I have a Sony DCR-HC22E camcorder which has both USB and i-Link interfaces.
But can someone explain the different formats and conversions that take place when you stream into your PC.

I used to use USB and Windows Movie Maker, so from miniDV tape to AVI.

Now I use Firewire and Premier Pro and again it's stored as an AVI file.

My general question is where does analogue end and DV begin and why can I use i-Link for both In/Out but it seems only In for USB. Is the format that both Firewire and USB interfaces the same.

Many thanks,

Porto.

avi will be the defualt of the programme, and even Avi is not an absolute, DVPAL is one of many codecs within 'Audio Video Interleave'.

Most PAL firewire camcorders will stream MPEG4 over USB but the quality is shonky to say the very least, similarly if you transfer via firewire you will get DVPAL AVI PAL which will have full resolution and full frame rate full colour depth full audio sampling rate, wheras usb transfers shall not.

I think that the USB will work both ways for file transfer rather onto the memory card, but it would not be fast or stable enough for good quality video and certainly not onto tape.

[MarkE19]

Originally Posted by porto99

My general question is where does analogue end and DV begin

Analogue ends as soon as the light is picked up by the CCD when you are recording to DV tape. It then stays as digital all the time and never gets converted back to analogue unless you record it onto an analogue recorder such as a VCR.

Mark.

Thanks for the posts(2).

Am I correct in thinking that its DV (PAL) AVI format that is stored on the miniDV tape?

Also is USB 2.0 faster than Firewire, but firewire is better for video streaming.

[vonhosen]

Originally Posted by porto99

Thanks for the posts(2).

Am I correct in thinking that its DV (PAL) AVI format that is stored on the miniDV tape?

Also is USB 2.0 faster than Firewire, but firewire is better for video streaming.

MiniDV is in AVI format.

USB can have a higher peak rate, but it doesn't have as high sustainable rate as firewire & can drop below it's rate. This can lead to dropped frames etc.

[jomike]

The way I understand it is that video is stored on tape as a series of digital pictures or frames, much as celluloid film is a series of photos. These frames are then streamed to the PC over FireWire, where it is captured into a file format by your capture application (usually DV AVI but could also be other formats).
USB 2.0 is faster than FireWire on paper, but sends data in bursts which is no good for streaming video (but works well for data files). FireWire has a better constant transfer speed.

Thanks for all the posts.

Just one other question: Does the format of the AVI file have the type and resolution of AVI data contained within. e.g. NTSC or PAL, screen size etc.

I assume that the camcorder records onto tape (miniDV) the same resolution always, but can change NTSC or PAL. Where is this type of information stored (header of the AVI file)? Would changing from NTSC to PAL half way through screw-up the video?

Many thanks,

Porto

[MarkE19]

Standard DV camcorders are set at the point of manufacure to either PAL or NTSC and can not be swapped between the two standards. If you buy a UK sourced cam then everything you film will be in PAL as will the final DVD or VHS tape you make from that recording. To change PAL to NTSC requires expensive hardware or software and will result in a loss of some quality due to the conversion.

Mark.

OK Mark thanks for that.

One question regarding the AVI file format, how is the resolution stored (in the file header?)