Whats best in 2017 for DV/HDV transfer?

[jtech1]

I have read hundreds of posts on the subject... many 5-10 years old. I have a bunch of DV and HDV tapes I am going to transfer to PC via 1394 on a Windows 10 system . I want to split into clips. I have looked at Scenalyzer and I like everything about it... but I also have Vegas 12 Platinum and intend to upgrade to 14 Platinum when released next month. I can't find any info on updated to VidCap and internal HDV capture ability of latest Vegas. So, does VidCap (in Vegas 14) support producing timecode based avi clips, and would it be a better bet than a 10 year old Scenalyzer? I also like the ability of Scenalyzer to produce an HTML file with thumbnails and details of all clips on a tape. This is nice to have in an archive disk. I don't see anything about Vegas that can do that... is there another utility that can just scan a folder of AVIs and produce a similar summary file?

My other concern, is... I realize teh data read form tape and saved in avi container woudl be the same no matter what software I use,a s long as there are no dropped frame.. but, is there any issue with the avi container Scenalyzer produces as compared to current version of VidCap? Any updates to the format over the last 10 years that I would not have if using Scenalyzer.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[lordsmurf]

Nothing has changed.
- DV is old technology, and nothing new will exist.
- HDV was never popular, and a near-stillborn technology. AVC/H264 quickly supplanted it.

Windows 10 is proving to be very video-unfriendly as an OS. It's why most video hobbyists and professionals must maintain Windows XP and Windows 7 systems. Newer isn't always better.

To transfer DV, with essentially have WinDV and Scenalyzer.
Mac OS X was always the DV-centris workflow, not Windows, and most HDV transfer happened on it.

You don't want to capture video in an NLE. And Vegas is an NLE. You'll have issues.

I also need to point out that you do not "capture" DV. The term is used wrong, and has been since the beginning. Capturing refers to making a new digital version (analog, screencap, etc), and that's NOT what happens. You are simply copying the data from tape to computer, and into a wrapper (AVI or MOV). It's akin to ripping a CD to uncompressed WAV or AIFF.

Dropped frames in DV are due to I/O (bandwidth, throughput) errors. There's a bottleneck in the drivers, the hardware, the software, etc. The digital file on tape does not have those. It's not at all like dropped frames on analog capturing, when blame falls largely on the signal and playback equipment.

[jtech1]

Thanks for the replies... I appreciate the feedback. I am clear on the transfer vs capture... it has been a while since I have transferred any DV/HDV tapes and I could not remember what the utilities wrote them to... looking back at some old work I did, I see that HDV tapes came in as m2t and files from my SD card based camcorder were m2ts, which I plan to archive directly as is... and will probably use Scenalyser to do DV tapes, which I believe transfers into avi container.

I like the Scenalyzer feature of building a summary file with thumbnails of all clips from a tape... and was disappointed to not have that for other more current tape formats. But i found Video Thumbnails Maker that seems to do that and more, for any set of video files. So I plan to use that for all sets of files I load, from all sources.

My last decisions are for VHS. I have read through all the thread here and an going to find a good JVC deck if I can... but still trying to figure out what capture device I want to use. I have a Diamond V500, but am looking for something a little better. Seems there is no clear winner.

[lordsmurf]

There's never a "best" capture card because there's many workflows, goals, scenarios and sources.

Several folks here really like the VC500, some do not.

I'm in the ATI AIW camp, and have been for 15 years now. For most VHS tasks, you won't find anything better than the ATI All In Wonder (XP required).

[Hushpower]

Old thread but somebody might come past. For HDV files, I recommend HDVSplit. Simple but it works with Win 10 (like WinDV). Produces M2T files. For my Canon HV20, I have to hit the HDVSplit Record twice. The first time I get an error; wait until the button colours again, then hit it again.