MacBook Pro v. Capture Device? at DVinfo.net

Lantz Newberry · February 5th, 2009, 09:20 AM

Hello All,
For years I've been using a Quickstream DV with my GL2 to capture 8 hour seminars. Our QSDV has finally gone belly up and my aging dual 1GHz MDD PowerMac is more then ready for an upgrade.

I was looking to upgrade to the top of the line MacBook Pro. What are the pro and cons of using the new laptop as the capture device? I'm the only user of the Mac.

If we decide to go with another capture device, what's the advantages of getting another QSDV v. say a Forestore Canon product? I noticed the older "4" Focus product is twice the price of the new MCE offering. Both devices capture about the same amount of footage.

I work for state government and we are watching our budget VERY carefully.
If I've missed anything feel free to add your thoughts.

Thanks

Jonathan Schwartz · February 5th, 2009, 09:51 AM

Lantz,

I will speak on behalf of capturing using Macbook Pro. Remember that the new macbook pros do not have a firewire400 port so you will need a firewire 800 to minidv to capture your footage. I capture using quicktime and it works great. Using an express card adapter I can actually capture two streams of 1080 HDV video simultaneously. I only use this setup when I know I am going to be stationary for a long period of time (i.e. dance recital). Hope this helps some.

Liza Witz · February 22nd, 2009, 06:19 PM

Fireware 800 is backwards compatible with Firewire 400.

So if you have a Firewire 400 device and your MacBook just has firewire 800, all you need is a cable with the FW800 connector on one end and an FW400 connector on the other. Of course the performance is FW400 in such a setup.

Ah, you said "minidv" and I think that's what you were calling a FW400 plug, which means I may have misunderstood you.

Hoy Quan · April 28th, 2009, 09:45 PM

QT works fine for recording straight to the laptop. There are also other software solutions but QT comes free with the MAC. In a studio setup, with AC power the process works great. On location gets a bit tricky as you have to worry about monitoring another piece of equipment. Whether you use a laptop or firestore or any other external recording device attached to a camera, you have another set of batteries, cables, and switches to set up and maintain.

I had excellent results recording to a laptop but you need to constantly monitor both the camera and laptop to ensure that everything is working.

Gary T. Wood · July 19th, 2009, 09:44 PM

Does anyone know if the SD slot in the MacBook Pro 2009 can be used to capture using QuickTime or FCP? I've tried Googling and searching the forums but I haven't seen any answers. I don't see how this would be any different than using an external drive via ExpressCard slot on the old MBP.

February 5th, 2009, 09:20 AM	#1
Lantz Newberry Tourist Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Olympia WA Posts: 2	MacBook Pro v. Capture Device? Hello All, For years I've been using a Quickstream DV with my GL2 to capture 8 hour seminars. Our QSDV has finally gone belly up and my aging dual 1GHz MDD PowerMac is more then ready for an upgrade. I was looking to upgrade to the top of the line MacBook Pro. What are the pro and cons of using the new laptop as the capture device? I'm the only user of the Mac. If we decide to go with another capture device, what's the advantages of getting another QSDV v. say a Forestore Canon product? I noticed the older "4" Focus product is twice the price of the new MCE offering. Both devices capture about the same amount of footage. I work for state government and we are watching our budget VERY carefully. If I've missed anything feel free to add your thoughts. Thanks

February 5th, 2009, 09:51 AM	#2
Jonathan Schwartz Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Ocean Springs, MS Posts: 211	Macbook Pro Lantz, I will speak on behalf of capturing using Macbook Pro. Remember that the new macbook pros do not have a firewire400 port so you will need a firewire 800 to minidv to capture your footage. I capture using quicktime and it works great. Using an express card adapter I can actually capture two streams of 1080 HDV video simultaneously. I only use this setup when I know I am going to be stationary for a long period of time (i.e. dance recital). Hope this helps some. __________________ Jonathan Schwartz CA Video Productions

July 19th, 2009, 09:44 PM	#5
Gary T. Wood Tourist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1	Use the SD slot to capture? Does anyone know if the SD slot in the MacBook Pro 2009 can be used to capture using QuickTime or FCP? I've tried Googling and searching the forums but I haven't seen any answers. I don't see how this would be any different than using an external drive via ExpressCard slot on the old MBP.

February 22nd, 2009, 06:19 PM	#3
Liza Witz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 46	Fireware 800 is backwards compatible with Firewire 400. So if you have a Firewire 400 device and your MacBook just has firewire 800, all you need is a cable with the FW800 connector on one end and an FW400 connector on the other. Of course the performance is FW400 in such a setup. Ah, you said "minidv" and I think that's what you were calling a FW400 plug, which means I may have misunderstood you.

April 28th, 2009, 09:45 PM	#4
Hoy Quan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 36	QT works fine for recording straight to the laptop. There are also other software solutions but QT comes free with the MAC. In a studio setup, with AC power the process works great. On location gets a bit tricky as you have to worry about monitoring another piece of equipment. Whether you use a laptop or firestore or any other external recording device attached to a camera, you have another set of batteries, cables, and switches to set up and maintain. I had excellent results recording to a laptop but you need to constantly monitor both the camera and laptop to ensure that everything is working.