How can I capture video from my Camcorder via USB streaming in Ubuntu?

Question

I have a laptop with 12.04 LTS. I want to import video stored in my camcoder. The camcoder has magnetic tape. How can I import the video using USB streaming, as my laptop does not contains any FireWire port & there is only USB cable provided with camcoder?

Answer 1

Try Kino or MPlayer.

Keep in mind that USB isn't fast enough to keep up with the video. I had over 40 tapes, that I tried doing that with, I end up buying a Sony VRD-MC5. I'm sure Sony have newer model now. I was very happy with the job it did.

Answer 2

For the case of the USB cable, you may encounter certain issues when trying to gather the data from the camcorder itself, such as that certain software (like kdenlive, can't say for kino or mplayer) won't gather any USB inputs. In addition, the USB Cable is mostly used for having the functionality of USB Web camera in certain models.

You may wish to run a test on this device

Of which is well known that it runs fine in Windows based systems.

Another good choice to grab video from an analog device is to bridge/bypass your video in a VHS or another device featuring a RF output and using the proper TV Tuner device. In my case I have tested this by using the Hauppauge HVR-850 USB HDTV Adapter and the procedure mentioned in the answer to this question: Record from VHS tapes, more specifically this: https://askubuntu.com/a/156496/9598 (it is too long, so I won't reproduce it here).

Have a look at that procedure and see if your Camcorder is recognized during the process, specifically in the step 1 (as a video device in the list of /dev/video?). If so, the same process can be used for your Camcorder.

Good luck!