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Using an old Sony media converter to digitize Hi8 footage

Explorer ,
Feb 18, 2020 Feb 18, 2020

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I have a Sony Hi8 camera connected via an S-video cable to the Sony DVMC-DA2 media converter, which is connected to my Mac via the DV in/out port on the converter into a USB port on my laptop. I'm currently unable to get Premiere to "see" the converter.

Is USB the right port for this? Should I instead be using a firewire to thunderbolt converter to enable going from the DV in/out to a Thunderbolt port?

Would it be helpful to use the LANC port on the converter?

Or is the connection not the problem and I need some sort of driver software?

Or perhaps it's neither of those and somehow I can trigger Premiere to recognize the converter?

Any advice very much appreciated!

 

UPDATE 2/21/20:

I'm very happy to confirm that I am now able to capture that Hi8 footage with Premiere! To recap, I'm going from a Hi8 camera via S video and stereo mini to S video and RCA ports on a media converter (Sony DVMC-DA2), then from there via the DV in/out port (which is Firewire – 4 pin, I believe) to Firewire 800 to a Thunderbolt converter dongle and into the Thunderbolt port on my 2015 Macbook Pro. Premiere now sees the camera and I am able to digitize the media! One thing to highlight is that Weirdsmobile has warned me in this thread that Mac OS Catalina has apparently removed DV capture capabilities, so I will hold off on updating as I would like to be able to continuing being able to capture archival footage without relying on a transfer service. 

 

In short, it is not true, as I was told repeatedly in this thread, that Premiere can only capture over Firewire. It can also capture over Thunderbolt (at least prior to Catalina).

 

Side note: I was getting some tracking issues with the capture (scrolling horizontal discoloration) until I considered that the power source I was using for the media converter was a bit weak; once I switched to the recommended 6V power source, that problem was solved.

 

I hope this little odyssey of mine might prove helpful to others!

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Feb 19, 2020 Feb 19, 2020

Hi Barlo,

I was reading the whole thread and I decided to pop back out to the main thread here instead of getting buried in the replies.

You most definitley CAN use a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter to capture DV on a Mac. I do it all the time on my older laptop (2014 MBP) and my Sony DSR-11 deck. I'm running Mojave and Premiere CC19 (have not tested CC20 yet). Do NOT upgrade to Catalina – they removed DV capture entirely from the MacOS so no amount of adpaters or software will help in that scena

...

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Explorer ,
Oct 14, 2020 Oct 14, 2020

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Hey MOOBAKS!

 

I'm sorry to say I don't have much insight to add on this. Luckily, I don't need to do a lot of analog capture these days, though I have experienced similar issues, and my approach has just been the obvious, rewind as close to the gap as possible and restart the capture. At least you still get all or almost all of the non-garbled material, but it can be a hassle frequently having to restart the capture. Best of luck, and let us know if you find a solution!

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New Here ,
Apr 22, 2022 Apr 22, 2022

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I did everything that you did with my late 2015 Imac.

Worked good with capture in to IMovie. I use Davince Resolve to edit clips.

Just updated to macOS Monterey 12.3.1 and now DVMC-DA2 is not supported.

I am not sure how to roolback macOS. I am thinking about getting a used Sony Digital 8 cam to digitize Hi8 and 8mm tapes

but what model works with IMovie?

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Community Expert ,
Apr 22, 2022 Apr 22, 2022

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Dont think Monteray supports firewire.

Get yourself a D8 which can play hi8 tapes. Not all models can.

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