Transfer Mini DV Tapes To Your Computer - 2023
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
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Ready to breathe new life into your cherished Mini DV home movies? Join me in this comprehensive step-by-step guide as I show you the seamless process of converting your tapes into a digital format.
🔧 Supplies Used in This Video:
Elgato Video Capture Card: amzn.to/47w3Jfj (Amazon Link)
⚙️ Choosing the Right Mini DV Camcorder:
To find the perfect Mini DV camcorder for your transfer, head over to eBay and search for "Mini DV player" or "Mini DV camcorder." Several options should pop up, and many will work just fine. Ensure they are in good working condition and come with included RCA cables.
🔍 Consultation Services Available:
Need personalized guidance or have specific questions about your Mini DV transfer? I offer consultation services based on two decades of experience. Reach out to me at olsenmedianetwork@gmail.com for more information.
🍀 Good Luck with Your Transfer!
Digitizing your Mini DV memories is a rewarding journey. Soon, you'll be able to relive those moments in the modern convenience of a digital format.
🛒 Support the Channel:
The provided link for the Elgato Video Capture Card is an Amazon affiliate link. Purchasing through it helps support the creation of more helpful videos without costing you extra. Thank you for your support!
Enjoy the transformation,
Russ
This video could not have been posted at a better time! Digitizing our family mini dv tapes is my Christmas present to my parents and had no clue how to do this with their old video camera. Thank you so much for posting this!
No problem, glad it helped 😀
@@adamstar7516 I only found out recently that the NV-GS230 model (and some other Panasonic 3CCD camcorders) can be used to capture full DV quality video on a computer using a USB connection, so there's no need for firewire for that:
Search for TH-cam video How to transfer video from a MiniDV camcorder to a computer via USB
I tried it with a Panasonic NV-GS180 and a Panasonic NV-GS500 too and they both transferred SD DV from MiniDV tapes to Windows Movie Maker in full DV quality via USB cable. It even worked on an old WindowsXP computer.
* PV-GS75 / NV-GS75
* PV-GS150 / NV-GS150
* PV-GS180 / NV-GS180 (verified working)
* PV-GS230 / NV-GS230 (verified working)
* PV-GS250 / NV-GS250
* PV-GS300 / NV-GS300 (verified working)
* PV-GS320 / NV-GS320 (verified working)
* PV-GS330 / NV-GS330
* PV-GS400 / NV-GS400 (verified working)
* PV-GS500 / NV-GS500 (verified working)
I don't know if that will make a selling point for them as I've only just started mentioning it in my listings.
@@adamstar7516is there a specific guide or video for this?
@@dogrusoyle4456MVX350i is a PAL version camcorder for the U.K. TV system. Any PAL version MiniDV camcorder which is working will play your tapes. An NTSC version camcorder for the U.S. TV system will not correctly play tapes which were recorded on your PAL system MVX350i. NTSC is nearly 30 frames per second, whereas PAL is 25 frames per second.
Thank you for this tutorial; you explained everything step by step and so clear. I was going to use a company, but it was going to be too much money since we have about 30 videos.
Amen to that. You might have gotten 3 tapes done for the price of this thing, if that many.
You are a lifesaver. I don't mind the 90 dollar price tag on the Elgato because it would have cost me a fortune to pay someone to do this for me. Thank you a million times!
A big thank you for this. I had put off transferring a pile of Mini DV tapes to my PC for years. Elgato video capture delivered yesterday and I am already into transfer double figures and watching stuff I hadn't seen for over 20 years. A great tutorial
I been searching for a video on how to convert footage and every video seemed confusing and I finally found one where information was actually helpful! I just ordered the Elgato and once it arrives I will test it out! I have a JVC camcorder so I will come back to this video to let you know if successful or not.
I’m so glad you found it, yes please let me know how it goes.
@@KeepinHomeUp ended up working out perfectly😁
@@adamstar7516 can you explain how I can do firewire set up? I think apple lightning (thunderbolt 2 or thunderbolt 4) is faster than firewire.
