Live Capture

With compatible capture hardware you can build a catalog directly by scanning a DV tape. (Note that under Windows a third party VDIG driver may be required to enable the capture capability in QuickTime applications such as CatDV, and on the Mac Live Capture is not currently compatible with the latest versions of Mac OS X.)

There are two options for capturing within CatDV, using the standard built-in Live Capture command or the optional Live Capture Plus, which can also be used standalone.

Built-in Live Capture

Bring up the capture dialog using the Live Capture menu command or toolbar button. You have the following options:

Enter a tape name, destination file (if relevant) and other options, then press the Start button and start your tape playing to commence a scan or capture. (You need to use the controls on your deck or camcorder because, unlike Live Capture Plus, the built-in Live Capture command does not provide Firewire device control.)

Use Set Poster while the tape is being scanned to create an additional thumbnail at the current frame and use that as the poster for the scene. (Because the length of a scene is not known in advance during live capture the preference options that let you specify which poster to use have no effect. Instead, the first frame of each scene is used unless you set the poster yourself.)

If necessary, use Power Up to initialise the capture hardware after connecting and powering up your camcorder. Use the Video and Audio buttons to configure the capture source. If no video is recognised when you play a tape try closing the Live Capture window, start the tape playing, and then re-open Live Capture.

If any timecode resets are detected while scanning the tape a new tape identifier is automatically used for each continuous segment by appending a number to the name you entered.

Live Capture Plus

Live Capture Plus is a separate application, that can be used independently of CatDV, and is currently only available for Mac OS X. Live Capture Plus provides additional features, such as device control and automatic rewind and retry if any capture errors such as dropped frames are detected.

If you use Live Capture Plus you can configure the Live Capture toolbar button to launch the Live Capture Plus application in Preferences.Please note that if you use the default Java 1.4 or later on Mac OS X then the built-in Live Capture capability is unavailable. It is suggested that you consider purchasing a Live Capture Plus license for the extra features it gives you (and configure the toolbar button as described above) but you can revert to the older Java 1.3.1 version instead (via the Advanced tab of Preferences) if you need to use the built-in Live Capture command.


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