Connecting Consumer Analog Video Devices
If you want to digitize video from an analog consumer format, such as VHS or 8 mm
video, you need a video interface that has an analog composite video input. Also, older
consumer decks rarely support remote device control, which means you can’t remotely
control the deck or capture timecode from these formats. If you need the ability to
recapture the video accurately using timecode, it’s often easiest to dub (copy) the
video to a digital format like DV, or a professional format you are using for your project.
There are fairly inexpensive capture interfaces that can accept an analog composite
input and convert it to a DV video signal transferred via FireWire. Some more expensive
interfaces may also accept an analog component input.
For more information about composite video, see Volume IV, Appendix A, “Video Formats.”