Function of ADVC 300

[Rikx]

Hi,

Can any one please tell me what ADVC 300 is supposed to do. Just to convert analog video to digital video or what else? Will it be useful to import video from a digital camcorder to computer for editing? If it is, will the quality be improved?

And, what is the difference between this one and Twin Pact 100? Which one is more advance in handling videos? Thanks.

[GrassValley_BH]

Its functions are...

1. Analog to DV conversion with Line-Time Base Correction and noise filtering
2. DV to Analog conversion

It won't be useful if your source is already DV, except to decode DV to analog so you can see your output as a true video signal.

The ADVC300 has more video processing than the TwinPact100, though the TwinPact100 does have some processing functions.

The TwinPact 100 has one function the ADVC300 does not, VGA to DV conversion.

See the Comparison Chart

[Rikx]

Thanks

Thanks Brandon. Then, what product will be the best option to import video from camcorder to computer for video editing purpose? I heard canopus products do good job in video production.

[GrassValley_BH]

If you have a DV/HDV/Digital8 camcorder, then all you need is a standard OHCI-compliant FireWire interface. If you don't have one of those, then you can get something like the ACEDVio which combines the functionality of an ADVC110 and a FireWire card.

If you already have FireWire, then you may still want to consider getting an ADVC110 so you can use it to preview your editing output on a TV. You could also use it to output to VHS, etc. Both requires that your editing software (now is a good time to plug the 30-day EDIUS trial on the website) is capable of realtime DV output, which most are these days. Note that this applies only to standard definition DV, not high definition HDV.

If you don't have a DV/HDV camcorder, or you plan to capture from analog sources like VHS tapes and such, then I'd definitely look at an ADVC110 or ADVC300.

[retireewanabee]

What to use to convert 60's b/w home movies

I have some old regular 8 home movies that I transfered to vhs long ago. Now I am wanting to transfer these vhs tapes plus other ones that I have. what is recommended to do this job. I am converting onto computer so that I can edit. As they are old regular 8 movies there is a lot of brightness in and out , also there is some picture jumping in the viewing, just like the old b/w soundless movies. Als I have converted using other name brand converters and the sound after a few minutes gets out of sync. What is best for this?

[THoff]

The ADVC-300 has an auto-gain option for both audio and video to help with varying audio and brightness levels. I would certainly make sure that they are turned on.

As far as the audio getting out of sync is concerned, that won't happen either. By default the ADVC-300 will output a DV stream with locked audio, and the only way that the audio can drift is if the software that processes/transcodes the DV data does a poor job.

[retireewanabee]

300 or Twinpact?

Thoff,
Then the 300 would be better then the twinpact, is this correct? Also what software do you recommend?

[GrassValley_BH]

The ADVC300 has more clean-up features than the TwinPact100.

I would only recommend the TwinPact100 over the ADVC300 if you're actually going to use the VGA->DV or VGA->Analog function of the TwinPact100.

[retireewanabee]

If I understand correctly, the twinpact is the same as the advc300 but with the extra feature of being able to capture vga from a pc,right? does the twinpact come with the drivers or are they build into the twinpact? and I'll be able to convert my vhs tapes with the same simplicity and quality with both?

[GrassValley_KH]

The differences extend beyond the ability to capture VGA (TwinPact).

ADVC also offers analog component output, and the video cleaning capabilities are greater - it does all the cleaning that TwinPact does, plus more.

Both units come with a picture controller utility to adjust the video cleaning aspect, but that's all that's needed to install - driver-free!

[JackB]

The ADVC-300 has an auto-gain option for both audio and video to help with varying audio and brightness levels. I would certainly make sure that they are turned on.

As far as the audio getting out of sync is concerned, that won't happen either. By default the ADVC-300 will output a DV stream with locked audio, and the only way that the audio can drift is if the software that processes/transcodes the DV data does a poor job.

I have used the ADVC300 for a couple hundred hours of Analog (Beta and VHS) video to DV.

In all of my captures the video and audio is out of sync from 2 to 9 frames. I inevitably spend ten minutes to an hour checking and getting it in sync after capture.

I was just about to sell my 300 and buy a 110 so I wouldn't have this problem anymore.

I have captured with several NLEs as well as WinDV. Everything that has speech is out of sync. (I can't tell with things with only music, which is part of my problem.)

Will the 110 solve my sync problems?

Am I missing something that is causing video I capture with the 300 to be out of sync?

[THoff]

I too have hundreds of hours of digitzed video from the ADVC-300 under my belt, and I have NEVER had the audio and video go out of sync, even on continuous recordings of four hours.

There are lots of variables that can affect sync, such as whether you record to DV Type 1 or DV Type 2, which format your editing tools prefer (if they have a preference), and how you process the material afterwards.

[JackB]

I too have hundreds of hours of digitzed video from the ADVC-300 under my belt, and I have NEVER had the audio and video go out of sync, even on continuous recordings of four hours.

There are lots of variables that can affect sync, such as whether you record to DV Type 1 or DV Type 2, which format your editing tools prefer (if they have a preference), and how you process the material afterwards.

Which Type (1 or 2) stays in sync? I have almost exclusively captured Type 2.

What capture utility and/or editor do you use to capture?

Thanks!

[THoff]

They both stay in sync provided the software handles the format correctly. DV AVI Type 1 stores the audio and video information together in one stream, wherease DV AVI Type 2 separates the two.

Because Type 1 keeps the audio and video together, it is more difficult to get them out of sync. Processing these files is more processor-intensive, and not all applications handle both formats, or handle them equally well.

I usually capture from my ADVC-300 using WinDV because it is unobtrusive and can be minimized while I do something else. It also has a relatively large 99 frame capture buffer to deal with brief disk I/O bottlenecks, so it is rare for the program to drop frames. I edit using Edius V4.51c.

[JackB]

In any case, I capture with WinDv and get out of synch video with the ADVC300.

In the past I have read that this is a function of the correction circuits. Is this true or not?

I will do some tests if I can find an analog camera with a clapper, then import with different capture utilities and NLEs into different NLEs.

I have primarily being using Liquid, the last version. But I will try Edius and Premiere, as well.

But my main question is, will the ADVC110 eliminate the capture sync problems since it doesn't have the clean-up circuits? Thankss!