Suggestions for capturing analog videos

[majouz]

I have many Hi8 tapes that I would like to convert to digital format for editing with PRE8. Since I also have a Digital8 camcorder, I have been hooking the analog camcorder to the digital one as a pass-through and capturing successfully in PRE8. The problem is that PRE8 cannot detect any scenes based on content or timecode which I believe is expected with analog videos.

I have recently heard about the Canopus converters ADVC110 and ADVC300. Do these converters provide a better quality solution than what I am using? I don't mind spending the $$$ if the end result is much much better. Some of the Hi8 tapes I have are 15 years old and would definitely welcome any enhancements that Canopus brings.

Finally is capturing through PRE8 a good idea? Many threads in this forum recommend WinDV. Again, is the final result with WinDV a better quality one than capturing from PRE8?

Thanks.

[Chuck Engels]

Hello Majouz,
Your method is a good one and will work very well. Although you might gain some quality from the Canopus ADVC300 you will still not be able to split the video by scenes. One good thing about WinDV is that you can split the video by size if your objective is to get smaller clips to work with, the problem there is the potential for splitting a scene between two files (not that it is a real problem doing that anyway as the file can easily be edited back together in Premiere Elements). There is no timecode on analog video tape.

I use a ADS Tech Pyro Link, similar to the Canopus converter, and don't split the files on capture.
I capture using either WinDV or Premiere Elements and split the files manually as I prefer to do it that way.

Hope that helps

[Bob]

The pass-through method generally works well if your tapes are in good condition. If your tapes are not in good condition, it sometimes helps to have an analog to digital capture unit with additional features like time base correction to stabilize the video. The ADVC300 has this as well as other features that can help to clean up the video. Don't expect miracles. Here's the manual that describes the controls and features: http://cdn1.grassvalley.com/unsecure/DL/ADVC300/documentation/ADVC300.pdf.

Either the PrE 8 or Windv captures are fine. The quality will be identical as they are merely taking the same digital video signal and placing it in a file. DV is DV.