Canopus ADVC 300 over the ADVC 100?

Question

Canopus ADVC 300 over the ADVC 100?

Hi all -
I've gotten to really like iMovie for transferring DV from my camcorder into DVDs as well as posting YouTube clips although, in hindsight, I made the error of purchasing an HD camera with a hard disk instead of one with removable media. Oh well.

I am now at the point where I would like to convert old VHS footage (I have tons of tapes!) and was looking into the Canopus line. But I'm wondering, are there any benefits of getting the ADVC 300 over the 100? Are the "noise reduction" and "video enhancement" features worth the cost differential? Will I, the video novice, see any real difference?

Thanks!

iMac 24" Duo Core Intel, Mac OS X (10.5.6), 4 GBs RAM

Posted on Jun 2, 2009 8:46 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 5, 2018 5:38 PM in response to F. Carl McIvor1

Thanks "C" -- and you're correct, they no longer make the 100 but this will refer to the 110 as well. On Canopus' web site their chart says that the 300 can "+...clean, enhance and stabilize old analog video+" and was wondering if its worth the price difference?

You ask if I already have a video converter and in fact, now that I think about it I have an ancient (ca. 1988) Panasonic OmniMovie HQ PV-330D camcorder with charger/converter (PV-A22MB) that's been the basement for years but still works perfectly fine.

Are the "video enhancement" features found in the Canopus units worth the investment?

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Answer 2

Feb 5, 2018 5:38 PM in response to F. Carl McIvor1

Carl -
In looking at the converter, it only has RCA outs. As a newbie, what type of adapter do you recommend for interfacing with my computer. Am I better off getting an RCA to USB adapter or an RCA to Firewire (and does one even exist)?

Thanks!

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Answer 3

Feb 5, 2018 5:38 PM in response to F. Carl McIvor1

Thanks Carl, for your responses.
I actually [also] have iMovie 6 -- shall I use that version instead?

As far as my cameras, I have a 2-year old Sony HDR-SR5 camcorder (used a built-in hard disk) as well as that ancient Panasonic camera which records onto as well as plays VHS tapes. The Sony camera works well with iMovie but being that iMovie(8) reduces the output quality, that sort of negates the reason for my buying a high-definition camera doesn't it? I bought it to record the birth of my son (in 2007) along with his first years -- and eventually archive them on DVD.

Which brings me to another question...shall I burn them onto Premium DVDs for longevity? I can't keep storing footage onto drives being that 1). reliability, and 2). space and cost.

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Answer 4

Feb 5, 2018 5:38 PM in response to F. Carl McIvor1

Thanks Carl for your concise and detailed reply.

Assuming I understood half of what you said (especially the 3rd paragraph), I would like to look into the "tape" backup option and the footage of my son is valuable to me. I don't have a problem importing the footage into iM8, however, I did notice that the screen width is cut off when I output to either low-rez format (i.e., YouTube) or burn to DVD.

Now back to "tape backup..." can you recommend a storage device or mfr? Although I have a 1TB HD, I'd like to have an external backup as well and the last I'd heard of a tape backup was back in the mid-90's when I used something called a "Maynard." And slow as molasses if I remember correctly.

Please don't suggest LaCie drives as I've had terrible luck with them in my job as a graphic/web designer.

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Answer 5

Jun 2, 2009 8:59 AM in response to Community User

Hi RuskinRules

I use the ADVC 100 from Canopus. It has always worked flawlessly. I don't believe it's available any longer from Canopus. Although you might find one on ebay. Instead you can look toward the ADVC 55 or 110 models.

See comparisons here: http://desktop.grassvalley.com/products/videoconversion.php

Alternatively, does your camera have a pass through feature. See if you can hook up your VCR to the camera and the camera to your Mac. You may be able to import the video this way. You could save the expense of buying the converter.

Carl

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Answer 6

Jun 3, 2009 7:39 AM in response to Community User

Hi there

First, what kind of camera are you now using? Can you tell the forum the specs. Also I wouldn't buy the ADVC 300 just for the software. It appears you are not using iM for professional work but more of a hobby(?) If you're using iM 08/09 using Canopus software to "clean up" video is not likely to help.

iM 08/09 uses a processing technique that called single field processing. It's designed to omit every other horizontal line of video. So no mater what software you use, the quality of out put for iM08/09 will be suspect.

See this thread here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9181611&#9181611

So save your money and buy the ADVC 55 or 110. Meanwhile tell us about your camera as there may be a work around.

Carl

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Answer 7

Jun 3, 2009 7:00 PM in response to Community User

Hi RuskinRules

You really did but a Mac unfriendly camera. iM6 is a much better video editor. Unfortunately, it's an Apple orphan. It's no longer supported. iM 08/09 is not for serious editing. It's meant for the Youtube crowd -- a few clips unloaded to youtube, no really special editing or features.

iM 6 is a DV & HDV editor. DV takes about 13 GB per Hr and HDV about double 26 GB/Hr and is dependent on Firewire.

Unfortunately your camera is ADVCHD, MPEG 2. It does not support Firewire. Even if you could get it loaded in iM6 you'd still need to convert the video to DV or HDV. So, unless you can convert the codec using MPEG Streamclip( http://www.squared5.com/), your out of luck! It is free, but you'll need Apple's MPEG playback component ( http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2187Z/A ). It costs about $20.00 US. It is a useful tool for your video tool kit.

The price for external Hard Drives have come way down. You can get 1TB for $200. It a good idea to store your video on external drives. The problem with backing up to a DVD is that you are compressing the video to another codec to get it on the DVD MPEG 2. Then if you need to use that video footage again, you have to decompress it to a format that can be edited. All the compression/decompression reduces the video quality. Also the DVDs themselves can get scratched or compromised in other ways that could render it unreadable. Having the video on an Ex HD in it's raw form is better.

Ideally, you'd like to export the video to tape. Tape is much higher quality these days and easy to store. It's also cheap. It's redundant, but if you have it on Ex HD and on tape you'll have the video of your son forever. And it'll be editable for all those occasions where you need that clip.

You may need to buy a new camera (or not). I have the HDR HC1. It works fine for my needs. Alternatively, you could see if your local library or high school has up to date video equipment. If they do you could perhaps borrow it. That would give you an opportunity to try before you buy.

Keep the forum posted on you video adventure.

Carl

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