To transfer MiniDV to a PC, do I have to play the tape at normal speed?

Question

I've never worked with MiniDV's so I was wondering how long it took to transfer it to a PC? Does it take as long as the tape's video length or is there some sort of quick transfer?

Answer 1

There is no quick transfer. You play the video and stream it in real time via USB. The software on your PC then records the video in real time.

Answer 2

The video capture's in real time, but it's via firewire not USB.  There's a video capture app called Scenalyzer which will scan the tape while it fast forwards and produce snapshots so that you know what's on there, but it's not video capture.  The idea is that you can select the bits you want to capture and leave the junk.  You can do that manually, of course - just fast forward to the bit you want and then capture it.