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Import analog video to your computer by using a DV camera In this articleDo you have a lot of home videos stuck on old analog videotapes that you'd like to transfer over to your computer? If you do and you have a digital video (DV) camera and Windows Vista, you can use your DV camera to import video from an analog video camera (or VCR) to your computer.  | | Import analog video through a DV camera to your computer |
What you needBefore you get started, here’s a list of things you’ll need: | • | A computer running Windows Vista Your computer needs to be running one of these editions of Windows Vista: Ultimate, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, or Starter. | | • | An analog video camera or VCR Some popular analog video formats include 8mm, Hi-8, VHS, and S-VHS (to name a few). | | • | A DV camera that supports analog-to-digital signal conversion To find out it if your DV camera has analog-to-digital signal conversion, see the manual that came with your DV camera or go to the manufacturer's website. | | • | An IEEE 1394 cable (also known as a FireWire or i.Link cable) | | • | An IEEE 1394 port on your computer | | • | An Audio/Video (A/V) cable This cable has three RCA connectors (red, white, and yellow) on one end and a single Mini A/V connector on the other end. Many times, it will be included with your DV camera. | | • | An S-Video cable (Optional) |
Step 1: Change settings on your DV cameraAfter verifying that your DV camera supports analog-to-digital conversion, enable this setting on your DV camera. When analog-to-digital signal conversion is enabled, the DV camera converts the analog video to digital video as it plays (in real time), so it can be imported as a video file on your computer.  | To enable analog-to-digital signal conversion | | | 1.
| If there’s a videotape in the DV camera, eject the videotape, remove it, and then close the tape loader. | | 2.
| Turn on your DV camera and put it into playback mode (often labeled VCR or VTR on the DV camera). | | 3.
| Press the button (or other control) that displays a playback settings menu. | | 4.
| Enable analog-to-digital conversion. The analog-to-digital signal setting is usually found on a playback menu and labeled as A/V to DV Out, AV to DV, or a similar name. | | 5.
| Exit the playback settings menu on the DV camera. | | 6.
| Turn off the DV camera. |
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Step 2: Connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV cameraThe next step is to connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera. You can use either an S-Video or composite video connection to do this. (If you have the choice between the two connections, use an S-Video connection to get higher-quality video.) Before you connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera, make sure that both devices are turned off. | Using an S-Video connection | | If you have S-Video jacks on both your analog video camera (or VCR) and your DV camera, then you can use an S-Video cable to connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera. If you use an S-Video cable, you’ll also need to use an A/V cable too. (The S-Video cable transfers the video to the DV camera, and the audio goes through the red-and-white RCA connectors on the A/V cable.)  | | Using an S-Video connection to connect a DV camera to an analog video source |
| To connect a DV camera to an analog video camera or VCR (S-Video connection) | | | 1.
| Plug the one end of the S-Video cable into the S-Video jack on the DV camera. | | 2.
| Plug the other end into the S-Video jack on the analog video camera or VCR. | | 3.
| Plug the single Mini A/V connector on the one end of the A/V cable into the Mini A/V jack on the DV camera. (The Mini A/V jack is often yellow and labeled Audio/Video.) | | 4.
| Plug the red-and-white RCA connectors on the other end of A/V cable into the red-and-white RCA jacks on the analog video camera or VCR. The yellow RCA connector should not be plugged into the analog video camera or VCR. | |
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| Using a composite video connection | | You can also use a composite video connection to connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera. For this type of connection, use an A/V cable to connect your DV camera to your analog camera or VCR.  | | Using a composite video connection to connect a DV camera to an analog video source |
| To connect a DV camera to an analog video camera or VCR (composite video connection) | | | 1.
| Plug the single Mini A/V connector on the one end of the A/V cable into the Mini A/V jack on the DV camera. (The Mini A/V jack is often yellow and labeled Audio/Video.) | | 2.
| Plug the yellow, red, and white RCA connectors on the other end of the A/V cable into the corresponding yellow, red, and white RCA jacks on the analog video camera or VCR. |
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Step 3: Connect the DV camera to your computerNow that your analog video source is connected to your DV camera, you just need to make one more connection. Use an IEEE 1394 cable to connect your DV camera to your computer.  | | Using an IEEE 1394 connection to connect a DV camera to a computer |
Step 4: Import the analog video to your computerNow that everything is connected, you’re ready to start importing video from your analog video camera or VCR to your computer. | To import video to your computer | | | 1.
| Insert the videotape into your analog video camera or VCR. | | 2.
| Turn on the analog video camera or VCR. If you are recording from an analog video camera, turn on the camera and put it into playback mode. | | 3.
| Turn on your DV camera and put it into playback mode, which is often labeled VCR or VTR on your DV camera. | | 4.
| When the Autoplay dialog box appears after you turn on the DV camera, click Import Video using Windows Import Video. | | 5.
| In the Name box, type a name for the new video file. | | 6.
| From the Import to list, choose a location where you want to save your video file or files, or click Browse to choose another location. | | 7.
| In the Format list, choose one of the following video file formats for the new video file, and then click Next: | • | If you want to create a single file using the file type that your DV camera uses by default, such as a DV-AVI file, choose Audio Video Interleaved (single file). | | • | If you want to create a single Windows Media Video (WMV) file containing all of the information on the video tape, choose Windows Media Video File (single file). | | • | If you want to create a WMV file for every scene on the videotape, choose Windows Media Video (one file per scene). |
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| Click Only import parts of the videotape to my computer, and then click Next. | | 9.
| Use the controls on the analog video camera or VCR (or the remote control for the analog device) to cue the tape to the part where you want to start importing video, and then press PLAY to begin playing the tape. | | 10.
| On the Cue the videotape and then start importing video page, click Start Video Import. | | 11.
| When you want to stop importing video, click Stop Video Import. | | 12.
| On the analog video camera or VCR (or remote control), press STOP. | | 13.
| Repeat steps 9 through 12 for each part of the analog videotape that you want to import. | | 14.
| When you're done importing video, click Finish. The imported video is saved as one or more video files on your computer and appears in Windows Photo Gallery. | |
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Analog capture device __elbasuer__ Analog capture device
Hardware that converts analog audio and video content from an external source, such as a VCR or video camera, to a digital format that can be imported by a computer.
Digital video (DV) __elbasuer__ Digital video (DV)
Video images and sound stored in a digital format.
Import
To record audio, video, or pictures as digital data in a file.
IEEE 1394
A high-speed serial bus standard that provides enhanced computer connectivity for a wide range of devices, including consumer electronics audio/video (A/V) appliances, storage peripherals, other computers, and portable devices.
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