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goal: getting HDV tape imported into Vegas 12 on laptop w/o firewire (alternatives?)
I plan to upgrade to Sony Vegas 12 and to do most of my editing on my brand new HP i7 laptop. I have a Sony HDV-HC1 which records to DV tape and which only connects via firewire.
Oops! I didn’t realize that it would be so hard to get camera content into a laptop. My laptop has excellent specs for video-editing, but I don’t know how to get the raw content into Vegas on the laptop. It didn’t occur to me that there wouldn’t be usb-based adapters which could do that for you.
I have an old PC with a firewire port, and I could install Sony Vegas on that as well. But the PC is 6 years old, 4 gigs RAM, 64 bit, not a lot of hard drive space.
Could I transfer my video from camera to old PC, import it into the project and then transfer the Sony project from PC to laptop?
Does the age of the computer affect how long it takes to transfer from tape? Are there any external storage devices with firewire ports which you can transfer your HDV video tape to which you can then transfer into the laptop via USB 3?
I realize that this is a popular topic on video production boards (and a popular gripe!), but I was wondering if there were any specific issues related to Vegas and/or my HC1 camera which I need to know about? Do you have any general tips about transferring this way (to save time and headaches). Thanks for any suggestions..
Robert
Thanks.
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5 Replies
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Could I transfer my video from camera to old PC, import it into the project and then transfer the Sony project from PC to laptop?
Thats is exactly what you gonna have to do with what you have at
the moment.Steve Rhoden
(Cow Leader)
Film Editor & Compositor.
Filmex Creative Media.
1-876-832-4956 -
You’ll need about 12GB free for a 60-63minute HDV tape, 16GB free for an 80-82minute tape.
You don’t need to install Vegas… you can capture HDV with any video capture tool.
The main problem with older PCs, particularly laptops, is the system-wide Firewire latency. A Firewire capture always happens precisely in realtime, regardless of CPU or HDD. That’s because the camera is essentially just playing out Firewire data just as if it were playing out analog video. Any PC from the last 20 years should be fast enough for HDV capture, but some have latency issues that cause frame drop-outs. Just something to watch out for.
I didn’t use the Vegas Capture tool for HDV, I always used “HDVSplit” instead: https://strony.aster.pl/paviko/hdvsplit.htm. This seems to be a bit more efficient than Sony’s capture tool. Worth a try, anyway.
-Dave
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[Robert Nagle] ” It didn’t occur to me that there wouldn’t be usb-based adapters which could do that for you.”
If your laptop has an express card slot you can get a firewire adapter. That’s the route I took. I purchased the laptop with this is mind. Hopefully you have an express card slot.
[Robert Nagle] “Could I transfer my video from camera to old PC, import it into the project and then transfer the Sony project from PC to laptop? “
You don’t need to transfer the project. Just copy the .m2t file from wherever you imported it to. You can transfer the file via external USB HDD.
[Robert Nagle] “Does the age of the computer affect how long it takes to transfer from tape? “
No. 60 minutes of recorded video equals 60 minutes of ingest time 🙁
[Robert Nagle] “Are there any external storage devices with firewire ports which you can transfer your HDV video tape to which you can then transfer into the laptop via USB 3? “
I believe such devices do exist but are quite expensive. I think a firewire recorder will do as you suggested.
[Robert Nagle] “I was wondering if there were any specific issues related to Vegas and/or my HC1 camera which I need to know about?”
No.
I am surprised your HC1 has lasted this long. My HC3 tape transport has just failed after about 300 tapes and 6 years of service and my flip out screen displays pink unless I fold it flat up on the camera body. Both are known issues, but given its age and distinguished service record, I am not surprised. My Z1P’s tape transport suffered a similar fate, but I use a Datavideo DN60 CF card recorder.
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Thanks all three of you for your assistance. This has been an incredible help! Robert
(BTW, Nigel, new laptops don’t seem to have an express card.
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[Robert Nagle] “Nigel, new laptops don’t seem to have an express card.”
I found it was not included on the low end models below $600, but appeared on the higher spec’d and higher priced models. It has been at least 12 months since I last looked.
Do you have a card bus slot? Any slots?
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