MINI DV tapes... Need a duplicate copy... how?

[WayneTeK]

ok, i just got back from vacation and i need to make duplicate copies of Mini DV tapes.. Does anyone know how to do this???

 

[aka1nas]

Two ways that I can think of...

Cheap way: Download the contents of your tape to your computer. Then using video editing software, export it back out to the camcorder onto a blank tape.

Expensive way: Buy a Mini-DV Deck and use that to make copies(they are a few grand though)

Do you need a duplicate miniDV tape? Or just a duplicate? You could always export it to VHS(through the camcorders analog outs) if you are not worried about quality.

 

[WayneTeK]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
Two ways that I can think of...

Cheap way: Download the contents of your tape to your computer. Then using video editing software, export it back out to the camcorder onto a blank tape.

Expensive way: Buy a Mini-DV Deck and use that to make copies(they are a few grand though)

Do you need a duplicate miniDV tape? Or just a duplicate? You could always export it to VHS(through the camcorders analog outs) if you are not worried about quality.

Oh good grief! Cheap way, no way... Quality is lost... If i wanted full quality, i cannot compress it... which means i need a crap load of HD space... 120gig won't do for 6 tapes..

Also, MINI DV DECK is not the way for me... Although, i think i have a friend that might have it..

How about from DV CAM to DV Cam? someone suggested if you firewire both of them together, you could make a duplicate copy if you have two DV cams... or is this a myth? Never tried it.. Lemme know.

 

[apoppin]

I'd be interested to know about copying miniDV to miniDV.

However, if HD space is a problem, just do 1 or 2 tapes at a time. Not convenient perhaps, but not expensive.

 

[oldfart]

Oh good grief! Cheap way, no way... Quality is lost... If i wanted full quality, i cannot compress it... which means i need a crap load of HD space... 120gig won't do for 6 tapes

Its not that bad. If you capture @ full DV quality (no compression), 1Hr DV is ~ 13 Gig. Just capture it and send it back to a blank tape. Best Buy has Pinnacle Studio 7 for $40 after $50 MIR. You get a Firewire card, cable and Studio 7 software.

From the help in Pinnacle Studio 7:

Full-quality capture
This is a high resolution capture. Your camcorder compresses and stores
video on the tape at 3.6 MB/s, which is broadcast quality video. With full
quality capture, the video data is transferred directly from the camcorder
tape to your PC hard drive with no changes or additional compression. Due to
the high quality, capturing at this setting does take up a lot of disk
space. You may want to pick and choose small segments to capture instead of
the entire tape. You can calculate the amount of disk space you will need by
multiplying the length of your video in seconds by 3.6 MB/s.
For example:
1 hour of video = (60 seconds x 60 minutes) = 3600 seconds.
3600 seconds x 3.6 = 12,960 MB or 12.9 GB of hard drive space.
To capture at full quality, your hard drive must be capable of a sustained
reading and writing at 4 MB/s. All SCSI and most UDMA drives are capable of
this. The first time you capture at full quality, Studio will test your
drive to make sure it is fast enough.

 

[onelin]

oldfart is right I'm surprised how few people think firewire when dealing with DV...when really it's the first thing that should be on everyone's mind.

 

[Delbert]

exactly. Why do you think they call it digital video. The ones and zeros on the tape can travel without alteration onto a hard drive and back to tape without loss.
P.S., I hav both camera and deck. If it is just one tape I will be glad to dupe it for you. All you pay is postage.

 

[John P]

I agree with the others. Record as many tapes to your computer hard drive as possible, then play them back to your camcorder.

 

[Jhill]

Would it be possibe to borrow another mini dv camcorder and just hook them up together copy them that way?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: John P.
I agree with the others. Record as many tapes to your computer hard drive as possible, then play them back to your camcorder.

Exactly! It's cheap. and does the job. The quality will remain the same as long as you aren't dropping frames as you download to your PC. You're a digital video editor and don't know this?

:Q