Transfering Digital Video

[brightside]

I just got a Sony Handycam digital video camera that uses mini DV tapes. I'm running Windows XP. The only way that I can get video and audio on my laptop is to use a firewire card. If I watch the video playback on my television, it works fine...However, when I record from the camera to the computer, the recording will keep freezing for two seconds, rewind a second, then start playing again. This keeps happening through the recording. I know it's not the camera itself. Does anyone else have this problem. Any of you own a Sonydigital handycam? How do you record to your computer?




Thanks

 

[uzi9mm]

It sounds like your computer is dropping frames. What are the specs of your computer. Also what program are you using to capture from the DV cam?

 

[brightside]

I have a 2.6 Celeron Toshiba laptop with 256 Ram and the program I use to Capture is CyberLink PowerDirector(program that came w/ the firewire adapter card). I just restored my computer to its original state so it should not be lagging.

 

[grego]

Sorry to say it but your laptop is severly underqualified for video capture. The fact that it is a laptop in the fist place is a big hint that it wont do too well. I'd bet anything that it has a 5400rpm or slower hard drive. Probably in the 4k range, I forget that specific RPM. That said, 5400rpm (or lower) drives (used in 95%+ of laptops) are barely sufficient for vid capture. The 2.6ghz celeron and especially 256mb ram arent helping you either. If your setup was a desktop with a 7200rpm drive though, I bet you'd be fine. Vid cap is VERY intensive on the hard drive.

If your capture software has a video preview (as it is capturing) turn it off. My laptop has a 1.6ghz pentium-m, 512 ram, 5400rpm drive, and turning off the video preview was the only way I could even get the software to accept the hard drives data writing rate.

 

[grego]

Oh, and not to confuse you: A 1.6ghz Pentium M is equal to approximately a 2.8ghz Pentium 4, much faster than a 2.6ghz celeron.