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The Digital Media Series Sony DVMC-DA1 Media Converter |
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About DV
A while back I wrote an article giving the in's and out's of DV and FireWire. If you're not familiar with these technologies, that article should provide a pretty good background for this review. I meant to review the Sony DA1 months ago, however the product was not yet readily available in the U.S. and the software support was still emerging. While U.S. consumers may still have troubles finding this box, most software applications now support the DA1.
In short, the Sony DVMC DA1 takes an analog audio/video source and converts it to a DV signal. The signal is then transmitted using an IEEE 1394 (or i.Link) interface. The
DA1 allows
Mac users to utilize other video sources with computers equipped with FireWire. Without
this device, users would need to have a digital camera with a FireWire interface
to take advantage of DV.I first wanted to comment on how special this box really is. It's not just something to convert an analog audio/video signal to FireWire. It's actually a hardware codec, transferring signals to DV. What then is DV? Yes it is digital video, but it's much more. DV is a format, similar to the MPEG-2. DVD for example uses MPEG-2. Most computers need encoder/decoder hardware or significant video support to view MPEG-2 movies. The reason is, there's a great deal of compression involved to take a very large AV source and compress it to a smaller file size, all while keeping the original high-quality image. Same is true on the file's decompression.
As an example of DV's compression, a typical AV signal transmits at about 27 MB/sec. DV can take the same signal, with comparable quality, down to about 3.7 MB/sec. What makes the Sony device so special is that it not only performs the digital conversion, but it does so using the DV codec. Other devices either on the market or coming to market will offer the digital conversion, but no DV compression. In other words, these other devices will take a 27 MB/sec AV signal and convert it to a 27 MB digital video signal over FireWire. [Note: We've learned that Newer Technology no longer plans to ship their FireStorm DV device]
The Box
The DA1 has a complete set of input/output ports. The device has stereo RCA-style input and output audio jacks, in addition to two ports for composite video input/output. The device also has component S-Video jacks, which offer crisper image quality. Finally, the DA1 has a DV input/output port. This is obviously what connects to your computer.
The single
DV port supports both signal input and output. This is ideal since you can import
your work into your computer, and then send it back via FireWire to be recorded as
a finished product. The DV port also allows certain software to use your TV/camera
as an editing monitor of easier editing.Life really can't get any easier with the DA1's controls. There are three buttons on the DA1: Power and input select. The input select simply tells the DA1 where your video source is coming/going. Either set it for analog to go from a deck to computer or DV for computer to deck. That's all there is to it.
The nature of the DA1 however brings some limitations. Because it's only a converter, it lacks some of the great features FireWire offers. Two big features are that the user can not control the deck via FireWire. The other feature is that the DA1 can not accept batch capture commands. With FireWire, users can control a DV source from the computer. This makes life much easier for operators, letting them work without keeping one hand on a remote control. Both batch capture and computer control can greatly save time while capturing, but there's not much the DA1 can do about these things.
DV vs. Analog
The DA1 is ideal for users without digital cameras equipped with FireWire ports.
Whether users are looking to transfer Hi8 tapes, VHS tapes, still digital images
or just live video signals, the DA1 is a great option. The big question I had with
the DA1 is would it provide reasonable quality. One of the coolest things about DV
is that I could take a video signal from my DV camera and bring it back to my computer
without any signal loss. In fact, I could transfer video back and fourth from computer
to camera over and over and keep the images in its original quality. But when I use
the DA1, there's a new video generation, which results in a loss of signal quality.
When I tested the device, I could see a difference with video and still images under
close examination. The difference however was only slight.
In a test, I took a Digital 8 camera out on a field trip to rural Michigan. I shot
some digital video and then transferred the video to my G3 via FireWire. The DV video
never touched an analog format. To test the DA1, I took the same video from the same
camera, however linked the camera to the DA1 via a S-Video cable. I then connected
the DA1 to my G3 through FireWire. [For the DV conversion, I recommend users take
advantage of the S-Video ports on the DA1. This ensures users have the best quality
possible from the deck to computer and then back to the deck.]
The results were pretty clear. As expected, the color quality and image sharpness
was lower on the AV video. Honestly however I found I needed to compare the images
side-by-side to actually see the differences. By no means does the DA1 maul the original
signal, but it's tough to match lossless quality.
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Analog vs. Digital: Click the stills to compare |
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Bottom Line
I've been working with DV/FireWire ever since the Blue & White G3s started shipping.
It's been a bumpy ride, but I think things have finally stabilized. I don't notice
too many quirks anymore and all the hardware and software seems to get along pretty
well.
I feel that for most users, the DA1 will be an excellent solution. The nature of
analog video is limiting, but the DA1 makes every effort to ensure the best conversion.
Users looking to buy a new camera should seriously consider a mini-DV or Digital
8 camera with a FireWire port. Users who have existing equipment or media needing
to be put on DV, should find the DA1 up to task.
Equipment:
Power Mac G3 B/W
Sony DVMC-DA1 Media Converter
Sony Digital 8 Camcorder
Digital Origin EditDV 1.6/MotoDV 1.4.1
QuickTime 4.0.3
FireWire 2.1.1
Digital Origin/Radius DV Drivers
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