Hi there;

This is likely a dumb question but I am new at this so please forgive me.

I have a video card on my computer with a TV out jack, and I'm wondering how you preview your video editing projects on a TV monitor. Do you simply play the clip on your monitor and it also displays on the TV connected to the TV out jack or is there a setting inside the NLE software that outputs the cideo to a TV?

Also, If I have a VCR connected to the TV out jacks, can I record a rendered video projet directly to VHS or do I need additonal hardware to do so properly?

Any tips tricks or advice is greatly appreciated. I am in the process of setting up a computer and TV to do my first edit projects and I'm full of dumb questions!

Many Thanks;
Eric
Ottawa, Canada

What NLE?

Generally speaking, most NLE's send the signal via Firewire for external preview. Some NLE's may support you video card.

Its either going to be Adobe Premier Pro or Vegas 4.0.

I did some searches on the site and discovered that perhaps my best option is a breakout box (ADVC 100 etc). I just thought that my video card (NVidea GeForce 5200) should already be able to handle this given that it has S-VHS and RCA outputs. I'm likely missing something here...

Eric

If you use Vegas, you need to go out the firewire port to a convertor to a TV. This will give you a TRUE representation as to what the final output will look like.

I know Premiere also uses firewire for preview. However, I believe it does also offer the TV port on some cards.

I'm leary of using a card's output for checking details. I prefer firewire as that is how the video will be output and will not have extra hardware altering my video.

What kind of camcorder do you have? Some convert from DV to analog on the fly. Sony calls this analog-digital passthrough and all but their low end models have em. A lot of other cameras have this feature too now.

I have a Canon GL2 camera. I thnk I know what your getting at. I gather I can use firewire in to the camera and then use analog out to a TV to do this. I assume at that point though that I simply replicate the desktop on my monitor out to a TV rather than just get the preview window right?

Eric

You will get exactly what you will print to tape by previewing through the firewire.

Ok then just hook up your camera as you've figured out. Both premiere pro and vegas will preview out through firewire. It's at a performance hit though, but that's ok because you can turn it off when you don't need it.

In Vegas you hit the TV button.
In Premiere Pro you have to mess around with the settings. It's close to the video display.

I am running Premiere 6.0 and trying to get the firewire preview to work. I can't find these setting however.
The manuals / help have no inforrmation either. Anyone successful with this?

You have to hook up the video out of your video card to the tv. And next go to display property. Right click the desktop and go to display properties then settings. Enable your video cards video out.
This depends on the type of your video card. Because some video card have their own utilities to change such things as color,resolution or to enable the video out component of the video card.
For recording to a vcr? It's fine too but I find it of low quality. It is better to get a firewire card if you donot have one to export the video to a camera or a deck.

I am trying to go firewire>camera>t.v.

I think the problem is with Premeire 6.0. There does not seem to be an option to preview via firewire. I may have to move to Pro to get this functionality.

Premiere 6 can do it. Read the manual for it, and read the manual for your camera (you need to toggle which way the DV-analog conversion is going!).

I'd move to PPro or Vegas anyways. Premiere 6 is frustrating, especially without the patches.

I moved to PPro, and it works like a charm. Thanks for the suggestion.

I have a related question. Does using your camera in this capacity create unecessary wear and tear. In other words, will I be shortening the life span of my camera by using it as a firewire adapter to my monitor. Is it advisable to purchase a second device to dedicate to this task, such as an inexpenisve cam, or an actual adapter?

<<<-- Originally posted by Anthony Claudia : Does using your camera in this capacity create unecessary wear and tear. In other words, will I be shortening the life span of my camera by using it as a firewire adapter to my monitor. Is it advisable to purchase a second device to dedicate to this task, such as an inexpenisve cam, or an actual adapter? -->>>

In some ways yes and in other ways no. Obviously, the transport/heads will not receive any additional wear and tear because they are not being used. However, the camera IS powered up and running.

I definitely would purchase something else to go in-between. There are several firewire to analog convertors available. You might also want to consider using a DECK for this purpose. The deck would also let you capture and PTT without putting additional wear and tear on the camera too.

Thanks for the information.

What are some of the things I should consider when shopping for a new Deck (aside from budget)? I am sure there are some brands to stay away from etc.

I like the Panasonic AG-DV2000. Many people like the Sony DSR-11 (or other DSR series models).

A deck is for people who shoot hundreds of hours on their cameras. If you don't shoot that much, then it might be better to use a cheap camcorder as a deck. If you don't shoot much at all, then you should be fine with using your GL2 as a deck.

I am just starting out so perhaps a deck would be overkill for me.

A cheap camera it is...I suppose I just have to make sure that it provides pass- through capabilites.

Pass- through is pass- through right? Even on cheap cameras? I may not be a full time pro, but accurate monitoring is a must for my projects.

You may also want to look at a device such as the Canopus ADVC-100

The Canopus looks ideal. I noticed that there is an external version. I was thinking that maybe I would prefer that as it would be easier to swap between devices.

Do you guys think that there are any advantages to an internal adapter as opposed to an external one?

Personally, I would probably opt for an external version and hook it up to my standarad firewire card. You could then easily move it between different computers as needed. Plus you would have easier access to plug and unplug wires.