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Mojo Workaround?
Hello,
I’m working with a mac-based, software-only media composer system which for my general purposes works great. However, I’ve just come across a large pile of old Beta tapes that I need to capture for a project.
Assuming that I don’t care much about video quality for the offline edit, and just want to digitize the material with original timecode as place holders, is there a less expensive option than purchasing/renting a mojo box?
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris -
8 Replies
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Nope. The old Mojo with component cables is your cheapest options.
Unless you can find a Beta deck with firewire out (do they even exist?). Then you could capture via firewire, so you wouldn’t need a Mojo.
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Michael Hancock
http://www.oswaldcommunications.com -
You could take it through a DV camera. That assumes you could get deck control independently of firewire. You’d also be stuck with audio being piggyback’ed on the DV stream. So it’d be XLR->RCA to get into the DV cam.
My Mojo went down briefly years ago and we HAD to go through a Canopus ADVC110. Not ideal but it works.
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[Michael Hancock] “Beta deck with firewire out (do they even exist?)”
Yes – the J-30 machines from Sony will play BetaSP and have a firewire out. Haven’t tried using it for deck control, but the signal is there…
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Good to know.
If you can find this deck you could run the firewire signal into your system for the video and audio and get a Keyspan adapter for the Mac for deck control (if you can’t control it via firewire). A quick online search shows they rent for about $200/day. May be cheaper to buy the Mojo if you need it for a few days.
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Michael Hancock
http://www.oswaldcommunications.com -
Thanks all, greatly appreciated. I checked out the J-30 but seems more cost-effective to pick up an older mojo – seems they’re available on ebay for under $500. I’ve got at least a couple days (probably a few) of footage to capture.
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I think the stars are aligning in your favor. This just posted today on DVXUser:
https://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=201142
Mojo for $400.
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Michael Hancock
http://www.oswaldcommunications.com -
Great tip, thanks!
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J-30 with firewire for sure.
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