8887 vs. 5670 for mini DV capture

[Sid 6.7]

I'm thinking of purchasing either the 8887 or 5670. I will be using it for work so that means my OS will be W2K Pro. However, I would like to be able to edit mini DV movies as well. Since I will be new to the video editing world, I have a few questions.

I have an older JVC camcorder that I hook up to the TV via the red, white, and yellow A/V cable. Which Sager is more suitable for capturing video with my camcorder?

I would also like to convert some VHS videos to DVD. Does this mean the 5670 is out of the running?

Will I need other adapters or cables to do the video captures from my camcorder?

Will I need a 7200 RPM firewire hard drive if I want to convert my movies to DVD?

What do you recommend for video capturing software? DVD burning?

Thanks in advance.

[Kasteo]

I have an older JVC camcorder that I hook up to the TV via the red, white, and yellow A/V cable. Which Sager is more suitable for capturing video with my camcorder?

I believe any MiniDV camcorder have a Firewire port (not sure about that though). If your camcorder have a firewire port then either 8887 or 5670 can do the job. If not then you need 8887 because it has a build in S-Video in/out port (you need a S-video to RCA jack converter cable).

I would also like to convert some VHS videos to DVD. Does this mean the 5670 is out of the running?

Yes, if you want to convert VHS video to DVD then you need 8887. Or you can get 5670 and then buy USB Video capture device.

Will I need other adapters or cables to do the video captures from my camcorder?

If you are using Firewire port then you need Firewire cable, but if you are using RCA cable then you need RCA to S-Video jack adapter.

Will I need a 7200 RPM firewire hard drive if I want to convert my movies to DVD?

Internal 5400rpm HDD can handle that task, but you might need to get a 60GB one.

What do you recommend for video capturing software? DVD burning?

I'm using Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 and Ulead VideoStudio 7. Both of them are very easy to use (good for a beginner)... and can do several decent movie edit job.... I heard Vegas Video is a very good one, but it's too expensive(~$450) and I don't need all those fancy feature yet.

[brems]

Either machine would be fine for this-Sager supplies Nero Vision software with DVD R/W option and it works great. Does your capture for you, encodes and burns. You'll need at least 24 gigs of initial storage for a two hour VHS tape so plan ahead.(compresses down to 4 gigs during the burn) The 5400rpm drives work fine for this. The firewire port on the Sager will work fine for DV input also-if your camcorder does not have a 1394 port than you'll need a analog to digital converter. Other than this its about as easy as doing up a cd burn and the results are excellent. I took about 2 weeks to shake the bugs out of the software ( you need to download the nero vision demo from nero.com which has upgrade patches- and purchase a DVD MPEG plugin for $20.00.) That's it-do not use the TV Tuner while your burning and encoding-drops the audio 4-5 octaves.

[ServerKing]

I have nothin to add to this post but I would like to say I love the name Sig 6.7 from the movie Virtuosity.

[myrkat]

I would say go for the 8887-V with 3.06GHz HT enabled CPU... if it is within your budget.

There's nothing like HYPERTHREADING when you go to encode a movie.

I also would recommend the EXTERNAL Sony all-in-one burner, so you can burn anything/any format (just in case your DVD only reads one format, while family/friends' reads another).

If your camcorder IS miniDV, then use ONLY the Firewire port, as there is no loss.

I'd also stay away from USB capture devices as they are notoriously horrible and often do not sync video and audio well.

-myrkat

[Sid 6.7]

Thanks for all your replies. I will keep all of your comments in mind. I'm sure I will have more questions when I actually get started.

And yes, ServerKing, I got the user name from the movie Virtuosity...good catch.