Either of two types of cameras may be used
to capture video:
- Digital Cameras
- Analog Cameras
Digital Cameras
A digital camera can provide a direct digital feed of
video to the PC. This feed would come across either a USB
cable or a Firewire cable. In each case, the video is
digitalized by the camera and the digital data is sent to
the PC through the connecting cable. Two types of such
cameras include:
- Any standard webcam, generally connected via USB 2.0
cable, and
- any other digital camera capable of streaming video to
a PC.
The Webcam NX Ultra from Creative Labs is one such webcam
that has been tested with the Liberty Recorder. Details on
the NX Ultra may be found at the Creative Labs web site or
by doing a standard Internet search on "Webcam NX Ultra".
For those users who require a higher quality picture than
may be obtained from a webcam, a number of cameras in the
Canon Optura line of cameras support a feature Canon calls "DV
Messenger". Any Canon camera that supports the DV Messenger
feature will yield a high-quality video recording when used
with the Liberty Recorder. Details on Canon cameras may be
found on the Canon web site.
Analog Cameras
Any standard video camera may also be used to facilitate
video recording to the PC. In such cases, the video feed
must be sent to a device that will convert the analog signal
into a digital signal. These converters are available from a
number of companies and come in a number of configurations.
The devices commonly accept S-Video or composite (RCA) video
inputs. The devices may be actual PCI boards that insert
into the PC, or they may be USB devices that connect to the
PC with a USB V2.0 connection.
Pinnacle Systems supplies a number of such devices. Users may select one of
Pinnacle's line of PCI cards that insert directly into an
available PCI slot in the computer and support both S-Video
and composite inputs. One such device is the PCTV 110i PCI
card. Additionally, Pinnacle also provides a Dazzle line of
devices that also facilitate connection to the PC using
various USB ports.
Users should select the hardware that is appropriate for
their requirements. Please contact your supplier, prior to
purchase, with any questions regarding video capture with
the Liberty Recorder.
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