Best way to capture dv?

Question

is it better to capture from the tape thru firewire or to capture footage directly to my laptop thru firewire?

what is the best software to capture for best quality?

Answer 1

You can only capture dv through firewire.

If you have a mini dv (cassette) camcorder….

Your dv camcorder needs a firewire connection (ieee 1394) in order to download video, your laptop probably did not come with a firewire port, so you will have to buy one and install it, (make sure your laptop has an empty bay for the firewire card) since most computers (except possibly brand new) don't come with a firewire port, your camcorder did not come with a firewire cord so you have to purchase a cord too. Your camcorder did come with a USB cord and that is used for downloading stills from your camcorder.

Answer 2

It's unlikely that you'll have the ability to record directly to a PC - you'll have to record to tape and then transfer it.  There's no difference in quality - it's the same pattern of 0s and 1s, you're just recording to a different medium.  The software's not going to make any difference to the quality.