DVMC-DA2 and MSP6... a driver that works?

[jeff b]

The Sony DVMC-DA2 (and the DVMC-DA1, also, I would assume) when hooked up to a Win98SE system will get the dvcam.sys driver installed. I've fiddled around with this a bit in the last few days, and the only output I can get off the computer is by using DVIO while both my TRV-900 and DVMC-DA2 are online. This 'fools' DVIO into sending video out the 1394 port, and so I get it on both devices.

MSP6, though, just doesn't want to have anything to do with the TI dvcam.sys driver (version 2.5.0), and so I can't use the DVMC-DA2 with VCapture or VEdit the way things are set up at the moment.

Anybody have any remedy or ideas?

[jeff b]

Problem solved...

With VEditor, I simply had to stop trying to use the red 'record' button to export the dv file out via 1394 to the DVMC-DA2. The button immediately to the left sends out a 'preview', and does the job just great!

With VCapture, though, the problem was that it would select the directshow capture for my Voodoo 3500 TV AGP, rather than the TI 1394 device that the DVMC-DA2 uses. Once I disabled the device for the Voodoo analog capture, the DVMC-DA2 worked like a charm!

The SONY DVMC-DA2 is the same as the DVMC-DA1, only with a Lanc control output and some added features to decode the 12bit two stereo channels and mix it in 5 stages, or just select 16bit with one stereo channel. It's the size of four packs of american cigarettes, much smaller than the pictures of it would lead one to assume. It runs on an included ac adapter for the 6vdc power, a 4pin to 4pin 6 foot IEEE-1394 cable, a 3 foot composite/stereo left/right rca plug cable, a 3 foot SVideo cable, and a 3 foot Lanc cable. I got mine from a local camera shop for $315 (USD).

Analog input yields an overscanned DV output that shows on the computer, but won't when output back to a TV. DV input yields exactly the same slightly edge-cropped analog output that I get from my TRV-900. Like the camcorder, it 'hot connects' to IEEE-1394, and the input/output options can be switched on the fly (no need to turn anything off when going from capture to output).

What's REALLY cool is that I can output to my camcorder AND the DVMC-DA1 over two of the three IEEE-1394 ports on my SIIG card at the same time.

This is a nice little unit, and now that I have it working the way I thought it would work, I'm a happy camper!

[Jack Hearn]

Do you know if Ulead MSP V6.0 would control my analog camera via a firewire card and the Sony DVMC-DA2 LANC? Would the available controls be the same as a Firewire control interface?

I tried the DVMC-DA1 with my analog camera with Ulead MSP V6.0. I got some bizarre results. The DV capture although the correct file size (35 meg for 10 seconds) was in 320x240 frame size, and when compared to a full frame size MJPEG capture, it looked terrible.

Ran out of time to try troublshooting the results and had to return the DVMC-DA1. Returned the firewire card thinking that I would stick with MJPEG captures.

Now I am having second thoughts.

Jack

[jeff b]

I'm a bit puzzled about the Lanc control being added to the DVMC-DA2, since it's something that I would be hard pressed to find software that could deliver the correctly formatted Lanc commands via 1394. I have a DVMC-DA2, and it does have the Lanc port, but it really does seem to be nothing but an appendix, so to speak... I suppose that if you had TWO of the converters, then you could send Lanc commands in one, and it would be converted to 1394, then re-converted back to Lanc on the other one. But what would be the point of the that?

Regarding the 320x240 DV captures: Windows mediaplayer will report the frame size as 320x240 for some as yet inexplicable reason, but the file itself will contain 720x480 frame size, since there is no option to capture or render anything but 720x480 frame size in the MS DV codec.

I'm getting nice high quality captures and exports via the DVMC-DA2 on my system at this time, using a SIIG 1394 card and MSP6.

[Jack Hearn]

Because you have confirmed that my DV capture is really 720x480 rather than the 320x240 that windows reports, I called up both the DV capture and the MJPEG capture in two separate Windows Mediaplayer windows for comparison.

