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Importing with USB analog/digital converter
In case anyone read my previous post on editing DVD mpeg files, my long term need is to be able to have a cheap but effective solution for “digitizing” an analog source.
Right now I am very clumsily using my dvd recorder to record the analog source and then importing the VOB files to Vegas. This is ultimately for web, but I really should have a better quality file to edit and export. Even on the High Quality setting, the dvd recording is relatively very bad.
I would like to be able to have flexibilty with whatever system I use.
It would be great if it was external so I could use one with multiple computers/locations.I found a USB video audio capture device on ebay:
https://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-Video-Audio-Capture-Adapter-Adaptor-Card_W0QQitemZ200123936034QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3761QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
(not sure if this hyperlink will be active in post)
and asked the seller what the quality would be like. They claim it is high-quality, that it is “passive” in that it just transfers the data. But in reality it is not passive because it is converting from analog to digital. I’m taking a long shot, but has anyone tried one of these? Does anyone have an opinion on this? Can anyone suggest another solution for me?Oh, by the way, I am posting in this forum because I use Vegas for editing, so it would have to be compatible with Vegas. If you think I should be posting elsewhere, let me know.
Open to any ideas.
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5 Replies
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If you have a digital video camera, you might check and see if it has ‘pass through’ capabilities. Many of them do. Then you just run your analog source to the camcorder via RCA or SVideo lines and attach the camcorder to the computer via firewire and the camcorder does your digitizing, usually into .avi format. Much bettr to use than MPEG 2.
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If you thought the quality was bad with your DVD method, this will be even more disappointing 🙁
USB transfers aren’t the way to go with Vegas.
Either invest in a Canopus box (ADVC-55 or 110) or an ADS Pyro.
It’s more money but the quality is worth it.
If that’s too rich for you, try to find a miniDV camera on EBay that has a feature called pass-through.
This allows you to feed an analog signal in (what you want to do) and outputs it from the firewire port (the preferred method for Vegas).
The tape transport on the camera can be damaged as all you need is working electronics for the pass-through to work. -
This is a good idea. Although now I have to find a cheap camcorder….
Thanks for the reply -
Is there a particular reason why USB is not preferred(technically speaking).
I forgot to mention that I don’t have FireWire on my computer either.
And my main computer is a small form factor so it’s trouble trying to find cards that fit and are cheap.
if I was to invest in FireWire, can I get away with 400, or should I get 800?
Thank for the reply -
I have used both 400 and 800 and found either satisfactory.
You really need to get firewire:>)
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