Thank you for this video! My family has decades old home videos that have not been digitized yet. Most are VHS-C but some are Mini-DV. I basically told my parents I was going to digitize them because if they aren’t digitized soon they could be lost forever. I’m anxious to get this project over with so I don’t have to worry about the footage being destroyed forever.
Thanks for this video, I love you! Greetz from Belgium videographer 😊
Thanks for video! Hate to be Mr. Life Coach, but.. when you cut yourself out of the end of the video with you and your daughter with you then saying "you just wanted to see your Daughter, you weren't necessary." That works two ways, if something happens to you like a fatal Car Wreck, etc. those videos will be all she has of her Father. You're doing a great thing by taking videos. Keep yourself in.
just found some minidvs from when i was about 10, I'm excited to see what is on them! I used to run around with a camcorder when i was 10-13
capture digital tapes with analog inputs, thats must be great result
It doesn’t give you as good a result as fire wire but it’s way easier and the difference is barely noticeable, especially since this digital format wasn’t great to begin with. It’s the early stage of digital.
Thanks😊
You deserve a million likes! A local company quoted me $1000 to transfer my parents tapes so you saved us big time! Now I just have to figure out how to do 8mm tapes. Thank you!!!
WOW, that is a big number. They give people a price for one tape, which seems small but they add up big time!! This method is so easy when you get it going. Here’s the link to my 8mm video. Very similar to this one. Just need an 8mm camera. Hope this helps. Transfer Hi8 and 8mm Tapes To Your Computer
th-cam.com/video/heovqGrZlSg/w-d-xo.html
Thank you!
thank you bro, this was super helpful, congrats!!!
Nice camcorder, I have a Canon GL1 myself, that was a Great camcorder. Thanks for posting this video
I love it!! I used it a lot for video back in the day. But one of the biggest issues with the GL1 is the fire wire port. On most of those cameras, the fire wire would stop working, so the only way you could transfer it would be with the RCA outputs. That actually turned out to be more of a blessing when I discovered the Elgato.
I may switch to this method. It seems so much easier even with reduced quality. I’ve been pulling my hair out with Linux and FireWire trying to get my camera recognized with little luck. Thanks for the instruction
Wow I don't know if I can do the reduced quality. Man this bums me out so much
@@sl5311unfortunately using rca as opposed to s-video or a direct connect will reduce quality to 360p
Have to try Firewire if at all possible. That's what I'm working on right now. Need to order a cable.
Thank you very much. exactly as you showed it worked perfectly.❤
A DV to Firewire cable should do the same if you have the videocard in your computer. 100 bucks for a cable converter seems steep.
Perfect, thank you.
Dude, I've been looking for a FireWire to Thunderbolt cable, and people are charging crazy amounts of money for it. This might just work. Thanks for sharing
I haven't looked a prices lately. But I do know that there are still a ton of people who need to transfer these old movies, and the older the technology gets the tougher it's going to be to find at a good price. Maybe try finding a local electronics, or computer store. A local one that's been around a little while might have something.
@@KeepinHomeUp Yeah I don't know what to trust and whom to trust when buying cameras or other things
were you able to find firewire to thunderbolt cable? If so- where?
Thanks for this video tutorial for this product. I just have one questions - and I may already have a guess at the answer, but I would like to know if you might confirm my guess before I start investing time and money towards digitizing all my videos. I want to edit the videos I capture so I want to find out what file type the videos will be saved as. Are they a file type I can import into FCP or Adobe PR so I can cut all my videos together?
They are saved in a .mp4 format, so it will work in both Final Cut and Premiere Pro. I've used them in both.
Do you need to have a way to charge the battery on the camcorder? I have my old camera, but no charging deck, so the battery is dead.
Hi, are new MiniDV cassettes still being produced or is there only remaining stock to buy?
