How to get the content of a mini-dv videotape ?

Community Forums/General Help/How to get the content of a mini-dv videotape ?

semar(Posted 2011) [#1]
All,
I have a video camera which uses mini-dv as media; these tapes, as you probably know, are like audio cassette, but smaller.

To save the whole video content of such a mini cassette, I have to connect the camera to my pc, use the related software, press play, and after one hour - this is the capacity of the mini-dv I have - all the video clips are saved on the hard disk.

During this process the pc is not really useable.

So far so good ? Well, quite.. I have lots of mini-dv cassette waiting to be processed, but I don't have all this time at my disposal.

The question: is there any device out there, that could save the content of a mini-dv cassette at a faster speed ? Alternatively, a company that make this kind of service ?

Regards,
Sergio.

Last edited 2011


GfK(Posted 2011) [#2]
I just googled "mini dv to dvd" and it came up with a bunch of companies who offer minidv-to-DVD services, including:

http://www.video2dvdtransfers.co.uk/
http://www.firstclassdvds.co.uk
http://www.alivestudios.co.uk/

...not cheap though. Probably better off buying/building a low-end PC with a firewire card and doing it yourself.


Canardian(Posted 2011) [#3]
It will be probably cheaper to buy a cheap PC to do the job than to hire a company to do it. You can get some cheap laptops with FireWire for around $500. Some older Sony CamCorders have USB 2.0 and FireWire, and the quality is purely depending on the streaming speed. So if you want full quality, you need FireWire.

Last edited 2011


Kryzon(Posted 2011) [#4]
Don't forget VideoHelp.com, a very helpful website filled with articles and a forum of media enthusiasts where you can always find a thread that is relevant to you.

Last edited 2011


simonh(Posted 2011) [#5]
Moving to General Help.