MiniDV, Not sure about this post

NFSmaster16 · Oct 3, 2023

I am not 100% about this post, where it should go, or if im just plain wrong in posting this stuff here. If someone could let me know for the future that would be great. Thanks.

Anyways,
I dont see that much about camcorders or their cassettes on here as I know it is basically just photography and capturing the moment. But as this stuff very slowly goes up in price I thought I would share a find if its ok.

I was looking around cleaning at my new job and found these in a drawer. I knew we are never going to use this stuff so I asked around to see if I could take it home, and got the approval for it. There is also a VHS camera and an old Sony Hi-8 newscaster type camera that I am going to see if I can take home as well, just have to get the approval.

Kino · Oct 3, 2023

Yes, there are people out there who like the aesthetic of Analog Video and the media and cameras can be sold, but don't expect to get a lot of money.

The problem with tape-based capture is that the tape will eventually go bad, no matter what grade or type.

If you're getting it for personal use, great but be aware there's a huge learning curve to properly migrate content to HD and above resolutions.

Just saying...

NFSmaster16 · Oct 3, 2023

Kino said:
Yes, there are people out there who like the aesthetic of Analog Video and the media and cameras can be sold, but don't expect to get a lot of money.

The problem with tape-based capture is that the tape will eventually go bad, no matter what grade or type.

If you're getting it for personal use, great but be aware there's a huge learning curve to properly migrate content to HD and above resolutions.

Just saying...

I dont plan on selling any of it anytime soon, going to be using it for personal shoots, or I have some friends that are into the Analog look. I know its a task and a half to get this stuff hd and have it look good, but im up for the task. If you have any tips, post or videos on converting the stuff I would greatly appreciate it. I still have the cables from the camera and everything (as it was my dads and he kept everything for it) so I can basically just plug it into my pc.

Kino · Oct 3, 2023

NFSmaster16 said:
I dont plan on selling any of it anytime soon, going to be using it for personal shoots, or I have some friends that are into the Analog look. I know its a task and a half to get this stuff hd and have it look good, but im up for the task. If you have any tips, post or videos on converting the stuff I would greatly appreciate it. I still have the cables from the camera and everything (as it was my dads and he kept everything for it) so I can basically just plug it into my pc.

I wish I could offer an even complicated set of tips, but it all depends on how you shoot it, how you transfer it and what resolution and color space you want to land upon.

The DaVinci Resolve support chat is a good place to start doing searches on SD (standard definition) to HD conversions based upon that software. (the base software is free but the hardware requirements are pretty darned steep) https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/

You might want to start with the open source program "Handbrake" https://handbrake.fr/

YouTube has a billion videos on all aspects of converting SD to HD.

Makes my head hurt just to contemplate the process.

Good luck!

btaylor · Oct 3, 2023

Oh yikes. Like many, I had a considerable trove of Mini DV tapes. Why convert to HD? We had a service convert to dvd ( and I’m sure we will need that converted into the next format). I know there is an aesthetic to it and VHS, it has been used successfully in some tv productions for the credits. I was always a film guy and never cared for the low end consumer video look, though it certainly worked great for family stuff. Good luck in your endeavor and have fun!

NFSmaster16 · Oct 3, 2023

btaylor said:
Oh yikes. Like many, I had a considerable trove of Mini DV tapes. Why convert to HD? We had a service convert to dvd ( and I’m sure we will need that converted into the next format). I know there is an aesthetic to it and VHS, it has been used successfully in some tv productions for the credits. I was always a film guy and never cared for the low end consumer video look, though it certainly worked great for family stuff. Good luck in your endeavor and have fun!

Thanks, mostly the reason I wanted to try this out. We (Family) decide to look at the old family videos once every blue moon, and I like the aesthetic that it gives. Just gives a different vibe to what is being played rather than the clear video that we see all the time nowadays.

koraks · Oct 4, 2023

NFSmaster16 said:
I am not 100% about this post, where it should go, or if im just plain wrong in posting this stuff here.

Absolutely fine, don't worry about it and I hope you get some good advice!
Sadly, I'm not a video guy, so I'm totally out of my depth here...

Kino · Oct 4, 2023

The hard aspect of SD video today is the forever shifting technology of delivery and presentation.

In the beginning (roughly the late 1980's, yes HD was around then), SD presented on HD displays with component inputs simply meant it was a tiny image pegged to the zero (0) pixel of the display with no ability of the display to artificially UpRez or convert the image color space. All conversion to HD size, frame rate and color space was manually done with an incredibly expensive hardware standards converter.

Since then it has been a roller coaster ride of ever shifting display technology specifications. This was driven by evolving capture formats with SD standards sometimes accommodated or not, depending on manufacturer.

In short, you can have a TV or display that may or may not have internal means of standards conversion from SD to any number of HD formats accommodated. With the ever changing of interface technology, it often becomes a quest in itself to simply connect a component or composite Video signal to a TV/Monitor.

Accommodation of input of the native SD signal has followed the classic Bell-shaped curve; little to none at first, gradually increasing to maximum within a few years of 2K standardization and now to practically none with adoption of 4K and encroachment of 8K.

The best advice I can give is to capture the original video format in it's native format at the highest possible resolution/bit rate possible in a digital file and then keep that master to make conversions to ever evolving new digital standards and color spaces.

If you don't do this, you will be constantly returning to the master tapes (for as long as they last), re-converting them to whatever flavor of the year/month that is developed and pushed onto the public.

Archive multiple copies your master capture with geographic displacement (i.e., one at home and one on a server outside the home or on an off-site LTO tape) and create a "mezzanine" element from which to generate new copies of the material in whatever converted standard you wish.

Copy once, copy best and convert from there.

NFSmaster16 · Oct 4, 2023

Kino said:
The hard aspect of SD video today is the forever shifting technology of delivery and presentation.

In the beginning (roughly the late 1980's, yes HD was around then), SD presented on HD displays with component inputs simply meant it was a tiny image pegged to the zero (0) pixel of the display with no ability of the display to artificially UpRez or convert the image color space. All conversion to HD size, frame rate and color space was manually done with an incredibly expensive hardware standards converter.

Since then it has been a roller coaster ride of ever shifting display technology specifications. This was driven by evolving capture formats with SD standards sometimes accommodated or not, depending on manufacturer.

In short, you can have a TV or display that may or may not have internal means of standards conversion from SD to any number of HD formats accommodated. With the ever changing of interface technology, it often becomes a quest in itself to simply connect a component or composite Video signal to a TV/Monitor.

Accommodation of input of the native SD signal has followed the classic Bell-shaped curve; little to none at first, gradually increasing to maximum within a few years of 2K standardization and now to practically none with adoption of 4K and encroachment of 8K.

The best advice I can give is to capture the original video format in it's native format at the highest possible resolution/bit rate possible in a digital file and then keep that master to make conversions to ever evolving new digital standards and color spaces.

If you don't do this, you will be constantly returning to the master tapes (for as long as they last), re-converting them to whatever flavor of the year/month that is developed and pushed onto the public.

Archive multiple copies your master capture with geographic displacement (i.e., one at home and one on a server outside the home or on an off-site LTO tape) and create a "mezzanine" element from which to generate new copies of the material in whatever converted standard you wish.

Copy once, copy best and convert from there.

Copies, alright I can do that, I got enough space. I really just want to keep the videos on the more analog look rather than try to clean it up.

MiniDV, Not sure about this post

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