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Connecting your DV camcorder to your computer
To capture DV video, connect your DV camcorder to your computer by using an IEEE 1394
cable and IEEE 1394 ports. If your computer does not have a built-in IEEE 1394 port, you
can purchase an IEEE 1394 card separately (see your computer’s documentation for more
information). If your DV camcorder does not include an IEEE 1394 cable, you can purchase
one at any computer, camera, or consumer electronics outlet.
Some DV camcorders require that you use the power adapter to activate the IEEE 1394
port. Other camcorders may go into a sleep or other inactive mode if left in camera mode
without being activated for a period of time. To ensure the camcorder doesn’t go into
these inactive modes, connect your camcorder to its power adapter when setting it up
for capture.
Connecting to the IEEE 1394 (FireWire/i.Link) port on the computer
Guidelines for connecting other sources
Before DV camcorders were widely manufactured, most people used camcorders that
recorded video onto VHS or 8mm tapes, among other tape formats. These formats are
called
analog
formats, and the video recorded and stored on them is called
analog video
.
To use video from analog sources in your Adobe Premiere Elements project, you must first
convert the footage to digital data, or
digitize
it, because Adobe Premiere Elements only
accepts direct input from digital sources. To digitize your footage, you can use either your
DV camcorder or a standalone device that performs analog-to-digital conversion. You can
perform a successful conversion by using one of the following methods:
• Use your DV camcorder to output a digital signal on-the-fly from an analog input.
Connect the analog source to input jacks on your DV camcorder and connect the DV
camcorder to the computer. Not all DV camcorders support this method. See your
camcorder documentation for more information.
• Use your DV camcorder to record footage from your analog source. Connect your
analog source’s output to the analog inputs on your DV camcorder. Then, just record
your analog footage to DV tape. When you are finished recording, Adobe Premiere
Elements can then capture the footage from the DV camcorder. This is a very common
procedure. See your camcorder documentation for more details on recording from
analog sources.
• Use an analog-to-digital converter to bridge the connection between your analog
source and the computer. Connect the analog source to the converter and connect the
converter to your computer. Adobe Premiere Elements will then capture the digitized
footage. Analog-to-digital converters are available in many larger consumer
electronics stores.
Note: If you capture using an analog-to-digital converter, you may have to capture without
using device control.
