<p>Even with a floppy drive, you may be SOL -- it's likely the drivers won't work in your current OS. You might have to fire up a virtual machine with an older OS. </p>

<p>If the video is analog, consider a USB video capture device. <a href="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1428" rel="nofollow">Here's</a> a whole page of them, or search for "USB video capture".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-30T00:22:03.460Z
2015-07-30T00:22:03.460Z
Jim Mack
<p>If the camera has a firewire cable then it can send out a DV signal through it, like any other DV camera. so you should be able to capture it, and you won't need specific drivers for it.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394#DV" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394#DV</a></p>

<p>A firewire to USB adaptor isn't going to work though, you'll need a <a href="http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DV-Video-Capture-Three-1394-Port-Full-Height-PCI-E-Add-On-Cards-/111690081775" rel="nofollow">DV capture card</a> for your machine. There are plenty and they're not too expensive — try to find one that comes with free video capture software. </p>

<p>I'm guessing that it's not really a microcassette camera — microcassettes are a subcompact <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcassette" rel="nofollow">audio recording format</a> and not something you could possibly record video on. Given the existence of a firewire connection I'd be prepared to bet cash money that it's actually <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV#Magnetic_tape" rel="nofollow">miniDV</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-31T22:39:04.743Z
Given that there's video on the cassette, you're probably right. I am by no means an expert in this field.
Charles
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-31T04:50:04.147Z
2015-07-31T04:58:11.387Z
2015-07-31T04:58:11.387Z
stib
<p>I have a microcassette tape with some video on it that I'd like to digitize, but the camera I have that can play microcassette tapes is so old its drivers come on a floppy disk, which I can't read with any of my computers.</p>

<p>However, I can use a firewire cable to transfer the video, but none of my computers have a firewire port, so I bought a firewire-to-usb cable.</p>

<p>I've tried using <code>WinDV</code> <code>VideoDub</code> and <code>dvgrab</code> to capture the tape, however both <code>WinDV</code> and <code>VideoDub</code> suffer from the problem that Windows has no drivers for the camera, and <code>dvgrab</code> can't find the camera in Arch Linux, probably for the same reason.</p>

<p>Is there a way of using the equipment I have to read the video, or will I have to purchase a floppy disk reader to get the drivers?</p>

<video><analog><digitisation>
Help reading analog video?
Charles
# Help reading analog video?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-07-29)

I have a microcassette tape with some video on it that I'd like to digitize, but the camera I have that can play microcassette tapes is so old its drivers come on a floppy disk, which I can't read with any of my computers.

However, I can use a firewire cable to transfer the video, but none of my computers have a firewire port, so I bought a firewire-to-usb cable.

I've tried using `WinDV` `VideoDub` and `dvgrab` to capture the tape, however both `WinDV` and `VideoDub` suffer from the problem that Windows has no drivers for the camera, and `dvgrab` can't find the camera in Arch Linux, probably for the same reason.

Is there a way of using the equipment I have to read the video, or will I have to purchase a floppy disk reader to get the drivers?

**Tags:** video, analog, digitisation


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-07-30. Score: 1

Even with a floppy drive, you may be SOL -- it's likely the drivers won't work in your current OS. You might have to fire up a virtual machine with an older OS.

If the video is analog, consider a USB video capture device. [Here's](http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1428) a whole page of them, or search for "USB video capture".


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-07-31. Score: 0

If the camera has a firewire cable then it can send out a DV signal through it, like any other DV camera. so you should be able to capture it, and you won't need specific drivers for it.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_1394#DV>

A firewire to USB adaptor isn't going to work though, you'll need a [DV capture card](http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DV-Video-Capture-Three-1394-Port-Full-Height-PCI-E-Add-On-Cards-/111690081775) for your machine. There are plenty and they're not too expensive — try to find one that comes with free video capture software.

I'm guessing that it's not really a microcassette camera — microcassettes are a subcompact [audio recording format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcassette) and not something you could possibly record video on. Given the existence of a firewire connection I'd be prepared to bet cash money that it's actually [miniDV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV#Magnetic_tape).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Given that there's video on the cassette, you're probably right. I am by no means an expert in this field.  

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