Deciding on a Camera « Videomaker Forums

zoannon
Member

Hi

I want to get a camera that I can record and use to stream at the same time. Is this possible. Example of application would be to set up to record a meeting, at the same time stream the vision up to ustream or similar.

What type of cameras allow me to do this: I have looked around local shops but they seem to tell me it is not possible.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Glenn

Posted 1 month ago # Login to Send PM
Ken
Member

Glenn,

The company I work for has been recording high school football games to miniDV tape or to internal hard drive, depending on the camcorder. IfÂ an internet connection is available at the location, we connect the camcorder to a laptop computer by firewire, then use proprietary software to send that video signal (along with audio from the play-by-play announcer) over the internet to our webmaster who puts that game on the internet live. If the camcorder doesn't have a firewire connection, but does have an AV out, we can connect the AV out to a firewire converter (such as Canopus), and then to the computer.

So you need to find a camcorder that has a firewire or AV output connector. And make sure it can record and output at the same time. (All camcorders I've tried can do that.)

The only problem we've encountered is that some camcorders stop outputing a signal a few seconds after you stop recording to tape (or hard drive). Also, if the camcorder has a demo mode, be sure to turn that off, or you camcorder will start "advertising" itself after several seconds of inactivity!

Ken

Posted 1 month ago # Login to Send PM
zoannon
Member

Thanks Ken

I went to our local Sony shop and they said that all their cameras now are only USB. Apparently Firewire is becomming oboslete. I might look further into this as I was talking to some young bloke who didn't seem to up with it.

Thanks for your help, it will help greatly as I search for a suitable camera.

Cheers Mate

Glenn

Posted 1 month ago # Login to Send PM
SargeHero
Member

You can use an audio/video adapter (such as EasyCap). With this devices you can connect almost any camcorder via the RCA cables to the USB of the computer. Then you can record anything you want directly to your computer hardrive. Is extremely easy to use. In Windows you need to download a few drivers to make it work and on Mac you need an specific model of the device to make it work correctly.

Posted 1 month ago # Login to Send PM
XTR-91
Member

Considering the lack of Firewire, you'll want to use S-Video (if available) instead of A/V. Not quite sure if it works the same way when sending to a computer, but the amount of signal noise picks up heavily with A/V camcorder connection on most TVs. I'm not quite sure if the algorithm is different for other A/V devices (such as DVD players). The resulting quality seems perfectly clear on TV (not the same loss I see with camcorders).

Posted 1 month ago # Login to Send PM
Jerle Shannara
Member

Okay...I'm looking for a good camcorder to buy. Based on price, quality, size and company, which camcorder models could you experts suggest for me?

Posted 6 days ago # Login to Send PM