This is good stuff. I was wondering though whether one can directly transfer to an external hard drive via the computer instead of the computer hard drive.
can I use any capture card or does it have to be the elgato its low-key expensive lol. and would the elgato software still work even if I dont have their capture card
True, Elgato is expensive. You can always try a cheaper option. Elgato is just the one that's worked for me. Other cards I've tried have dropped frames and have not worked well... for me. Another option is to use Firewire and go from your camera directly into the computer using Firewire. Then you need some kind of software to capture the video. So there are other cheaper routes, but I can't say for sure that it's going to be as easy or that it's going to work.
Hello, I gave a thumbs up! I have a Panasonic Palmcorder IQ Model PV-IQ504K. The only output options are TWO SEPARATE ports (one white and one yellow port) Will the Elgato Video Capture device work correctly with ONLY these two ports? In other words, I would only be able to plug in the white and yellow cables from my Palmcorder ports to the white and yellow cables of the Elgato device. The red cable of the Elgato device would not be used. Thanks!
I have a JVC GR-DVR510u camera and a 'MyGica Capit' transfer device.
Will this work? The camera was my late dad's and I want to digitize all his video adventures.
Can we use other software such as Roxio or Windows Movie Maker? Other wise I have the DVD software with the device.
Thanks for this very informative video!
I've never tried it but it doesn't hurt to give it a shot, especially if you already have the equipment. I would try what you have and use this method as a back-up, this one is going to cost you a bit for the capture device.
i have a few mini dv tapes but i hate to pay a lot of money as i dont know whats on them and/or worry that the tape breaks
I can understand that. I would probably try to find a player on eBay or something like that so I could see what's on the tapes.
Can I find this on Amazon? A cost efficient one?
Can i do this if the camcorder is stuck in safe mode? Cause i cant get it offf the safe mode i did all the removing battery and all that. The battery i beleive dead cause it work with a cord. But i cant get it to plah. So can i transfer if camcorder dont work?
I don't know without looking at the camera, but it doesn't sound like it would work. You may need to get another camera off ebay or marketplace.
So what's with the Firewire converter to firewire 800 to thunderbolt converter and into the USB-C? Most reviews I see say a direct connection from laptop to camcorder isn't usually recognized by laptop,
What do I do if I only have the mini tape and no video recorder ?
Thank god i own a pc.
Do I have to record or can I just view?
There is an option to go fullscreen if you just wanted to watch it
Is the resolution same as original? I am asking because you are using a/v RCA cable for the transfer
No, you must stick with FireWire for Mini DV transfers as the original resolution is 720x480i and it captures it uncompressed. The Elgato wouldn’t because it compressed to a 640x480p low resolution and very low video bitrate.
What’s the resolution like? I heard using Elgato Video Capture will decrease the video to maximum 640x480 while Mini DV usually is 720x576?
Yes, that's correct. It's 640x480. Which isn't a huge decrease, it leaves a smaller footprint and takes up less space on the computer.
720x576 is PAL while 720x480 is NTSC.
It seems to me like my digital data from the mini DV tape is being transferred to analogue through the composite output of the camera, then converted back to digital via the Elgato. Am I not losing quality this way? Is there a more direct way that will result in better quality for the final files?
This is my exact issue! There's clearly a loss of quality in the converted file on my laptop compared to what I can see on the camcorder's viewing screen. It's most noticable on fast zooms and any unsteady footage looks that bit worse due to the dropped frames.
In my case I'm transferring from my DV camcorder to a windows laptop. There's a 4 pin firewire port on the camcorder but I've no firewire port on my laptop so, from what I can gather, some form of firewire-to-usb adaptor is necessary. A simple cable with firewire on the one end and usb on the other won't work for real-time video capture as firewire and usb use different transfer protocols. I think the external standalone adaptors are no longer being made.
Another option may be to install a firewire connection into a spare slot on a pc/laptop - I've no slots on mine tho :/
Any ideas that you might have?
@@AladdinAudible Trying to find out what is working for people, did you find a solution??
My camera touch display not working can u tell me please what should i do ?
