[Rob661]

As I was browsing the web, I found out the Formac ProTV Stereo price has been reduced to $99- (I don't remember exactly how much the cost was before, but I think it was more expensive.)

My questions are;

Does Pro TV Stereo work with iMovie 2?
By this, I mean can it import TV and/or VHS tape connected to Pro TV into iMovie 2?

Pro TV will work with OS X? (This, I'm going to ask Formac, but would be glad if someone else already know the answer to this).

Anyone who has experience with the product, please let me know!

[GreenMnM]

Hmm... I've never used the product, but I think that iMovie 2 is FireWire/DV stream compatible only. I don't think you'll be able to import an analog video stream directly. The "format" on the Formac page says "QuickTime", so you could export a QuickTime movie you captured with the device to a DV Stream file and then import it into iMovie using QuickTime Pro. That might be kind of a hassle but unless someone here has used it and can prove me wrong I don't think it will work directly.

-Doug

[ 08-13-2001: Message edited by: GreenMnM ]

[crayz]

I was looking into getting one too. I believe the first response is incorrect: it is a TV tuner, nothing to do with FW. And no, I don't believe there is an OS X version out yet, but we can hope. For now I put off buying it because of very mixed reviews on versiontracker of the software.

[GreenMnM]

Originally posted by crayz:
<STRONG>I believe the first response is incorrect: it is a TV tuner, nothing to do with FW. </STRONG>

That is exactly my point. iMovie is only compatible with DV Streams coming from a FireWire port. The device is a PCI card that does not interact in any way with the FireWire bus. It's format is "QuickTime" not DV so I don't think it will work.

-Doug

[Rob661]

Thank you for your posts and clarification!

Looks like this is a "you get what you pay for" case.

Maybe I would need for my purpose(capture analog video format into iMovie) is A-DV converter such as Formac Studio, though it's a little pricy for my budget, but I saw a good review on the product on Macworld, so maybe it's worth the money...)

[buchrob]

If you want to import just about any video so that you can edit in Final Cut Pro or iMovie, then your choice of devices is limited to FIREWIRE compatible units such as Hollywood DV bridge Dazzle, which can accept any type of analogue input (old VHS tapes, TV, etc). Works great with iMovie and iMovie2 (OS-X).

Please consider any USB device as being renamed U Should have known Better.

[booboo]

I was thinking of getting one too, but I expect the problem is the card has no built in compression so capture data rates will be pretty high - around 12MB/s for a 512*384 frame/25 fps (a minute = nearly a Gig) and then converting this to a DV stream will take an eterninty.

Best bet, by a cheap Digital 8 cam (or a Canon 400i/450i mini DV) and use it as an analogue to DV converter, and run a cable from your TV/video to the camera.

[Rob661]

Originally posted by booboo:
<STRONG>I was thinking of getting one too, but I expect the problem is the card has no built in compression so capture data rates will be pretty high - around 12MB/s for a 512*384 frame/25 fps (a minute = nearly a Gig) and then converting this to a DV stream will take an eterninty.

Best bet, by a cheap Digital 8 cam (or a Canon 400i/450i mini DV) and use it as an analogue to DV converter, and run a cable from your TV/video to the camera.</STRONG>

Booboo:

I don't think you can use a Digital Camcorder as an analog to DV converter unless you record video first to video tape and then after that, exporting it to a Mac through fireware connection.
Actually, I tried to do that once before, but it didn't work at least with my Sony Digital Hi-8 camcorder TRV-310.

Or depending on which camcorder model you have, it's possible?

[DominikHoffmann]

Let's not forget the Studio by Formac, which makes the ProTV.

[GreenMnM]

Originally posted by Rob661:
<STRONG>Or depending on which camcorder model you have, it's possible?</STRONG>

Yes, it is possible depending on your camcorder. Some will allow the video to stream through without recording. My friend has a Panasonic camcorder that we have used to pass analog video into my Cube and iMovie.


-Doug