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Live Video Capture?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
January 11, 2021
6 replies
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Hi --

Is it possible with Premiere Pro to do live video capture? I hav a Canon EOS RP connected via USB to my computer and the software from Canon can operate the camera / capture video but I can't figure out how to do this with Premiere Pro.

Is this something that I could do with Premiere Rush? (I thought Rush was basically Premiere Elements, renamed.)

Rich

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This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer Michael Grenadier

nope, not via usb,You haven't given us a clue as to what kind of computer you're using or what version of premiere you've got installed. Once we've got that info, we may be able to suggest some third party cards that might be able to make this work for you.

Q

Q - 006.5

Participant

Should work with Davinci

Jason Scarabin

Participating Frequently

Any chance anyone knows these seemingly related questions:

1. Adobe, leader of the creative world, chooses zero video (vhs) capture options. Why? When will they add that (again)?

2. See 1

Thank you,

Jason

P.S. Used VidBox with OBS on Macbook Pro (M1 chip) last year with no issues but MacOS Sonoma wiped that possibility out

M

Michael Grenadier

Legend

at a certain point, the economics of supporting old technology make it difficult to justify... and I doubt the numbers are going to change.

Jason Scarabin

Participating Frequently

Agreed, Michael and thank you for the reality check. Just a downer when one just has a few more old tapes that keep popping out of garages... and quite frankly, it's fun. Sigh.

A

Andy 1968

Inspiring

I know it is an old thread but the asnwer to your question is yes. You cannot use the cheap USB to HDMI capture devices but Blackmagic Design used to sell the Intensity Shuttle (Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0). You can buy them used. The video below should give you a basic idea of what to expect. Having said that AJA and Blackmagic Design have Thunderbolt devices that can do live capture fom a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

H

Heather27712606gtpq

Participant

Hi, I am trying to do the same thing using the HDMI port on my on my mac with my Canon DSLR. I am trying to set it up to capture live video in Premiere but it does not seem possible. Do I need a video card? I'm a rusty designer getting back into it. Thanks

Conrad_C

Community Expert

Hi, I am trying to do the same thing using the HDMI port on my on my mac with my Canon DSLR. I am trying to set it up to capture live video
By @Heather27712606gtpq

Unfortunately that won’t work as described, with any application. The reason is that the HDMI port on your Mac is for output only. The only thing you can do with that HDMI port is send the Mac video signal out to a display that has an HDMI in port, including TVs and projectors. If you want to capture video from a camera’s HDMI or USB port, it has to come into the Mac through a USB port on the Mac.

To connect a camera to your Mac for live video capture:

If you want to use a camera’s HDMI out port, most Macs and PCs cannot receive that live video signal on their own. A Mac or PC must have some kind of HDMI-compatible video capture device attached between the cable and the computer. A desktop tower computer can use a video capture card. A laptop, iMac, or Mac mini can use an HDMI to USB capture adapter such as an Elgato CamLink (I have one of those attached to my MacBook Pro), video switcher (such as an Atem Mini), or pro capture deck.
Newer cameras can send live video to Macs and PCs using a USB cable connecting the camera to the computer. This is an alternative to HDMI. If you use the USB method, it may help to use the Canon EOS Webcam Utility but I’m not sure if it’s necessary.
Premiere Pro doesn’t do live video capture. Older Mac versions of Premiere Pro could capture digital video from old miniDV tapes through FireWire, but those capture features were removed some time ago. They weren’t live capture anyway, only for digitizing recordings already on tape.

The good news is, you can easily do live video capture using QuickTime Player, which comes with your Mac, and drag the recording into Premiere. To do the actual live video capture:

1. Connect the camera to the Mac. Exactly how you do this depends on which Canon model you have and how old it is. For casual use: Connect camera directly to the Mac using USB; it might help to use the Canon EOS Webcam Utility that makes the camera appear as a USB webcam. For professional use: Connect the camera’s HDMI port to an HDMI to USB capture device/deck/video switcher, and connect that device to a USB 3 port on the Mac. You may have to put the Canon camera into a special HDMI-out mode that also hides the on-screen display; I’m not sure because I use a different camera brand.

2. Do the capture: In QuickTime Player, choose File > New Movie Recording. A live preview window opens. Select the video input device (your connected camera) and audio input device from the menu next to the red record button; the preview window should now show you what your camera sees. Use the red record button to start and stop recording the live video you see in the preview window.

