Your first task is to set up your hardware to capture video ”that is, to transfer video from your camcorder or VCR to your hard drive. (I'll get into the specifics of the capture process in Hour 3, "Video Capture and Scene Selection.") Your computer already may have a means to do that ”a FireWire (Apple Computer), i.Link (Sony Corporation), or IEEE 1394 (everybody else) connection. Trademark issues have forced manufacturers into this acronym stew, but all the monikers mean the same thing ”a high-speed technology to transfer data.
If you have an IEEE 1394 card, your capture card setup work may be done maybe. It depends on the type of video you plan to transfer to and from your PC. If you'll be working only with DV, you're set. If you intend to connect analog equipment ”VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, or Beta SP ”you'll need a video capture card with the appropriate analog adapters. |