Using Firewire cable to DVD Recorder - Question

[Phil.LFC]

I've recently bought a Panasonic DVD recorder with a DV input. When I connect my DV camcorder to the recorder I seem unable to record any time/date information.
Forgive me if I'm doing something stupid but I'm new to this!
Is it possible to record the time/date or on screen graphics via this cable?

 

[Brian110507]

Time and date is only recorded on a DVD recorder (or a PC for that matter) when you have burned it to tape by having the time/date function selected while filming, if you do that though it is there for ever and always - there is no way to remove it again .

None of the other onscreen information will be transferred visibly by any means (firewire, USB, analogue ) despite what you may see in many TV programmes.

I always advocate that unless it is for security or legal reasons you do NOT record time/date on your tape since it can never be removed, You can always add it as a subtitle while editing.

There is software for a PC which will allow you to extract the time/date information which is hidden in the tape - but I do not know of any for a standalone recorder.

 

[Phil.LFC]

Originally posted by Beejaycee
Time and date is only recorded on a DVD recorder (or a PC for that matter) when you have burned it to tape by having the time/date function selected while filming, if you do that though it is there for ever and always - there is no way to remove it again .

I did do the original recording with the date function on. Still it has not copied it! I think it may have something to do with the camera (Panasonic NV-DS55) as when playing back recorded material you can bring up the time and date even if you did not have it onscreen at the time of filming. Likewise it is possible to remove this time/date info when playing back even if it was present during filming.



I'll have to have a play with my DVD recorder to see if I can add the date as a subtitle like you say. I would really like to have the date showing on my recordings, for the first few seconds of each scene at least, as I film my two young kids and it's interesting to know when it was filmed.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Brian110507]

It doesn't sound as though you are actually recording time and date - you just have it showing in your camera viewfinder - if it's recorded to tape there is no way to turn it on and off it's always there. What do you see if you connect your camera to your TV by the analogue cables - if you have no date you have not recorded it.

You may have to import the video to your PC and use a simple editor like MovieMaker2 to add the time and date manually.

 

[MarkE19]

By the sound of it your cam only outputs the time/date via analogue. Via DV it will output it, but in a data stream that can not be seen on screen. As mentioned to get it visable you might need to edit on a PC. Otherwise connect to the DVD recorder via analogue.

Mark.

 

[Phil.LFC]

Thanks to you both for the replies.
I'll have a go connecting it up via the analogue cables, but will this result in a reduced picture quality?

 

[Brian110507]

Yes it will reduce your quality but I wasn't suggesting you should record by that means - it was just a way to try and prove a point as to whether the date is in fact on your tape or not.

When you said earlier that you can bring the date up and turn it off while playing - do you mean the date the video was recorded or the date your playing it ??

 

[Phil.LFC]

Originally posted by Beejaycee
When you said earlier that you can bring the date up and turn it off while playing - do you mean the date the video was recorded or the date your playing it ??

I can bring the date/time up (or remove it even if it was recorded with the date/time)when playing back, and it is the date/time of the recording. Not sure how it does this but it's pretty clever!

 

[Brian110507]

To clever for me I'm afraid.

 

[Enlighten]

Phil,

You have a NVDS55 - you lucky man!!! One of the best camcorders I've ever owned, and I wish I could buy one now! Just pray it never breaks (mine did ), as the new ones on the market are plain crummy - I've rambled on about this on a thread. Anyway, the mention of the NVDS55 just brings back happy memories ...

As for the Date/Time problem ... not sure if Date/Time is passed down Firewire in this manner. As far as I know, Firewire (DV in) just passes the video/audio data which is recorded. The DS55 has the option of displaying the Date/Time during playback (so no problem if you're recording using composite out to video). What you may want to do is to record the Date/Time onto the Tape as part of the video recording - that way, if it's sent down the firewire cable, it'll be included for recording BUT I think you need to buy a special DV tape for that ... I know a few were out on the market which recorded Date/Time onto the video part of the image instead of on the Date/Time strip of the tape.

Anyway, keep having fun with that DS55.

 

[Phil.LFC]

I have been pretty happy with this camera, but I feel even happier now! Why are the latest ones not as good?
What broke on yours?
I bought mine as an ex-display from PC World about 2 years ago for bargain price (at that time) of £380. The charger was missing so that was why it was so cheap, but I managed to buy one from Panasonic for around £20 afterwards.
This time/date thing is getting really confusing. Think I'll just forget about it and make a wriiten list of the contents of the DVD's I create!

 

[Enlighten]

Well, my old NVDS55 died after being taken to one country too many The tape loading mechanism stopped working, and the whole thing became tempermental.

I've ranted on about this issue in another thread, so I shall not bore you the details.

Just enjoy the cam you have - the best cam going !!!