What if my handycam can’t play the video in the tape? Can i still save it into computer? The handycam can be turn on, it just can play the tapes.
You’ll need a camera that can play the video in order for this to work. The camera’s role is to play it and the computer captures it while it plays. Unfortunately, with these old tapes there, there’s no way of getting around that.
Hi, what can you suggest if the video cant be played in the handycam? @@KeepinHomeUp
is it better to get rid of the date or leave it?
The date that's on screen? If the camera you are using is putting up the current date I would get rid of that. If it's the date that's on the tape you can't get rid of that, and I think its best to have it for reference. Unless its not the date that the video was taken.
Can the files be dropped into an editing program afterwards to be edited?
Yes they can
i don't see anywhere that says AV out only DV in/out & it's different will I need a different cable?
Elgado video capture is expensive is there anything similar to that but cheaper ☹️
Yes, I was looking at amazon the other day and there are now capture devices that look just like the elgato for half the price. I can't speak to it because I've never used one but it may be worth a try.
How much does the actual elgato software cost? Is it monthly payments?
No, that's one of the nice things. The software comes with the adapter, it doesn't cost anything extra. In fact you can probably download it now on their website.
@@KeepinHomeUpand it works good on MacBook?
Or is it getting a new cable: 3.5mm to RCA (x3) male?
Cheers °°
Does this work with a Sony vx1000 or vx2100
Does Elgato allow you to point the recording destination to a cloud account instead of the hard drive? Thank you in advance and apologies if this already asked - I don't see this question in the comments
Yes. You can set the destination. I have the google drive folder on my computer, I’ve set the elgato destination there before.
Will Elgato work on my Chromebook OS? And reading the comments there doesn’t seem to be much quality difference between FireWire and RCA analog? I have a Canon GL1 camera.
I haven't tried on a Chromebook, but I don't think it will because of the small amount of storage that is on the computer itself. I don't see much difference in quality between Elgato and firewire, however, if you transfer through Firewire you don't need the Elgato, so that will save you money. The Canon GL1 should be able to transfer via Firewire, you just need to find a software program to use with it. Maybe try something like Divinci since that is free.
Is it true that S-Video cable has better quality of digitalizing then RCA cables?
Yes, S-Video is better quality. You can use s-video if you have it.
Thanks for an awesome video - you got me buying one of the Elgate tools :)
Unfortunately no 3.5mm pin, only the S-Video port (and 3x RCA). '
Would it be possible to get this one to work with my Canon XM1 you think?
Would a S-Video converter work, since both camera and Elgato has female S-Video port.
Thanks a million for your knowledge!
//Patrik
this metod is ok if you watch yours recordings on mobile phone or tablet
great video wish you posted 6 years ago
is it true that S-Video cable has better quality result then RCA?
yes, Try Connecting The S Video, And The AV Red and White for Sound, Sometimes The AV Yellow Cable May Be Faulty And Glitchy When Connecting To Computer or tv
Will the elgato software work with any capture card or does it have to be paired with the elgato video capture card
What resolution will it be with this method? 640x480 or the higher resolution that was actually used during recording (720)?
720, but if you want original uncompressed video, use the Firewire IEEE1394.
do i have to download the elgato software? does the quicktime player work?
I have never been able to get this Elgato capture card to work with QuickTime Player. The software from Elgato is free to download and is very good for transferring video when used with the capture card. I have tried so many different ways to transfer tapes and by far this has been the easiest and most reliable. I would recommend doing it just as I showed in the video.
Thanks for sharing this video! I am trying to digitalise my old DV tapes and I bought ElGato, as you described. However, it seems like I can’t get any signal. I can get sound but no image :(
Any clue on how to solve it? Thanks!
Just double check all of your inputs. Make sure the cords are set up just like the video shows. Your signal should be going out of the camera through the "av out". Then into the elgato that is plugged into the computer.
