When traveling to different cities and countries, many take with them not only cameras, but also digital video cameras. They differ from analog ones by the presence of a special unit that allows you to save the captured video on a computer in excellent quality. For this, special "capture cards" are used, which work through the IEEE1394 port.
Necessary
- - USB cable;
- - IEEE1394 cable;
- - FireWire card.
Instructions
Step 1
Install the software for the miniDV digital camcorder, which records video to tape, on your computer. It usually comes in a set on a disc. But it can also be downloaded from the Internet. Take a USB cable with a standard connector on one side and a mini USB on the other. Connect the first to your computer and the second to the Access jack on your digital video camera. You do not need to turn off both. Set the switch on the camcorder to “Camera” or the like. This mode and the USB port allow you to use the camcorder as a webcam, and you can also take photos through it. The quality of video and photos depends on the matrix of the device.
Step 2
Set the switch on the digital video camera to the “Video” position, i.e. put it in VCR mode. Since the transmission speed of this USB port is not high, only 4 Mbps, it cannot be used to save the captured video in good quality on the computer. For this, other equipment is used. But for sending it by e-mail it is quite suitable. Video files are saved in.wmv format.
Step 3
Install a FireWire (IEEE1394) card in your computer if it is not integrated into your motherboard. To do this, turn off the PC and insert it into the connector. After turning on the computer, the system will install it by itself. Take a cable with 4 or 6 connectors, depending on the equipment. Turn off the camera. Connect one end to the IEEE1394 board and the other to your digital camcorder to the “DV” connector. The data transfer rate through this port is at least 400 Mbps, so it allows you to save files in excellent quality in the.avi format, although this will require a lot of free space on your hard disk. One minute of video will be 172MB. After that, special programs can compress it to an acceptable size.
