Capturing Video in Windows Movie Maker 2.1 by Using DV Pass-Through
Published: August 25, 2004
The digital video (DV) pass-through feature in Microsoft Windows Movie Maker allows you to transfer video from an analog video camera or VCR to your computer using a DV camera to connect either device to your computer. Using the DV pass-through feature is a good way to transfer older footage from an analog videotape to your computer without installing an extra analog video capture card or device on your computer. (Some popular analog video formats include 8mm, Hi-8, VHS, and S-VHS.)
When you use DV pass-through, video from a videotape is played back from an analog video camera or VCR that's connected to a DV camera, which in turn is connected to your computer by using an IEEE 1394 connection (for example, Apple FireWire or Sony i.Link). In this configuration, the DV camera converts the video from analog to digital format, and then transfers the digital video to your computer. You can then capture the video that's passed through the DV camera to your computer by using Windows Movie Maker.
If you have a large amount of video on analog videotapes, you can save time by using DV pass-through because the video is captured directly into Windows Movie Maker without first recording the analog video to a DV tape, and then capturing the video from the DV tape to your computer.
To use DV pass-through to transfer an analog videotape to your computer, you will need the following:
| • | An analog video camera or VCR |
| • | A DV camera that supports DV pass-through in playback mode (often labeled VCR/VTR mode on a DV camera) |
| • | An IEEE 1394 port on your computer |
| • | A S-video cable or RCA cable that has stereo RCA connectors, a composite video connector, and a mini-jack connector |
| • | Windows Movie Maker 2.1 (which is installed with Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2). |
Notes
| • | Your DV camera must support DV pass-through (analog video can be passed through the DV camera and to your computer). For information about whether your specific DV camera model supports DV pass-through, consult the manual that came with your DV camera. |
| • | Analog video to DV-out must be enabled on some DV camera models (if DV pass-through is supported for your specific DV camera). For information about your specific DV camera and any appropriate settings to enable DV pass-through, consult the manual that came with your DV camera. |
Connecting Video Devices to Use DV Pass-Through
The first step in capturing video by using DV pass-through is to connect the analog and DV camera. Then connect the DV camera to the computer by using an IEEE 1394 port. The following topics provide several different configurations you might choose to connect your analog video camera to your DV camera. The connection method you use is determined by whether you're using an analog video camera or a VCR and by what type of jacks exist on the analog device.
Using an S-Video Connection
If your analog video camera or VCR has an S-video jack, you can use an S-video connection to connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera. The following illustration shows how you can connect the devices together.
S-video connections
The following connections are made in the illustration above:
| • | The DV camera is connected from the DV in-out interface to an IEEE 1394 port on the computer by using an IEEE 1394 cable. |
| • | The analog video camera or VCR is connected to the DV camera by using an S-video cable and an RCA cable. The S-video cable is used to transfer the video, and the stereo RCA cable is used to transfer the audio portion of the video. |
Note If you have the choice between using a composite connection or S-video connection to use DV pass-through, use an S-video connection. The quality of the captured video using an S-video connection is higher.
Using a Composite Video Connection
If your analog video camera or VCR has composite video jacks and stereo RCA jacks, you can use a composite video connection to connect your analog video camera or VCR to your DV camera. The following figure illustrates how you can connect the devices together.
Composite video connections
The following connections are made in the illustration above:
| • | The DV camera is connected from the DV in-out interface to an IEEE 1394 port on the computer by using an IEEE 1394 cable. |
| • | The analog video camera or VCR is connected to the DV camera through a composite connection by using an RCA cable that has three connectors. The red and white RCA connectors contain the audio, and the yellow connector contains the video. These connectors plug into the video camera or VCR. |
| • | The other end of the RCA cable has a single mini-jack connector that plugs into the DV camera. |
Note
If you're using an analog VCR as the analog source, verify that you have the RCA connectors attached to the line out RCA jacks on your VCR.
Using DV Pass-Through to Capture Video in Windows Movie Maker
After you've connected the appropriate video sources to your computer, you can capture the video in Windows Movie Maker by using the Video Capture Wizard.
To capture video by using DV pass-through in Windows Movie Maker
1. | Ensure that your analog video camera or VCR is connected to your DV camera properly and that the DV camera is connected to your computer by using an IEEE 1394 connection. |
2. | If there is a tape in the DV camera, eject and remove the tape from the DV camera. |
3. | Set the DV camera to play recorded video (often labeled VTR or VCR on a DV camera). |
4. | In Windows Movie Maker, do one of the following: | • | On the File menu, click Capture Video. | | • | In the Movie Tasks pane, under Capture Video, click Capture from video device. |
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5. | On the Video Capture Device page, in Available devices, click the appropriate DV camera. |
6. | In the Enter a file name for your captured video box, enter a file name for your captured video file. Then, in the Choose a place to save your captured video box, select the location where you want your video to be saved or click Browse to select a location. |
7. | On the Video Setting page, select the video setting you want to use for capturing video and audio. |
8. | On the Capture Method page, click Capture parts of the tape manually. |
9. | On the analog video camera or VCR, press Play to begin playing the tape. |
10. | In the Video Capture Wizard, click Start Capture to begin capturing video. |
11. | When the analog videotape reaches the point at which you want to stop capturing, click Stop Capture. |
12. | On the analog video camera or VCR, press Stop. |
13. | Repeat steps 10 through 12 for each part of the analog videotape you want to capture. |
14. | When you have finished capturing the video, click Finish to close the Video Capture Wizard. The captured content is imported into a new collection with the same name as the specified video file. |