What can I do if my camcorder has no inputs? There is no mini-jack or mini-B. Do I need to source a mini-DV camcorder with that any of those inputs?
You’re going to need outputs. You’re going out of the camera and into the computer. If you don’t have the outputs, then you will need a different camera. A mini DV (FireWire 1394) output would work if you have that. But that will not work with the Elgato. You’ll need to transfer it a different way.
Can we stream with canon gl2
Does anyone know how to hook it up to play on a tv?
Do you need to have the Elgato cable for it to work or can you use another one ?
This software requires elgato hardware only.
If i dont have a capture card, what can i use instead?
So we cant choose the output format like mpeg2 or mpeg4..
I've got an MV600i and while it doesn't say "AV Out", it's got an "AV" hole with a picture of headphones below it. Would that be the equivalent? Cheers.
Sounds like you have an audio out. May or may not be video.
ive only red and white from my camcorder will that still work?
Does this work with vhs tapes as well ? I have a bunch of those as well and would think it would work the same ?
Great question, yes it does. I actually posted a VHS video. I used some of the same footage in that video because the only difference is that you're transferring from a VCR instead of the camera.
I have a sony handycam hc21 and it has a 3.5mm but says LANC,is that av out? The other av out is a rounded pronged type plug in
Do you know a cheaper alternative to the Elgato? I don’t have a lot of money but I wanna digitize the tapes of my brother and I as babies and I also just wanna keep using the camera
Yes, look into getting a firewire that can go from your camera to your computer. You'll have to do a little more research on that, but it is cheaper and it also gives you a little better quality. It's just may not be as easy to use. It all depends on your set-up.
Is the software free with the amazon purchase?on Amazon it says that the software is included. Ah it shouldn’t be this complicated
Yes, the software comes with the Elgato, that's one thing that makes this method one of the easiest methods to transfer.
My hanycam is out of order,how can I transfer my tapes now
Mine too :(
posso fare la stessa cosa dal mio pc con presa Firewire a 6 pin ?
Yes, that is the correct way of doing it.
If i do not have the camera can i record it via a VHS player??
No, you”ll need something that can play a mini DV tape. There are players out there that play mini DV tapes.
I would recommend doing it trought the DV firewire port, but at laptops you dont got any PCIE slots to put in a adapter like that, yes theres USB firewire cables but they can be dangerous
USB FireWire cables do not work. But you are right. The best way to do this and maintain quality is get an old DVD recorder that has FireWire and burn DVDs. Then rip those on a computer. It's the best workaround for 2024.
What dvd players have FireWire ports and what exact FireWire cable do i need?@@adamstar7516
@@emretrollif you have a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 ports, u can use some Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter but it will be very complicated. I personally use an old desktop or laptop from the 2000s when FireWire ports are still there. For laptops, if you dont have any firewire ports, but have a PCMCIA slot, you can get a Firewire PCMCIA card for it.
what about firewire? Need that kinf of connection
FireWire would actually provide a higher quality output as you would simply be transferring the already native digital files from the tape to the computer using FireWire. With the Elgato you are going from digital to analog and then back to digital which will end up reducing the quality of the video on the computer.
Hi, So what cable would one get for a canon Hi * camera? the manual says C-250 AV Cable, and we bought the camera used and it had no cable. We bought one form a local shop, but it didn't work. It was labelled RCA AV cable and looked like yours, but still did not work. suggestions? Links to known working cables?
Double-check that you are pugging into the the A/V out on the camera. If you are there is something wrong. Either the cable is bad or the A/V out port on the camera doesn't work.
Looks like the Video Capture Resolution is only 480p. Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct. If you want to get a little better quality you would need to do the transfer through firewire. Your camera would need a firewire port and you would have to have some kind of program to capture the video. Premiere Pro used to have a capture option, but their new versions no longer have it. I personally think elgato is the way to go. You don't lose a ton of quality, it's super easy, I have never had audio/video sync problems, and the smaller file size makes it way easier to store online. Still looks great played on a phone or tablet.
is there another form of doing this without using the el gato converter? I have the exact same converter but unfortunately it is not from el gato, I dowloaded the video capture format but it keeps telling me to connect my el gato converter? I have the exact same converter but it is a different brand one, please help!!!
