Advice on how to connect a CCD camera to a PC.

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I assume the camera isn't far away from the Laptop - signal can deteriorate with analogue quite quickly over a number of metres. How does the current video camera record - DVD, memory card or tape ?

The other option is to leave it recording and edit later on the PC ! I have an old Dazzle AV unit for the PC that worked well, but it's way out of date now (for a video tape camcorder) My son uses my FIL's old Sony DVD camcorder, and then converts the DVD format to MP4 on his computer rather than use a USB/AV INPUT stick we have been given.

The camera is based on the Sony Effio 4140 mini camera. Here's the board, about 35mm square. Amazingly, you can manually focus the lens.

You suppy it with 12 volts and it has a Composite Video output that comes back on a screened lead with an RCA plug on the end. There is a second RCA plug that gives an Audio output. The images and sound come back in real time. There is no storage unless you supply your own device. I have plugged it into the Video and Audio Sockets on our TV and it gives good sound and vision, so signal degradation by the cable is not an major issue. When I tried a cheap Video to USB convertor, I can get images on my PC that I can store on the hard drive etc. and manipulate, but the picture quality is not nearly as good as the TV. I'm trying to find a way of getting better pictures and moving images on the PC by any other route but at no great cost.

 

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I'm leaning towards a video card that will fit into a PCI slot on my ancient 1.8 Ghz desktop. Something like this....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compro-C100...dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=340831031&s=computers

 

[classic33]

Out of curiosity, how 's it connected at present. And have you considered plain co-axial cable?

 

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Out of curiosity, how 's it connected at present. And have you considered plain co-axial cable?

I can't tell what the conductors are inside the cable and I'm not going to cut into it to find out. At the non-camera end, it splits into three individual, smaller cables,one for the Composite Video RCA connector, one for the Audio RCA connector, and one for the 12v connector that goes into a plugtop PSU. I would imagine that the video and audio signals are in individually screened pairs to reduce noise and cross-talk. Anyway, the point is that the signals are good because otherwise the pictures and sound when they are plugged into a TV would be rubbish. They aren't. BTW, the main run of cable is 20 metres long.

 

[classic33]

I can't tell what the conductors are inside the cable and I'm not going to cut into it to find out. At the non-camera end, it splits into three individual, smaller cables,one for the Composite Video RCA connector, one for the Audio RCA connector, and one for the 12v connector that goes into a plugtop PSU. I would imagine that the video and audio signals are in individually screened pairs to reduce noise and cross-talk. Anyway, the point is that the signals are good because otherwise the pictures and sound when they are plugged into a TV would be rubbish. They aren't. BTW, the main run of cable is 20 metres long.

Co-Axial or standard television cable, same thing. Thought a bought WiFi?

 

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Well, I just splurged £15 on eBay for the ComPro C100 Video Mate card that might just work in my ancient spare PC's PCI slot.
I would just like to thank all you good people for your help along the way. Who knows? My TitCam might yet be up and running and getting a massive amount of hits from people with no interest at all in my feathered friends, but who might be twitching anyway. I will retire a wealthy man.

Thank you.

 

[classic33]

Well, I just splurged £15 on eBay for the ComPro C100 Video Mate card that might just work in my ancient spare PC's PCI slot.
I would just like to thank all you good people for your help along the way. Who knows? My TitCam might yet be up and running and getting a massive amount of hits from people with no interest at all in my feathered friends, but who might be twitching anyway. I will retire a wealthy man.

Thank you.

Hope your efforts were worth it. Enjoy.

 

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Hope your efforts were worth it. Enjoy.

It it works, I'll post some piccies of the birds doing their stuff. Thanks for your input and encouragement.
Must fly....

 

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I had no luck at all with the VideoMate C100 video capture card. I put in the Driver CD and things seem to have been loaded onto the PC, but I'm totally at a loss as to know what to do now. Does anybody have any experience of using this card with a CCD mini-camera that just spews out continuous Composite Video and Audio signals? All suggestions are very welcome. Thanks.

 

[classic33]

Does the system actually recognise that the card is there and that the drivers for it have been loaded?

 

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I had a bit of a breakthrough an hour ago. I knew that the drivers were there by going to Computer, Properties, Hardware etc, but I didn't know what to do next. The card came with Ulead VideoStudio 11SE video editing software which I had previously installed without any success. After hours of thrashing about, I have managed to get it to recognise the video card and the camera.

Next stop, a Hitchcock-style version of The Birds, Part II.

Thank you for your help.

 

[classic33]

I had a bit of a breakthrough an hour ago. I knew that the drivers were there by going to Computer, Properties, Hardware etc, but I didn't know what to do next. The card came with Ulead VideoStudio 11SE video editing software which I had previously installed without any success. After hours of thrashing about, I have managed to get it to recognise the video card and the camera.

Next stop, a Hitchcock-style version of The Birds, Part II.

Thank you for your help.

You did the work!

 

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You did the work!

.....but you lot gave the encouragement.....

 

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Postscript: I can now do all kinds of stuff with the video and still images that come from the camera via the VideoMate C100 card, but the piccies are not nearly as good as the ones when I plug the cable directly into the TV. My local experts tell me that the problem is the low grade A/D convertor on my card. That's entirely reasonable. Composite video is an analogue signal and needs conversion. Alfred Hitchcock aspirations are on hold, but it's still a lot of fun to see the birds getting busy.

Any volunteers for the Tippi Hedren role?