RocketMan on 9/11/2008 at 01:36
Hey guys. I have an ATI HD2900 XT card, which of course has 2 DVI and 1 svideo port, which is supposedly bi-directional. Problem is I'm trying to pull video off of a camcorder (a Sony DCR-TRV17) from mini DV casettes. For the life of me I cannot get the video to go IN. All I can do is show my desktop on the camera which is no good.
Does anyone know how to get the video stream to go into my computer so I can save it as an mpg or avi or whatever? I've tried a couple of programs but they couldn't detect the signal from the camcorder. The USB alternative only shows me the digital media stored on a stick, like pictures, etc. The casette media does not show up. Of course this makes sense to me because it plays on the fly and wouldn't be downloadable. However it should be possible to play the casette on the camcorder and have the video show up in real time on my monitor so I can capture it with screen capture software. If anyone has an idea please let me know. Thanks.
bikerdude on 9/11/2008 at 13:14
Quote Posted by RocketMan
a Sony DCR-TRV17) from mini DV casettes. For the life of me I cannot get the video to go IN.
You actually need a firewire cable and port (or card if your computer dosent already have one.
ALL DV camcorders use firewire to transfer their recordings at FULL quality for editing. You can if you want use S-VHS or Composite video but the quality is inferior.
bikrt
RocketMan on 9/11/2008 at 16:11
sorry for posting in the wrong location
I have all sorts of s-video cables and I'm certain this isn't a hardware/cable issue. I also don't care about the quality. I'd use firewire but my firewire ports are the big kind and the cable that I have for the cam is the small size..don't really want to buy a new cable since the quality doesn't matter that much to me. I just want to get the video off so I can use the cassette again for something else. How exactly would I go about setting the computer up to record this video? So far the only successes I've had is in sending the signal FROM my computer TO the cam. I can't see anything in catalyst that has to do with input from another device. I looked around in WMP, tried virtualdub....nothing. Thanks for the help.
Lansing on 9/11/2008 at 16:59
Don't know if this will help, but try going to (
http://www.amd.com/us-en/SupportDrivers/ProcessorSupport/0,,15218_15219,00.html) http://www.amd.com/us-en/SupportDrivers/ProcessorSupport/0,,15218_15219,00.html. Select "Troubleshoot a graphics technical issue", then choose "Guides, Walkthroughs and "How To's"". There's an article there on using the video in / out of ATI graphics cards.
My current video card doesn't support it, but when I had an ATI AIW card there was an adapter cable which you had to use to allow SVIDEO input - it wasn't as simple as plugging a standard cable into the card directly.
TBE on 9/11/2008 at 17:24
Buck up and buy the proper firewire cable, as it's the best and easiest option. When you plug in your camera to the computer, it will be able to control your camera. The default video editing option, Windows Movie Maker, will ask if you want to capture the film. It actually does a pretty damn good job to be honest with ya. I usually use it to capture the video, then I edit and burn with Nero Ultimate Edition 7. I guess now that 8 is out, you could try that too. They have the proper cable at your local Radio Shack or Best Buy. Make sure you look to look if you have 4 circuit or 6 circuit wire on your computer port.
RocketMan on 9/11/2008 at 18:55
Quote Posted by Lansing
My current video card doesn't support it, but when I had an ATI AIW card there was an adapter cable which you had to use to allow SVIDEO input - it wasn't as simple as plugging a standard cable into the card directly.
I have the special cable you're talking about. It came with the card and has 2 svideo cables spliced into a 7 or 8 pin plug that goes into the card itself. Each of the 2 cables has an arrow indicating the direction of the signal, one for in and one for out and they are 4 pin. I'm quite sure the cabling is ok.
Just curious what program you used to capture the video when you did have the AIW card? Thanks.
Lansing on 9/11/2008 at 19:37
I didn't actually use the video in for much to be honest. The card had a built-in TV tuner and from memory I used their TV software with the SVIDEO input selected.
The ATI webpage seems to indicate that the video input should be listed as an option in the Windows Movie Maker software. The virtualdub capture information says: "ATI appears to be shipping their current devices with a WDM (Windows Driver Model) driver only; this can be used indirectly by VirtualDub through a Microsoft wrapper". This is probably why you're having problems - it looks like ATI aren't providing a Video For Windows driver for the card.
37637598 on 10/11/2008 at 03:23
Quote Posted by Bikerdude
ALL DV camcorders use firewire to transfer their recordings at FULL quality for editing.
Except for Sony. Well, except for my sony that I purchased like... 3 weeks ago. Some issue between Sony and Apple, I guess.
