Question some troubles transfering mini DV tapes

rosco77

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Hello, I'd like to transfer a lot of mini DV tapes to my desktop pc but I have to face 2 inconveniences:
1) my desktop doesn't have any firewire port
2) my old camcorder is dead
About the problem #1, I got me a Pinnacle Moviebox 710-usb, which has a DV port as input, and an usb output to link it to the computer, see more at How to Capture DV video via USB
About the problem #2, I think I have to buy another camcorder. My question is: since my old and gone Panasonic had 3 ccds, should I get another model with 3 ccds or doesn't it make any difference, as I'll use it for playing back only?
Many thanks,
Alessandro
 
Thankyou for your fast reply.
I mean, will a non-3ccd model be able to playback the same quality that my dead 3ccd cam once recorded?
 
Have you considered having the tapes transferred to DVD professionally? Probably save a lot of messing about. The A/V to USB route is probably the worst choice. Try something like this:- VHS to DVD, Video to DVD, Transfer Video to DVD
If you can get a mini DV camera you could then fit a FireWire card to your desktop. (This is what I did on my updated PC)
 
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Yes, it'd probably be the simplest and most logical way to go, unfortunately I don't have any free slot on my mainboard.
Do you know if a 'standard' mini dv camera is capable of playing back with the same quality the tapes recorded by a 3 ccd camcorder?
Thanks again.
 
Do you know if a 'standard' mini dv camera is capable of playing back with the same quality the tapes recorded by a 3 ccd camcorder?
Yes It makes no difference
 
What is recorded onto a MiniDV tape and then captured via firewire is simply data transfer. Therefore as long as the playback heads on any camcorder is in good condition then what is on the tape is exactly what will get captured to the PC.

However if going firewire to USB the data will get compressed by the capture device and some quality will be lost, but this is nothing to do with the camcorder used just the converter.
If unable to fit firewire to your main PC you could borrow or use any old PC and just put a ~£10 firewire card in it to do the capture. Then once done move the HDD to your main PC to do the editing.

Or if you are lucky and have an old DVD recorder you can use this (some of them had a firewire input) to capture the footage to disc, then copy it from the disc onto the PC for editing.

However by the sounds of it all the above options will mean buying another MiniDV camcorder and possibly other equipment as well. So have a look to see what it is going to cost and as already suggested it may just be quicker and cheaper to get a company to capture the footage for you.

Mark.
 

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