The MJPEG capture gives me redder reds and bluer blues and less jaggies on the edges than the DV capture. The detail in both captures looks to be very simular, but I have to give the edge to the MJPEG. Both captures used Ulead MSP 6.0. The MJPEG using the G200 Marvel and the DV the Sony codec and the I/O magic 1394 firewire card.

This video editing is just a hobby for me. I usually don't have much time to devote to it. But my analog HI8 tapes are beginning to pile up and its time to get busy editing. I had thought the DV format would give better results than what I am seeing, so the results of the DV capture are surprising to me.

Jack

[jeff b]

The 'iomagic' and 'sony codec' are not familiar to me, but I suspect there's an issue there... Where did the sony codec come from? Is it possible that there's an update to it?

I'm using the microsoft 1394 driver from windows98 Second Edition for my 1394 card. The camcorder, when hot plugged into 1394, brings up MSDV Camcorder and VCR driver under 'imaging device' in control panel-system-device manager. MSP6 uses microsoft qcap.dll and qdv.dll for capturing and encoding DV, and will only allow the option for DV compatible frame size of 720x480 for NTSC within MSP6.

These drivers are from the following files:
\\windows\system\qcap.dll 7/14/99
\\windows\system\qdv.dll 10/1/99
\\windows\system32\drivers\msdv.sys 9/30/99

These files were updated using 243174up.exe, which is found on the MSP6 CD in the 'DV Patch' subdirectory. The same update patch is available on the SIIG site. Running this will put those files into their respective spots and register them on the system. It won't, however, overwrite older versions of the files if they exist.

[wkulecz]

Jack,

If you have lots of Hi8 tapes to capture you should look at a D8 camcorder instead of the DVMC. For only a few hundred bucks more you can get the TR-7000 which, for US NTSC at least, plays the analog tapes out the firewire port, digitizing on the fly. I've heard this feature is disabled on the European models :-( Having a second camcorder comes in handy too!

I captured some clips form an analog video8 tape via firewire last night so I know that it works including device control. This old tape never looked so good! But it clearly shows the defects of analog video recording.

Better is the eye of the beholder. I find my marvel G200 captures have over saturated colors when played back and a color shift that I can't calibrate out with the TVout adjustment sliders. A Sima SCC color corrector was my only solution. I think Matrox quality control is lacking on this part of the Marvel and I have a partially defective board (I've already returned two to get on that works this good!)

Firewire captures and output back to tape preserves the colors as recorded. MSPro has very good color adjustment capablities if needed, if you are will to wait while the whole thing "renders" before output.

My only complaint is MSPro6 video capture tool is very unstable under win2000. Once you figure out how to turn off "automatically play after capture" and "display dialog before capture" it seem to work OK as long as you remember to return to "playback" mode before exiting or doing any menu operations.

--wally.

[Jack Hearn]

Wally,

Thanks for the info. I would like to get a Digital8 camera but I think the wife would kill me! I might revisit that idea though based on what you and Jeff and told me.

I was counting on getting good results with the Sony DVMC-DA1 and firewire card. What I got though was quite a bit worse than expected. Obviously I had something out of whack because you and Jeff both report good results.

So I will look at this DV/Firewire solution again.

Jack

[scooterboy]

"Windows mediaplayer will report the frame size as 320x240 for some as yet inexplicable reason"

By default media player is set to downsample the DV footage to a lower resolution for smooth playback

To view the footage at full res via mediaplayer you need to load a clip

Stop the clip

Go into properties

Go into Advanced tab

select the DV Video Decoder

hit the properties button

choose from the four quality options

and hit apply then OK

Note if you dint hit stop before choosing proprties youwill be unable to apply the changes.

I wouldnt reccomend using the full frame version as it can get a bit nasty with fast moving stuff (well I wouldnt recomend it unless you had more oomph than the Cele400 128Mb Ram G200 combo my firewire card is currently in - A G400 and Pent III may well give better results)

This will have no effect on the final dump to tape (and I'd recomedn using this to evluate the quality rather than MediaPlayer in anycase - try dumping an MJPEG version and a DV version backout to tape and see which is better then)


Steven C