Mother of all naive questions but here goes...

[tonyjer]

Hi Everyone

My current passion is converting old VHS tapes to DVD. I use my Canon MV630i as the "pass thru" and the various projects have worked like a dream with one exception.

The MV630i suddenly developed a fault during one of the projects. This was diagnosed as the CCD sensor failing and it cost me mucho dinero to fix it)

Canon insisted that the problem was a coincidence and I believe them in a way because for these projects you just use the DV in playback rather than camera mode anyway.

However, my wife is not convinced and has banned all future projects using the DV.

I know you can buy analogue converters to do the same job but am confused by the range and descriptions.

Clearly I don't want to pay a fortune for a limited number of these outstanding projects.

Can anyone recommend a modest reliable converter?

Am I also naive in thinking that you can feed the analogue straight from VCR to PC without using something "in between"?

Many thanks for your time.

Antonio, Anna y Eduardo Felipe

[jchunter]

Tony,
You have my deepest condolences.

I had never considered that capturing analog with a digital camcorder had a dark side. However, your experience shows that capturing analog video with a digital camcorder may not be a good idea - because it introduces unnecessary "wear and tear" on a delicate, high-tech, expensive mechanism. Yes, the CCD might have failed anyway but did the tech offer to replace it under warrantee?

I was about to give away my ADS Instant DVD2 capture device, after buying the digital camcorder. But I think that I will keep the unit around for analog capture.

BTW, you need an analog to digital converter for analog capture, which usually doesn't come with a computer unless you install an add-in board.

John

[BrianCee]

Unfortunately you do have to have *something* in between - but that something could be an analogue capture card (or TV card with video in) in a PCI slot on your computer.

[MikeGunter]

Hi,

Using the Camcorder as a pass through has no negative side to it. There is no wear and tear.

There are a lot of video converters, however. I like Canopus converters best.

Mike

[tonyjer]

Thanks for your help

Antonio, Anna y Eduardo Felipe

PS John- the Camcorder was 18 months old and conveniently out of guarantee!!

[maddrummer3301]

Hi,

Canopus converters are supposed to be the best so I've heard.

But,

The CCD has absolutely nothing to do with analog pass-thru.
It's all related to the camcorders DC power supply system.
All parts are subject to damage if you spike the camcorders electronics.
When in pass-through mode the unit is in "PlayBack/VCR" mode and
the CCD isn't active.

ALWAYS have the camcorder OFF before plugging into the firewire port on
any unit. Also always power the camcorder from it's power supply if possible.
Some camcorders only output the dv interface via full power.

After it's plugged in to the computer then turn the camera on.
Before unplugging the camcorder always turn it OFF.
It's not good to unplug or plugin the camcorder with the unit powered on.

NEVER plug the USB and Firewire cable in at the same time.

CCD's are usually damaged by bright light and shocks/vibration or heat.

Many instructions say to turn the video camera ON and then plug the
firewire cable in.

I can tell you that is wrong. I don't know why manufacturers tell you that
when these devices are not hot-swapable. I have seen many firewire
drives/camcorders fail because the instructions say to turn
the unit on and then plug the cable in. They are always relying on the
ground pins on the connecting cable to making the ground connections
before the data pins. Doesn't always happen that way.

If your wife thinks that using the S-Video cable is safer she's not correct.
The same thing applies. Always have the camera OFF before plugging in
any cables including the audio cables.

Hope this helps,

MD

[jchunter]

Unfortunately the probability of camcorder failure is roughly proportional to the number of times you plug in connectors and turn it on (length of on-time is also a factor). This happens even if the tape mechanism is not used. Moreover. any semiconductor chip may have certain manufacturing defects that can cause premature failure over time (e.g. conductor electromigration). Transistor and conductor dimensions are much smaller now. Oxides are thinner and could be subject to failure due to over voltage. etc. etc. A CCD chip is no exception. (This is not to say that semiconductor reliability is lower now - quite the opposite.)

The good news is that the semiconductor industry cranks out new models that are better and cheaper before the MTBF and we usually upgrade rather then complain.

All in all, I think it does not make good sense to use a $1200 camcorder as an analog capture device.

John

[Terry Stetler]

Cameras are for shooting and analog video conversion is another matter entirely. I've never felt comfortable using cameras in this manner just because of the MTBF issue.

As such having a box like the Canopus ADVC converters should be considered a necessary part of your toolbox.

I suggest the Canopus boxes because they use the excellent Canopus DV codec for analog to DV conversion. This is an important feature in that their codec does a better job of quantization than the DV codec used by Microsoft.

There are several models <$300 and I would consider one an excellent investment.

[tonyjer]

Many thanks to one and all.

Looks like it a Canpous Converter then

TJ