Desktop DV Recorders Mac Compatibility

[Gordon B. Alley]

On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 09:53:51 -0400, Karl Seilo <kseilo at ameritech.net> wrote:
>On Monday, August 4, 2003, at 08:17 AM, Macintosh Digital Video List
>wrote:
>
>>  Message-Id: <p05210606bb52de6660a1@[64.114.249.100]>
>>  Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2003 09:05:27 -0700
>>  From: Rod Duncan <roduncan at telus.net>
>>  Subject: [MacDV] Re: Desktop DV Recorders Mac Compatibilty
>>
>>  I've been using the older JVC HR-DVS1 for a few years too. In
>>  addition to using L-3, sometimes you have to reboot the firewire bus.
>>  Just unplug the firewire cable wait to the JVC deck, wait a few
>>  seconds and bingo... you are connected. Are you using additional
>>  external drives? A good idea. I am running everything through a
>>  desktop connected PB Ti 667 DVI. It is driving a separate computer
>>  monitor, 3 FW drives, an NTSC video monitor, a DVD burner and the JVC
>>  deck. Aside from the assorted USB goodies. I had to fool around with
>>  an external firewire 3-port to get the proper sequence that left
>>  everything happy. It works with everything Mac video. FCP, FCP
>  > Express and iMovie. I am running OSX (10.2.6) and except for FCP
>>  (3.02) everything is the latest and "allegedly" the greatest. I
>>  digress... iMovie 3.02 while better is still not ready for prime
>>  time. Maybe I need help from Erica. Don't we all?
>>
>>  A trick that was posted a couple of years ago with the JVC deck and I
>>  have used it many times, is to bring analogue video directly into the
>>  Mac without first loading it onto a miniDV or even a VHS tape. You
>>  just capture/transfer from either a VHS tape or an external
>>  RCA/S-Video connection by-way-of video camera and it flows directly
>>  into the editing program of choice. I had to capture some older
>>  format Hi-8 mm tapes and connected it directly to the front RCA audio
>>  and S-Video ports of the JVC and transferred/captured directly into
>>  Final Cut Pro. It flowed through the JVC deck without tapes and right
>>  into the program.
>
>I have a box full of Hi8mm tapes I would like to digitize into iM3 and
>I've tried this with my Canon ZR, but I keep getting a message that
>reads, "Check the DV Input".  I'm connecting the analog VCR to  the  ZR
>via RCA connectors (Yellow, Red, White) and the ZR to my Mac via FW
>cable.  I've even tried importing using a Sony DV Hardware Codec
>Converter, (analog RCA into the Converter and DV out to the ZR in, but
>no luck either.
>
>On further reading of the ZR manual, though, I find no instructions on
>how to import analog video into the ZR, so it's probably not possible.
>Unless, is there some workaround for this?

Which ZR do you have? I have a ZR 40, and it definitely has the 
ability to perform this "trick".

In the ZR 40 Instruction Manual, the section describing this function 
is titled "Digitally outputting analog video and audio signals 
(Analog-Digital Converter)".

The camcorder must be in the Play (VCR) mode. In the VCR Set Up menu 
there is a setting labeled "AV->DV OUT" which must be set to ON (this 
implicitly sets the Earphone-out/AV-In connector to the AV-In 
function). You should not have a tape in the camcorder.

I suppose if  you have a very early ZR model, it may not have this feature.

-- 
Gordon Alley  <*>
<mailto:galley at texas.net>
<http://galley.home.texas.net>