How do I automatically log a DV tape using Live Capture?

(These notes primarily apply to Windows users. If you are using Mac OS X you might want to look at Live Capture Plus instead.)

  1. Ensure your system is a Macintosh with built-in FireWire or a Windows PC with FireWire interface and drivers and a QuickTime-compatible VDIG (see the CatDV release notes for further details).
  2. Connect your camcorder/deck and computer using a FireWire cable and power up the camcorder.
  3. Launch CatDV and open the Live Capture window. If you get an error try resetting the FireWire bus by removing and reinserting the cable (with the camcorder still on) and press the Power up button.
  4. Press play on your camcorder or deck and you should see a preview of the video in the monitor window. If necessary check and adjust the Video and Audio capture settings. You should not select any compression here (use DV for video, Uncompressed for audio, and select the same sample rate as your tape is recorded at).
  5. Type in a tape name and select Scan & Build Preview.
  6. Rewind the tape to the start and press play on your camcorder/deck. Press the Start button in the Live Capture window.
  7. CatDV will now scan the tape, simultaneously capturing low resolution previews and detecting scene changes.
  8. Each scene will have a thumbnail poster from the start of the scene, but you can press Set Poster while the tape is playing to use the current frame as a poster instead. (It is normal for the monitor window to show the thumbnail for the current scene rather than the playing video.)
  9. If capture doesn't stop automatically when the end of the tape is reached, or if you want to stop early, press the Stop button. Close the Live Capture window and review the clips in the catalog.
  10. Select the clips you want to use and export a batch log suitable for your NLE. Import the batch log into your editing project and batch capture the required clips. This will give you the clip names and exact scene boundaries as detected by CatDV, with full quality media correctly attached in your project, ready for you to start editing.


Next