Portable DVD or HDD recorder

salman · 05-27-2009, 08:16 PM

Hi everyone I have an old VHS-C video camera I'm wanting to use, but I don't really want to record in analogue onto a VHS-C tape.

So i was wondering if there was anyway I could improvise with some sort of portable DVD recorder, or HDD recorder using the audio and video RCA leads that can be outputted from the camera.

Anyone have any ideas? are there any portable DVD players that you can record into with RCA leads? I can't seem to find anything.

Here's a pic of the camera:

**The_Other_One** · 05-28-2009, 01:22 AM

I think Sony made some kind of portable DVD recorder once with AV input and everything. Though I'm not sure how well it'd work being portable (may not be battery operated, may not handle bumps and all too well) As for hard drive units, there are some little DIVX players and such. Some might record, but again, probably no battery packs with them.

For the money you'd spend to do something like this, you could probably get something like the camcorder I just purchased (Aiptek ActionHD GVS, $180). Quality is actually very good, and could easily record at SD quality.

salman · 05-28-2009, 01:44 AM

Aye The_Other_One I've been looking and you're right- agh thats a bummer. I already have a working HDD camcorder you can see it peaking out from behind in the picture but I was just hoping to get another camera running fairly cheaply - I'm gonna try my hand at shooting some amateur film footage with some friends and 2 cameras would have come in handy.

It would be a bit of a faff but I could get a USB capture card for £25 and connect it to a laptop and lug that around hmmm- yeah I think i might do that.

Cheers The_Other_One.

**The_Other_One** · 05-28-2009, 01:59 AM

Ah yes... Been there and done that. One note though... Editing looks much better when you shoot with similar cameras. I may be purchasing another one of these Aipteks if I do much more filming as my old Sony just won't cut it any more.

That laptop idea isn't too bad. Most of the time when I record things, I have one stationary camera and one free-hand camera. In your case you could have the one with the laptop as the stationary one. Perhaps even get a wireless mic set and have the receiver captured directly to the computer as well...

salman · 05-28-2009, 08:45 PM

Ah yeah didn't really think about that- there being differences in the film produced by both cameras- when these exams I'm doing are over next week I'll have to start playing around and see whats what. Some of the Aiptek cameras don't look too bad for a cheap camera.

Yeah thats probably what I'll try doing having one camera for the more stationary type of shots and one that will be moving around more.

A wireless mic set could be a possible future investment- for now I'm keeping things on a pretty low budget- not taking anything too serious yet, its all just for fun

Cheers.

05-27-2009, 08:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
salman Platinum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: UK Posts: 801	Portable DVD or HDD recorder Hi everyone I have an old VHS-C video camera I'm wanting to use, but I don't really want to record in analogue onto a VHS-C tape. So i was wondering if there was anyway I could improvise with some sort of portable DVD recorder, or HDD recorder using the audio and video RCA leads that can be outputted from the camera. Anyone have any ideas? are there any portable DVD players that you can record into with RCA leads? I can't seem to find anything. Here's a pic of the camera: __________________ CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 2.5 MOBO: Abit Fatality FP-IN9-SLi RAM: Geil Value DDR2 2GB PC6400 800 MHz HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 21 250GB 8MB and Western Digital 250GB Caviar SE16 16mb GFX: Inno3D GeForce 7600 GS OPT: Lite-on LH-18A1P-488C OS: XP Pro Pure Pwnage

05-28-2009, 01:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 25 Posts: 13,426	I think Sony made some kind of portable DVD recorder once with AV input and everything. Though I'm not sure how well it'd work being portable (may not be battery operated, may not handle bumps and all too well) As for hard drive units, there are some little DIVX players and such. Some might record, but again, probably no battery packs with them. For the money you'd spend to do something like this, you could probably get something like the camcorder I just purchased (Aiptek ActionHD GVS, $180). Quality is actually very good, and could easily record at SD quality. __________________ Primary- i7 920 \| 6GB RAM \| 9800GT \| 160+160+500GB Secondary- Athlon X2 4200 \| 2GB RAM \| 7600GT \| 80+250GB Netbook - Atom N280 \| 2GB RAM \| GMA945\| 160GB

05-28-2009, 01:44 AM	#3 (permalink)
salman Platinum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: UK Posts: 801	Aye The_Other_One I've been looking and you're right- agh thats a bummer. I already have a working HDD camcorder you can see it peaking out from behind in the picture but I was just hoping to get another camera running fairly cheaply - I'm gonna try my hand at shooting some amateur film footage with some friends and 2 cameras would have come in handy. It would be a bit of a faff but I could get a USB capture card for £25 and connect it to a laptop and lug that around hmmm- yeah I think i might do that. Cheers The_Other_One. __________________ CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 2.5 MOBO: Abit Fatality FP-IN9-SLi RAM: Geil Value DDR2 2GB PC6400 800 MHz HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 21 250GB 8MB and Western Digital 250GB Caviar SE16 16mb GFX: Inno3D GeForce 7600 GS OPT: Lite-on LH-18A1P-488C OS: XP Pro Pure Pwnage

05-28-2009, 01:59 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 25 Posts: 13,426	Ah yes... Been there and done that. One note though... Editing looks much better when you shoot with similar cameras. I may be purchasing another one of these Aipteks if I do much more filming as my old Sony just won't cut it any more. That laptop idea isn't too bad. Most of the time when I record things, I have one stationary camera and one free-hand camera. In your case you could have the one with the laptop as the stationary one. Perhaps even get a wireless mic set and have the receiver captured directly to the computer as well... __________________ Primary- i7 920 \| 6GB RAM \| 9800GT \| 160+160+500GB Secondary- Athlon X2 4200 \| 2GB RAM \| 7600GT \| 80+250GB Netbook - Atom N280 \| 2GB RAM \| GMA945\| 160GB

05-28-2009, 08:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
salman Platinum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: UK Posts: 801	Ah yeah didn't really think about that- there being differences in the film produced by both cameras- when these exams I'm doing are over next week I'll have to start playing around and see whats what. Some of the Aiptek cameras don't look too bad for a cheap camera. Yeah thats probably what I'll try doing having one camera for the more stationary type of shots and one that will be moving around more. A wireless mic set could be a possible future investment- for now I'm keeping things on a pretty low budget- not taking anything too serious yet, its all just for fun Cheers. __________________ CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 2.5 MOBO: Abit Fatality FP-IN9-SLi RAM: Geil Value DDR2 2GB PC6400 800 MHz HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 21 250GB 8MB and Western Digital 250GB Caviar SE16 16mb GFX: Inno3D GeForce 7600 GS OPT: Lite-on LH-18A1P-488C OS: XP Pro Pure Pwnage

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