you have top-notch computers for your video!!!

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 4:55 pm

As more cams turn to solid state/hdd then they use usb2 instead of firewire so the need for firewire diminishes.

The only problem with tapes and other cams is if they recorded in LP, this often won't work in any other cam.

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:02 pm

Many thanks guys for your advice & help (hope Steve's missus doesn't see Devil's comment or he'll be forking out for a new state of the art for his better half!)

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:46 pm

I deal with several miniDVs per day from all sorts of sources. SP (Standard Play) tapes should work in any camera, but different manufacturers do LP differently. Keep it all SP and you should have no probs.

For your laptop, you have a couple of options.
1. Get a firewire PCMCIA card (or newer laptops are now coming with the ExpressCard) more on the two standards here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard
2. You can get a converter which will connect to your computer via USB and connect to your camera with firewire. They convert your signal to MPEG2 then transfer it via USB to your laptop.

I have tried both methods, and found no. 1 to be far superior. The MPEG2 converters can have terrible quality.
Remember, most laptops have slower hard drives which can affect high data rate capture.

I couldn't live without firewire on my laptop. Today I drove to 400km to a remote town to film a protest march. Using my laptop I was able to edit the story together and upload to the TV station to make the evening news, something I could not have achieved if I had to drive all the way back to my office. When it works well, it is a beautiful thing!

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:22 am

Thanks Troppo, that's really helpful and I think a laptop upgrade is on the cards at some stage soon - although I note the comment 'when it works well' (didn't realise you're actually involved in the TV news profession).

troppo · Post by **troppo** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:57 am

Yes, like all tools, they are only useful when they work! I have just started using tapeless acquisition using a nnovia HDD recorder, which removes the capture time moving footage from tape to laptop. It saves a lot of time, as I can just drag over the clips I want to keep and edit directly. But, like all new technologies and workflows, I have had moments of frustration! (Although, more because of operator error than tech failure!)