Recording DV via firewire???

[ImNoSuperMan]

I`ve already posted it in another thread but didnt get any response. I want to record TV programmes from my DTH box. I used the sony handycam to convert that video into DV and transfer it through firewire. Now I m using iMovie to record the video. The only problem is that iMovie is saving files in DV only which takes bout 12.5 GB per hour. Is there any way to record the video using some sort of compression on the go(without sacrificing the quality).

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

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[dextertangocci]

I don't really understand what you are trying to do, but iMovie definitely can compress the video to something like mpeg4 and h264.

 

[ftaok]

The only problem is that iMovie is saving files in DV only which takes bout 12.5 GB per hour. Is there any way to record the video using some sort of compression on the go(without sacrificing the quality).

There are ways to record the video using "on-the-fly" compression to something that uses less HD space than DV. However, you'll need extra hardware to do this. Check out the EyeTV250, which can compress the video to MPEG1/2/4. There are other devices out there that can compress to Divx as well (I can't remember, but the EyeTV250 may be able to do Divx too). Check out Migila and Plextor's offerings.

As for the "without sacrificing quality" part, I can confidently say that without a ton of expensive and specialized hardware, you're not going to achieve on-the-fly, lossless compression of DV. The best you can hope for is probably the stuff I mentioned above.

ft

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

As for the "without sacrificing quality" part, I can confidently say that without a ton of expensive and specialized hardware, you're not going to achieve on-the-fly, lossless compression of DV. The best you can hope for is probably the stuff I mentioned above.

ft

By not sacrificing quality I actually meant minimum loss of it. This is only for general use nothing professional et al. So dont want to invest in a TV tuner.(In any case it`ll be hard and tiresome to find a mac compatible one in India). Since a MB is a powerful enough computer I thought it might be possible to compress DV on the fly to atleast some level using some software only.

BTW I m now recording to DV cassettes only(which are dirt cheap @4$ a piece). This way i can record a show without worrying if the HDD has a lot of space left or not. Then I`ll simply transfer it to MB later and record it on a DVD.

 

[ftaok]

By not sacrificing quality I actually meant minimum loss of it. This is only for general use nothing professional et al. So dont want to invest in a TV tuner.(In any case it`ll be hard and tiresome to find a mac compatible one in India). Since a MB is a powerful enough computer I thought it might be possible to compress DV on the fly to atleast some level using some software only.

BTW I m now recording to DV cassettes only(which are dirt cheap @4$ a piece). This way i can record a show without worrying if the HDD has a lot of space left or not. Then I`ll simply transfer it to MB later and record it on a DVD.

I hear what you're saying. It would be great if someone made an application that could take the DV footage straight from FW and converted it to something like MPEG4 or H264. I think there would be a ton of people that would pay for that application.

The only problem is that I don't think that a MacBook or MacBook Pro could handle a task like that. Encoding an iMovie (DV) to iDVD (mpeg2) takes quite a long time, so I would guess that converting to mpeg4 or h264 would be even more processor intensive. Maybe a MacPro could handle it with the DualCore Xeons.

I'd loved to be proven wrong by some ingenious programmer, however.

ft

 

[MisterMe]

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The only problem is that I don't think that a MacBook or MacBook Pro could handle a task like that. Encoding an iMovie (DV) to iDVD (mpeg2) takes quite a long time, so I would guess that converting to mpeg4 or h264 would be even more processor intensive. Maybe a MacPro could handle it with the DualCore Xeons.

I'd loved to be proven wrong by some ingenious programmer, however.

ft

Irrespective of whatever processor you have, the job still takes time. No programmer is so ingenious as to violate the laws of physics.