Firewire analog to digital video converter

#Firewire analog to digital video converter movie#
#Firewire analog to digital video converter install#
#Firewire analog to digital video converter pro#
#Firewire analog to digital video converter tv#

Another place where space may be an issue is in your power strip. This unit is the most compact of all the ones we tested - itвЂ™s not much bigger than an iPod. If you have limited desktop space, youвЂ™ll appreciate the ADVC55. It also has a headphone jack, so you can monitor the source during capture, and Kensington K & Lock support, which lets you connect an antitheft security cable - a nice feature if youвЂ™re looking for a converter to use in an open office or classroom. The DirectorвЂ™s Cut has all of its ports in the rear, which may help keep your cables from sprawling all over your desk (the others have front and back ports). The A/V Link has a six-pin and a four-pin FireWire port, as well as component video in and locked audio (but you wonвЂ™t have a problem keeping audio and video in sync with any of these units). Only the DAC-100 has two six-pin FireWire ports so you can use it as a DV repeater (a small piece of hardware that lets you join two FireWire cables). ADS says that our color problem is a known firmware issue that affects only certain equipment (such as older VCRs), and that it should be fixed in the next revision, which should be shipping by the time you read this.ДЄll of these boxes come with FireWire cables, and all but the ADVC55 come with A/V (composite video and audio) and S-Video cables. Finally, we managed to play video from our preview monitor by manually flipping the A/V LinkвЂ™s Mode switch, which toggles between digital and analog. At first we couldnвЂ™t get our preview monitor to display in color during capture then we couldnвЂ™t view captured video on our preview monitor. We did have some problems with the Pyro A/V Link.

We had no trouble getting right to work with the ADVC55, the DAC-100, and the DirectorвЂ™s Cut. Then you connect the converter to your MacвЂ™s FireWire port.

#Firewire analog to digital video converter tv#

If youвЂ™re using Final Cut Pro, you can connect a TV or a preview monitor to the outputs (on the Pyro A/V Link and the DAC-100, you may have to swap cables if you use those same outputs to export only the DirectorвЂ™s Cut has two sets of outputs so you can export and use your preview monitor simultaneously).

#Firewire analog to digital video converter install#

There are no drivers to install you simply connect your camera or VCR to the converterвЂ™s inputs. Plug and CaptureДЄll of these units are extremely easy to use. The ADVC55 is the only unit that allows you to adjust the volume (you can toggle a DIP switch on the unit to boost the audio 15 dB), but using it may result in some distortion unless the source audio is very weak. The Pyro A/V Link had the strongest audio. Each of these units captures audio at a slightly different level.

#Firewire analog to digital video converter movie#

But if youвЂ™re working with an old home movie in which the audio may have been quiet to begin with, you may have some challenges. If youвЂ™re capturing your favorite Hollywood flick, this wonвЂ™t be a problem.

#Firewire analog to digital video converter pro#

Since AppleвЂ™s iMovie and Final Cut Pro recognize converters as DV devices, you canвЂ™t make any adjustments to the audio during capture unless you run the video through a mixer.

This was barely noticeable when we viewed our footage on a computer, but it really showed up when we viewed it on a TV, because TVs handle color differently. The Pyro A/V LinkвЂ™s captured images were slightly brighter, but colors and blacks looked washed-out.

The DAC-100 and the DirectorвЂ™s Cut captured video that, while not quite as rich as the ADVC55вЂ™s, was also excellent. We liked the ADVC55вЂ™s picture quality the best: the blacks were deep and the colors were saturated. Some of them captured highlights and shadows more faithfully than others. Any of these boxes will do a competent job of capturing analog video and converting it to DV in NTSC (the American video standard) or PAL (the European standard), but there are noticeable differences in image quality between them.