Song Dv Cam

[crabstix]

I want to capture documentaries from satellite tv for teaching purposes. I don't have a usb capture card for my laptop but I do have access to a sony DV cam which was purchased last year. Is it possible to use a DV camera to capture programmes from ubc and put on my computer so that they can be burned to vcd?

[Firefoxx]

Depends on the model. Some DV cameras have the ability to get AV input from their AV port, some don't. For Sony camcorders, you can check by looking at the AV port. If it's labeled as "A/V", then it usually means that it's both input and output. If it's labeled as "A/V out", then it won't accept input.

If it can accept input, then you can connect the port to the UBC box's AV out using the supplied AV cable. You set the camera to play/edit mode and will see the video on the camera's LCD. The play/edit controls usually will have a record button (if not, check the camcorder's remote or manual) which you use to record the input to DV tape. I did this many times before, and the quality is the same as you see on the TV. Of course if you want to put it on DVD, you'll have to transfer the video to your computer.

[crabstix]

Thanks firefoxx!

That's really useful advice. i will check out the ports on the DV cam tomorrow when I get to the office. It's nice to know that there is an alternative to using a capture card.