Capture tape camcorder analog video to memory card

Consumer tape camcorders were popular video recording devices at the turn of the 21st century. It is quiet likely that you already have one stored in a closet or a cabinet! Unfortunately, as it happened with several other early day electronic devices, with the advent of smartphones and digital cameras that are able to record high quality digital video, and the challenges associated with transferring video tapes and analog video to a digital format, many of the yesteryear camcorders joined other outdated electronic devices on the scrap pile.

Nonetheless, camcorders had a feature missing from many modern recording devices, that is excellent quality optical zoomlenses.

I am an amateur, but avid, bird photographer and naturalist. I love devices with good quality optics, like these old camcorders, that are able to bring me close to the action. So, I started thinking of ways to rejuvenate an old ZR950 miniDV Canon tape camcorder to record in digital video format, directly to a memory card. This device not only has an excellent 48x optical zoom lens, but also has the capability to record in 16:9 aspect ratio typical of newer digital formats.

The Camcorder

This Canon camcorder has an RCA style analog output port, a USB port, and a Firewire port. Although I had used the Firewire port in the past to capture video on a Windows workstation, for all practical purposes, the Firewire port is no longer supported or available on newer computers and laptops, so I will not discuss it further. Also, the USB port on these cameras was not designed for video output.

On the other hand, RCA was a popular game console port and as a result there are many cheap RCA to HDMI video convertersthat can be used to convert analog video to SD or even HD digital video resolution.

The Components

• And so, an RCA to HDMI converter becomes the first item on our parts list for this project, as it allows us to convert the analog AV signal from the camcorder output to the HDMI digital compatible format.

• The second key item on our parts list is also available thanks to the needs of gamers to record and share their gaming adventures. This item is a rather inexpensive (~$70 at Amazon) HDMI streaming video recording device. I have used the TreasLin Screen Capture recorder which is able to capture and record streaming video from an HDMI output to a USB flash drive (a Sandisk 32 Gb flash drive is included), or even a hard disk, without the need for a computer. It supports the mp4 digital format in 720p and 1080p resolution.

So, with these 2 items on our parts list, and the appropriate AV RCA and HDMI cables, we are ready to start recording from the camcorder to a USB flash drive.

Portability with a rechargeable power pack

A key goal of the project for me was the portability of the converter and recording devices. The RCA to HDMI converter is powered via a USB port, while the HDMI recorder requires a 12V power supply. Since I wanted to take these items out in the field, I had to figure out how to power them using batteries.

So, the next part of this project deals with how to get these devices powered from portable batteries. What are the options here?

• For the USB powered RCA to HDMI converter, we could have used any number of commercial USB charging battery packs. Some include also 12V output and so they would be ideal for this project that requires both a 5v and a 12V power supply. One I liked (but have not purchased yet) is the Talentcell Rechargeable power pack. I would look for something compact and lightweight. Just make sure that the USB and 12V cables match the port on your converter and recording device respectively.
• In my case, I had a few lightweight 2S (7.4V) and 3S(11.4V) LiPo batteries for my RC flyers. I ended up using the 2S LiPo battery and converting its 7.4V output to 5V for the USB powered AV2HDMI converter. I used a small micro-BEC step down voltage regulator. These inexpensive step down regulators can output 5V and 12V output from a range of 2-6S LiPo batteries, so if you have some of these RC accessories around your workshop you can use them for this project. I used the 3S battery to power the HDMI recorder directly, and that has worked quite well.