In need of camcorder advice! - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

adam3039 · 2007-11-24, 12:18 PM

I am looking to buy a camcorder to convert some of my old vhs tapes to dvd's. So I need somthing with a AV input, and of course the firewire DV output. We went out and bought the canon zr800 only to find out that it is incapable to converting AV-DV. Is there any camcorders around the 200-300$ range that can do what i need?

Thanks alot
Adam

sugarman · 2007-11-24, 05:59 PM

Adam,
Not sure if you are talking camcorder or standard VCR tapes, but anyway...
You can copy analog camcorder tapes using AV cables to a standalone DVD recorder. I've done this with an old 8MM camcorder & for freinds who didn't have the proper DV firewire cable for my recorder.
Same for standard VCR tapes. And there are dual play DVD/VHS combo recorders like Samsungs DVD-VR350. Might be better if you have a lot of tapes to convert.
OR,
If you have a PC DVD burner, you could use an analog capture card. This will also let you do editing.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...video.mspx#EEG
I guess you can also find a computer/AV place that will do this for you.

adam3039 · 2007-11-25, 02:30 AM

Im sorry, I should have specified heh. I actually have a mac, so I have the firewire cable that will go straight from the DV out into my mac, I want to do it that way so I can dump it all on to my computer and edit the things out that arn't necessary heh. So basically i just need a camcorder that is capable of converting video signals, I could go get a bridge, but i figured why get a bridge when some camcorders will do it for you, and then ill have a camcorder to tape some events.

In terms of tapes, I have some of those old old tapes that go into the VHS Adapter and into a vcr.

sugarman · 2007-11-25, 12:08 PM

Ah, Ok, So you have a working VHS camcorder. I don't know of a camcorder that does converting & I don't have a mac. Must be an app for a capture device that will let you direct input analog video. You might get a better answer over on the mac site. For the old video I've saved to disc I was burning everything. Figured I could always edit later on my pc using Roxio.

gordonb · 2007-12-05, 10:35 AM

My Canon ZR300 comes with a cable for A/V input that can, according to the manual, be used for capture via DV over firewire. I haven't tried it as I have capture cards to get video into my computer. The newer Canon DV camcorders don't appear to let you dub from an AV input to a DV output.

2007-11-24, 12:18 PM	#1
adam3039 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2	In need of camcorder advice! I am looking to buy a camcorder to convert some of my old vhs tapes to dvd's. So I need somthing with a AV input, and of course the firewire DV output. We went out and bought the canon zr800 only to find out that it is incapable to converting AV-DV. Is there any camcorders around the 200-300$ range that can do what i need? Thanks alot Adam

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2007-11-24, 05:59 PM	#2
sugarman Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: WESTHILL,TOR,ON,ROGERS 8642HD Posts: 278	Adam, Not sure if you are talking camcorder or standard VCR tapes, but anyway... You can copy analog camcorder tapes using AV cables to a standalone DVD recorder. I've done this with an old 8MM camcorder & for freinds who didn't have the proper DV firewire cable for my recorder. Same for standard VCR tapes. And there are dual play DVD/VHS combo recorders like Samsungs DVD-VR350. Might be better if you have a lot of tapes to convert. OR, If you have a PC DVD burner, you could use an analog capture card. This will also let you do editing. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...video.mspx#EEG I guess you can also find a computer/AV place that will do this for you.

2007-11-25, 02:30 AM	#3
adam3039 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2	Im sorry, I should have specified heh. I actually have a mac, so I have the firewire cable that will go straight from the DV out into my mac, I want to do it that way so I can dump it all on to my computer and edit the things out that arn't necessary heh. So basically i just need a camcorder that is capable of converting video signals, I could go get a bridge, but i figured why get a bridge when some camcorders will do it for you, and then ill have a camcorder to tape some events. In terms of tapes, I have some of those old old tapes that go into the VHS Adapter and into a vcr.

2007-11-25, 12:08 PM	#4
sugarman Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: WESTHILL,TOR,ON,ROGERS 8642HD Posts: 278	Ah, Ok, So you have a working VHS camcorder. I don't know of a camcorder that does converting & I don't have a mac. Must be an app for a capture device that will let you direct input analog video. You might get a better answer over on the mac site. For the old video I've saved to disc I was burning everything. Figured I could always edit later on my pc using Roxio.

2007-12-05, 10:35 AM	#5
gordonb Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ottawa (Skyline) Posts: 520	My Canon ZR300 comes with a cable for A/V input that can, according to the manual, be used for capture via DV over firewire. I haven't tried it as I have capture cards to get video into my computer. The newer Canon DV camcorders don't appear to let you dub from an AV input to a DV output.