Yes, but that's a different video altogether. You need the mini dv output (1394) on the camcorder, and your computer has to be able to accept the old firewire connection. You also need different software to capture the video. I've done it both ways, the elgato was just easier, and it gave me smaller files to work with, way easier to convert and store the video.
Hey quick question. I recently bought a cannon zr960 camcorder. I have a minidv tape that I am trying to play on it but it says "Incorrect Tape Specification Playback is Restricted "
Would you the camcorder is not the right one to play it?
Никогда так не делайте!!!! Так делают только те кто ни чего не понимает в цифровых камерах. На каждой miniDV камере есть либо 1394 либо USB, по ним можно скопировать оригинальное видео без потерь.
Why is the Elgato video capture important? Can't you just connect the cable from the camcorder directly to the computer and use a video capture software in there?
The USB speeds of the camera usually aren't enough to stream live video, depends on the camera
Mini DV is a digital format :)
Yes, you’re right it is. Probably would have been better to say get it on your computer.
Am I not losing quality this way?
You are going to lose quality. Using AV is not the best method but it is the cheaper option. The best option is to use firewire but that can end up being costly due to needing multiple adapters to go from firewire to usb-c. Another option would be to buy a miniDV camcorder with HDMI output and an HDMI capture device.
My audio isn't picking up for some reason, I ordered the RCA to the 3.5 mm cable from amazon but it still won't capture audio, both on the TV and Elgato Software. The audio still plays through the camcorder tho so that's good. Do you have any ideas on why this is?? I'm using a "MacBook Pro 14inch 2021" Theres no USB port but I'm using a USBC TO USB converter, Do you think it could be a RCA cable Issue or The USB port issue??
All good now, I just had to hold the aux cord in a certain position and it works
Glad you figured it out. I don't do youtube full time so sometimes I don't see the comments until a lot later.
audio not sync, flickering and lines through the video
Is this what’s happening when you transfer it? How much memory do you have on your computer?
@@KeepinHomeUp 128GB Ryzen processor fast HDD etc...unsync audio is a comon Elgato problem...and picture is no bad but the best results I have with Canopus
u probably need a head cleaner for ur tapes
Problem here. DV is already digital. Now you are going back to analog with loses the recorded quality.
True, however. It's so much easier to transfer the video this way. Plus, it keeps the file sizes manageable. Almost all of our mini DVs were transferred this way. I did a few of them using firewire, and not only is the firewire you use super old, it's not even compatible with most new machines. There is very little difference between the tapes I did with firewire and the ones I did with the Elgato.
@@KeepinHomeUpFirewire gives you interlaced uncompressed original quality while the Elgato worsened the quality as the video bitrate is low. I used to own this Elgato back in the day so I know the experience with it.
Not the best way to capture DV footage using composite cables. Ideally you should connect the cam to the computer using a firewire cable. This way you get the best possible capture.
Hi
Can you list down what is the cable i need to buy
Hello, yes everything you need is listed in the description of the video.
Hi!... For months I've had 80 of these little mini DV 60 tapes in a bag, I promised a friend a long time ago to get them overdubbed, it's becoming a -pain in the ass for me-, everytime I spot the bag, I also have their camera standing, should I be able to succeed with this set-up like in the film?
This method converts your video into the trash. Because of miniDV is a digital format while RCA is analog for proper conversion you need a pcie card with firewire interface which is digital. Any miniDV camera has one
It’s not trash, show me video of your method, I’ll show you this method. Difference is very slight. True it’s digital but it’s not great digital.
“Proper Conversion” is the conversion that works best for most people. That’s this conversion that I show in the video. I’ve done this both ways. When was the last time you saw a computer with a FireWire port? Most people are not going to buy a card. This is the easiest way.