MiniDV and VHS-C using JVC S-VHS VCR?

[Ruby510]

Hi All,

I would appreciate very much some help.
I have mini-DV tapes. I have a Super VHS VCR. I tried playing one of the mini DV tapes in the VCR in order to capture the video. The VCR ate the tape so I won't be going that route again.
My question is: it looks like the VCR has a firewire connection. Can I connect the camcorder via firewire cable to the VCR and then capture video that way?

Second question: I have many VHS-C tapes also. I want to transfer them to digital via a VHS-c camcorder I purchased (my old one that I recorded the videos on will not charge so I had to buy a new one). The camcorder I bought does not have an S-video output. Is that a problem? Should I get a different VHS-c camcorder which has s-video? If so, does anyone know which VHS-c camcorders have s-video output?

Please be kind in your answers. I am clearly far from an expert on any of this so if I don't use the perfect terms, give grace. I really want to complete these projects myself rather than sending the videos out and am frustrated by how complicated it has turned out to be.

And if anyone has any video tutorials to recommend for any of this, I would welcome those.
Thank you in advance!

[lordsmurf]

The JVC DV in VCRs has a design flaw, it eventually always eats tapes, never use it. Use a good DV camera for the DV tapes.

Don't use the VCR for Firewire. Just connect that DV camera to the computer. If no Firewire on the computer, then just analog capture it like everything else. (Consumer camcorder optics were low quality, so you're not really losing anything by losslessly capturing DV over analog.)

VHS-C cameras are usually terrible players. Again, never use it. However, that exact JVC you have does play VHS-C, and fairly decently. It's post-7000/9000 series, which were the most infamous of the tape eaters. All you need is a JVC CP7U-type VHS-C adapter.

[Ruby510]

Thank you, Lord Smurf! Very helpful.
Is it safe to use the VHS-C adaptor tape? I don't have any backup of those tapes and don't want to risk them being damaged.
And for the Mini DV I just get an RCA cable to connect from the camcorder to the capture device?

[latreche34]

VHS-C adapter is for VHS not DV, DV is digital you don't need analog cables. Connect the camera to computer using a firewire cable, If your computer is not equipped with firewire port you can get a USB powered Pinnacle device that can get the DV footage into computer using a firewire cable according to the attached diagram: