Advice please

[Saxon]

I have an analogue Panasonic S-vhsc camcorder which lacks any USB or firewire connectivity. I have quite a lot of recordings on svhsc I would like to convert to DVD so I can reuse the tapes. I also have an extensive collection of VHS material I would like to copy to DVD too - mostly old movies taped off the BBC etc.

My wife is expecting and I plan to record plenty of baby video etc but have a dilemma. Should I buy a new budget Dv camcorder with analogue inputs to enable me to route a feed from my old camcorder through the new one to the USB connection on my laptop or should I just buy one of those £100 video capture devices to run between the camcorder/home VHS and the computer with its DVD-R drive?

I am quite happy with the quality of my existing camcorder and would rather spend £100 on a video capture device than £350 on a new camcorder especially with a baby on the way.

I'd welcome advice from the experts on here though.

Many thanks,

Saxon

[MarkE19]

Well if you are happy with the quality you get from your current camcorder then there really is no need to replace it. You would get better quality from a DV cam, but more than likely it would be poor for indoor use without additional lighting.

So what are your options?
Basically you want to ignore the USB ports as although you can get analogue devices that will connect via USB they are often low quaity and can cause lip sync errors.
The best way to connect an analogue converter to a PC/laptop is via firewire. Even on a laptop you can add a firewire port for around £20-£30(ish!). I would then advise one of the Canopus ADVC converters. They have differing features where some can convert back to analogue where some can't etc. Do a bit of reasurch to find out if you want any of the additional features, but they can all be bought from www.sirentechnology.co.uk amoungst other places.

ADVC100 - £193.88 (A/D & D/A)
ADVC55 - £151.58 (A/D only)
ADVC300 - £410.08 (A/D & D/A and has TBC that will help to improve the PQ by a fair amount)

I have never used these devices as I have onboard analogue & digital inputs on my PC capture card. But everybody that has reported on these seems to be very happy with the results.

Mark.

[vonhosen]

I use an ADVC-100 , it's a great reliable product & easy to use

[Saxon]

Thanks for the advice guys looks like a £150 device is the way to go.

Appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Saxon