4 pin to 4 pin why?

Question

why should i use a 4pin to 4 pin connector instead of the s-video to connect my dv camera to a dvd recorder? don't know why to spend the extra money...

Answer 1

Digital to Digital is only one reason. Another is the DV connection also transfers the stereo audio and timecode (if needed). So besides the "S" connector, you would need two analog audio (right/left) connectors. And for some applications, the DV connector also carries machine motion instructions, like starting the tape to play when the DVD is ready to start recording. And should you decide to go the other way (play DVD, record tape), the same cable is used. So in effect one DV cable connection replaces up to 10 analog cables.

Answer 2

If you are using a DV camera, remember that it is recording your video in a DIGITAL format. It is better to use the 4-pin connector,  because that is a digital type of connector, while S-Video is an analog type of connector. SO when you are connecting your DV camera to your DVD camera, if you use the S-video, you are not fully utilizing the "digital-ness" (if there is such a word), and you are losing a little bit of the quality of the digital video signal by using an analog converter.

To give you an analogy, remember (if you are old enough that is) in the past when we used VHS, if you made a copy of a copy of a copy, you slowly lost a little bit of the quality with each copy that you made, mainly because it is virtually impossible to preserve the quality of the original video signal when it is analog.

On the other hand, when you make a copy of a copy (as many as you want) of a DVD (which stores data digitally), you don't lose the quality at all.

My advice, use the digital connector, and preserve the high quality of the digital video when you copy to DVD.