Digital8 firewire or svideo output?
 

Hi there,

I have a trv-140 and would like to convert some digital8 footages. Would it be better to capture using the firewire output or the s-video?

Here the options I was thinking about:

1) trv-140(svideo)->Sony RDR-HX780(tbc-ish)->usb capture device->windv
2) trv-140(firewire)->1394a capture device->windv

Which option would output the best footage?

If option 1, I have 3 digitizer that I can use: BM Intensity Shuttle USB, Hauppauge USB-Live2 , Diamond tvw750u. Which one would produce the best result?

Thanks

Since you are dealing with Digital8 footage, it'd be firewire. That offers a 1:1 transfer of the original footage as recorded onto to the tape, using S-Video converts it back to analog, causing some quality loss.

I would say the second option, if possible, to capture the tape’s digital signal as a digital signal. I personally use DVRescue now as opposed to WinDV or ScenalyzerLive 4.0, but if that causes issues with the video or audio, then an analog output via S-video would be necessary.

I'll go with firewire in that case. Thanks for your help!

Firewire (IEEE1394) is the better method.

A possible exceptions would be if the tape is plagued with read errors that prevent digital capture but which are glossed over error corrections routines in the player that allow uninterrupted playback via the S-VIDEO and analog audio outputs. But that is likely rare.

Digital8 is generally more robust and less prone to dropouts than MiniDV. In fact, due to its wider tracks and faster tape speed, it's actually closer to DVCAM than it is to regular DV.

What editing software would you recommend? Davinci Resolve?

Also, would you recommend upscaling to 720p or 1080p? If yes , what software should i use?

What type of editing do you plan to do?
Which, if any, formats beyond DV do you plan to edit?

Basically and if needed, brightness, contrast and color. Also, I would like to capture each tape in a single file and then separate to smaller files based on the footage location. Without loosing image quality.

When you copy a mini DV using WinDV, all the fragments are sorted into separate AVI files in chronological order. Save them for archiving and merging later. You can process and export them as needed. It is not like Digital 8 when you copy cassette to one file in real time.

No editing to include effects, scene transitions, reordering, over dubs, keying and the like? No HDV or HD footage or rips from media footage?

If only cuts and minor color correction (brightness, contrast, saturation and hue you do not need to invest in a NLE or its learning curve.

Some capture programs can be configured to split video into separate files at scene changes.

FWIW most modern NLEs do not support capture by IEEE1394 (firewire). You could use WinDV or similar.

I normally use EDIUS for editing HD and mixed format footage. (This is legacy from the days when I shot and edited events and other performances where more complex editing was in order.) There are a number of other options as well such as Adobe Premiere, Corel's Studio series to name a couple. And there are a lot of other pay and freeware options as well as the simple apps that shipped with operating systems.

All mini DV scenes has date and time stamps what are important.
So you need to copy them with all info.