3. Drag into Premiere. After you stop capturing, save the captured video into the folder where you want to store it when editing. Then just drag the video file from the desktop into Premiere Pro, and drop it into the Project panel or a bin.

John T Smith

Community Expert

Adobe programs have never used USB for capture, only Firewire or a 3rd party hardware solution

Jason Scarabin

Participating Frequently

But why? Really why, Adobe? Seems like a staple item in at least Premiere Pro but nope. 😞

R

RWMOREY71Author

Known Participant

Hey -

I am running the latest version of Premiere Pro 2020, 14.7.0 (Build 23) on a Windows 10 PC.

I actually found the open source project OBS Studio v26.1.1 which allows me to do what I want with my Canon EOS RP.

I'm surprised that Adobe does not have a product that offers this capability since this was the core functionality of the software suite Adobe got when they acquired Serious Magic back in 2006. I guess some of the product offers that were part of that company got mothballed?

Rich

Conrad_C

Community Expert

There are two types of video input being discussed here:

HDMI port on camera to HDMI input, connected through capture card to USB port or slot on computer
USB port on camera, connected directly to USB port on computer

They do not do the same thing. Live view through USB used to be only for tethered still shooting. With the rise in live streaming (e.g. OBS) and online meetings (Zoom), demand grew to repurpose DSLR-type cameras as webcams. When you plug most DSLR-type cameras in through USB, it is not using the type of signal that a professional capture application expects. It is using a webcam protocol. The EOS RP appears to the computer as a USB-type webcam.

To explain this from the HDMI side: If you connect the EOS RP through HDMI and a traditional computer interface like a capture card, it will not appear in Zoom, because Zoom is looking for a USB webcam. But it might show up in the Capture window in Premiere Pro.

Most pro editing software has not caught up with USB-based video capture. Premiere Pro, and as far as I can tell, its direct competitors as well, do not support direct live capture from cameras through USB webcam protocols. It is exactly the same reason you won’t be able to use Premiere Pro or its competitors to capture live video from a $70 Logitech C920 webcam. They don’t do USB webcam protocols. (I am not familiar with what Serious Magic used to offer, but I am guessing their products were not designed for today’s USB capture workflows.)

OBS was built for webcam streaming first, partly because it has a significant base of gamers. Their audience buys cheap USB webcams for streaming, or they have a nicer camera and plug it in through the USB port (webcam protocol). That is the opposite orientation from video editing applications like Premiere Pro, which expect to edit files that are already recorded. Or, if you use the Capture window in Premiere Pro, it is again not oriented toward webcams the same way OBS is. The Capture window system requirements tell you it’s set up for the equipment found in (older) professional video studios; it has not been updated for things like the USB webcams found on work-at-home desks in 2021.

Support for direct USB input in the Capture window is a legitimate feature request, though. But if you need to capture from USB soon, use OBS or any other software designed to capture from a source that uses a USB webcam protocol. On a Mac, the bundled free QuickTime Player will do it.

@RWMOREY71 wrote:

Is this something that I could do with Premiere Rush? (I thought Rush was basically Premiere Elements, renamed.)

Don’t know, Rush is more mass market but it is very oriented to phone-first capture or editing captured files, not direct webcam input as far as I can tell. But it’s worth checking.

Rush is not the same as Elements:

Premiere Elements: Home/casual use, desktop only, local files only, traditional file editing.
Premiere Rush: Same app across desktop and mobile, written from the ground up so that the same project can be cloud-synced across desktop and mobile. This makes it possible to start a Rush project by recording and doing a rough cut on your phone, sync it up to cloud, then pick up the same project in Rush on desktop or iPad and work on it some more. Or open it in Premiere to apply its better tools. So Rush is more of a mobile-first cross-device workflow system.

S

Steven5C9C

Participant

One huge detail to mention here is that Premiere Elements does support USB video (e.g. webcam) capture. Which is further reason why it's so puzzling that Adobe hasn't implmemented it in Premiere Pro.

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Michael GrenadierCorrect answer

Legend

nope, not via usb,You haven't given us a clue as to what kind of computer you're using or what version of premiere you've got installed. Once we've got that info, we may be able to suggest some third party cards that might be able to make this work for you.

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