Panasonic PV-DV202 30 second video capture limit?

[Dave]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop,rec.video (More info?)

Hi,

Please be gentle with me since I am a total newbie at this. A friend has
a Panasonic pv-dv202d-k digital camcorder, from which he would like to
retrieve the video to produce .wmv movie clips on the computer to send to
friends.

The current connection with the camcorder is via USB, since he doesn't
have a firewire port on the computer. He realizes that USB is much slower
than Firewire, but for right now that isn't an issue.

However, the current problem is that the software to extract the video
that came with the camcorder ("Photovu/MPEG4 Movie Messenger System")
seems to have a hard 30-second limit on the .wmv files that it will
produce.

Page 63 of the Operating Instructions manual for the camcorder confirms
this limitation: "The maximum capture time is approx 30 seconds. Capture
stops automatically at the end of 30 seconds.".

The manual can be found online here:
http://www.panasonic.ca/PDP/OperatingInstructions/pv-dv202_402-k%20(e).pdf

My question is this: is this 30-second limit something that is just an
issue with the software that is supplied with the camera, or is it
something that can't be overcome even with third-party software?

I did try a Google search and found some postings that seemed to imply
that the 30-second limit is magically overcome with a Firewire connection,
but I couldn't confirm this.

All input and recommendations are gratefully received.

Thanks!
Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop,rec.video (More info?)

Dave <dave@nowhere.com> wrote in
news:gaht809rjdnus4fsnnippdgdnhm66tfv89@4ax.com:

> Hi,
>
> Please be gentle with me since I am a total newbie at this. A
> friend has a Panasonic pv-dv202d-k digital camcorder, from which
> he would like to retrieve the video to produce .wmv movie clips on
> the computer to send to friends.
>
> The current connection with the camcorder is via USB, since he
> doesn't have a firewire port on the computer. He realizes that
> USB is much slower than Firewire, but for right now that isn't an
> issue.
>
> However, the current problem is that the software to extract the
> video that came with the camcorder ("Photovu/MPEG4 Movie Messenger
> System") seems to have a hard 30-second limit on the .wmv files
> that it will produce.
>
> Page 63 of the Operating Instructions manual for the camcorder
> confirms this limitation: "The maximum capture time is approx 30
> seconds. Capture stops automatically at the end of 30 seconds.".
>
> The manual can be found online here:
> http://www.panasonic.ca/PDP/OperatingInstructions/pv-dv202_402-k%
20
> (e).pdf
>
> My question is this: is this 30-second limit something that is
> just an issue with the software that is supplied with the camera,
> or is it something that can't be overcome even with third-party
> software?
>
> I did try a Google search and found some postings that seemed to
> imply that the 30-second limit is magically overcome with a
> Firewire connection, but I couldn't confirm this.
>
> All input and recommendations are gratefully received.
>
> Thanks!
> Dave
>
>

I looked at the manual before just stating my opinion off the top of
my head.

Start at Page 63, Paragraph 4.

One: they call USB capture "Movie Messenger System". This is a clue
that it isn't real capture.

Two: as you said, they limit motion capture to 30 seconds at a time.

Three: they admit that USB capture speed is 30 to 50 times real
time. If you could capture a one-hour movie, it would take (drum
roll) 30 to 50 hours. Oof.

FireWire cards are cheap. Buy one and the correct cable (typically
4-pin at the camera end and 6-pin at the computer end, but YMMV).
This captures at real-time, much pleasanter.

If Panasonic doesn't provide any FireWire capture software and the
FireWire card you get doesn't have an LT version of something,
you'll have to spend money. Lots of stuff available, $50 to $1000
and more... I didn't see anything in the manual about software.

Oh no! I just found what they have to say about iLink (another name
for FireWire, also called IEEE-1394). They say that capture on iLink
is limited to 3 minutes. That's crazy. See Page 75, Paragraph 4.

OK, go to a friend's house who has a FireWire card and capture
software, and see what that will do with your camera before spending
any money!

And maybe you should own a different camera.

On page 74, in a box (cartouche) at the top of the page, they say
that the camera should work with any OHCI (i.e., normal) FireWire
card and any video software. Who knows? They have scared me, I must
say.

And too, it is normal for a camcorder to come without its own
software for capture. I think what we've learned is that this camera
also comes without real capture software, and the other stuff has
just created a smoke screen for you and me.

OK, here's my final advice: Just get a FireWire card and a program.
But if you have a friend well equipped, try it on their computer
with their guidance. It will cheer you up enormously. And I take
back my suggestion to buy a different camera - just ignore their
software...

HTH,
Gino

--
Gene E. Bloch (Gino) phone 650.966.8481
Call me letters find me at domain blochg whose dot is com

 

[Dave]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop,rec.video (More info?)

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 22:08:47 GMT, "Gene E. Bloch"
<hamburger@NOT_SPAM.invalid> wrote:

*snippety snip*
>OK, here's my final advice: Just get a FireWire card and a program.
>But if you have a friend well equipped, try it on their computer
>with their guidance. It will cheer you up enormously. And I take
>back my suggestion to buy a different camera - just ignore their
>software...

Thanks for your terrific and very prompt reply, Gene. It is certainly
clear that Firewire is the way to go. And I think the cards & cables are
cheap enough now that this should be a fairly inexpensive option.

Plus at least 3 minutes is six times as long as 30 seconds. At a pinch,
the .wmv files could be joined together after they are downloaded.

Thanks again,
Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop,rec.video (More info?)

Dave <dave@nowhere.com> wrote in
news:7omt805f8euug2fd3krtb8shgeuq0ek8ij@4ax.com:

> On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 22:08:47 GMT, "Gene E. Bloch"
> <hamburger@NOT_SPAM.invalid> wrote:
>
> *snippety snip*
>>OK, here's my final advice: Just get a FireWire card and a
>>program. But if you have a friend well equipped, try it on their
>>computer with their guidance. It will cheer you up enormously. And
>>I take back my suggestion to buy a different camera - just ignore
>>their software...
>
> Thanks for your terrific and very prompt reply, Gene. It is
> certainly clear that Firewire is the way to go. And I think the
> cards & cables are cheap enough now that this should be a fairly
> inexpensive option.
>
> Plus at least 3 minutes is six times as long as 30 seconds. At a
> pinch, the .wmv files could be joined together after they are
> downloaded.
>
> Thanks again,
> Dave
>
>

You're more than welcome - I love any opportunity to pontificate!

And I believe that the FireWire capture won't be at 30x real time


So capturing a few 3 minute chunks should be at least doable, since
it's almost certainly at real-time rates even with Panasonic's
software (I am hoping...).

One caveat though - be sure they capture in the normal AVI format
used by most editors and authoring programs.

Gino

--
Gene E. Bloch (Gino) phone 650.966.8481
Call me letters find me at domain blochg whose dot is com