How to use a DV camcorder as a pass through device to capture analog video to the computer's firewire port

Many DV and Digital 8 camcorders allow you to hook up an analog VCR or other analog input in order to copy analog footage to DV tape. This function can, in many cases, be extended to allow the camera to pass the analog footage through its firewire port and into a computer’s firewire port. This allows you to capture video from an analog device even if you do not have an analog capture card in your computer.

Do the following:

1. Make sure your VCR is set to output via the correct Line Out setting (you can get these settings from your VCR’s User Guide).
2. Make sure to remove the tape from the DV or Digital 8 camcorder. If there is a tape in the camcorder, Studio’s auto-start function will automatically start the camcorder when you press the “Start Capture” button. Removing the tape will prevent this from happening, and will allow capture of the analog signal from the VCR.
3. Cable the VCR, DV/D8 camcorder and the computer as follows:

VCR <video out>---------------><analog video out> DV or D8 Camcorder <1394 port>----------------><1394 port> Computer

In Studio, the capture will proceed just as if you are capturing from a DV tape, except that you will not be able to use the Device Control keys in the Capture screen. Instead, start your VCR playing manually; when you see the video on the Studio preview window, press the “Start Capture” button in Studio.