S-video to component

steph746

I have a minidv camera that I'd like to connect to my TV. The camera just has an s-video connection to go out and my TV does not have that. The TV just has HDMI and component connections. I thought that I could purchase an adapter cable to be able to view it on the TV, but I've been doing some research and some people are saying that a converter box is needed.

Does anyone know if a cable, such as this one would work?:

https://www.amazon.com/Kyper-7-Pin-S-Video-Green-Component/dp/B00VF2SUIG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1543581560&sr=8-4&keywords=svideo to component


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you.

Jamie

That cable won't work.

Back in the day you used to find none standard 7 pin S-Video sockets on PC graphics cards. The socket will accept a standard S-Video cable to output S-Video to a sceeen, the extra 3 pins were used with a proprietary cable for extra functions (like outputting component video as in that particular lead.

S video signals are very different from component signals sonyou will need some electronics to covert the signal, a passive cable just can't work.

steph746

Thank you for your reply. What sort of hardware would you recommend that would allow me to connect the minidv camera to my TV? Would it be easier to connect the camera's svideo port to an HDMI port on the TV?

Also, just curious, what would someone use the s-video to component cable for?

Jamie

If I needed to do a similar thing I'd actually consider getting something to plug into my PC. Once it's a digital media file on a PC you can then do anything with the file from streaming it to theTV if it is new enough to have onboard streaming or burn to a DVD or even just watch on the PC screen.

There's plenty of USB dongles that can capture an S-Video input and convert to digital video files available for around £20. This is just an example:

External USB Video Capture Card - August VGB100 - Transfer VHS Home Videos to PC / Capture Xbox 360 and PS3 Gameplay / S-Video and Composite  In https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008F0SARC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_i9waCbM8JJCY8


Regarding your last question the lead you posted a link to would probably be used with an old PC graphics card. The 7 pin format is explained in this Wikipedia article near the bottom. But it's a none standard connection

S-Video - Wikipedia

steph746

Thanks again for your reply. I will look into doing that. Do you think that 1 minidv tape would equal approximately 10GB of video data? I have about 30 tapes that I'd like to convert eventually.

What do you think of this device to connect to a PC?

https://www.amazon.com/Dazzle-DVD-Recorder-VHS-Converter/dp/B00EAS14KI/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1543599703&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dazzle video&psc=1

noiseboy72

I would put a small amount of money on the fact that the component input will also accept composite video - but possibly not S-Video. What TV do you have?

The camera will also most likely have a composite output - probably via mini jack and combined with the audio output. It's therefore likely that all you need is the correct cable.

To convert s-video to component, you might be better to go straight to HDMI, as the boxes are more commonly available. Here's one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Composite-S-Video-converter-Supports-1080p/dp/B008X59IMK/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_23_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=K06KPTEM4EJB87YP9F3T

You might find a Lindy S-video to component box, as some retro gamers use them. They are obsolete and for my money there's better ways of doing it.

Your comment about uncompressed mini-DV is correct, but MPEG4 compression will reduce this to about 20% of the file size with very little degradation - certainly not enough to cause an issue with home videos. You need a reasonably powerful PC to convert on the fly - or a native encoding card, but again these are rare. Ideally you would connect up via firewire, but this is very difficult to get working on modern PCs. JVC made a DV player with DVD recording built in, which did the job very well. Rare as rocking horse poo these days though. I could only find a US version which probably won't work with PAL tapes. JVC SR-DVM70 3-in-1 Professional Series Video Recorder Mini DV DVD Make Offer | eBay

EndlessWaves

That's the original compression format but you'd probably only use that if you were transferring it as files (I believe most DV camcorders did it through Firewire). If you're playing, capturing and then re-encoding to file on the computer you'd go directly to a more modern format like H.264 or HEVC which would reduce the file size

steph746

Thank you again for the replies. I'm sort of following what you are suggesting. I have a Panasonic NV-GS150 minidv that is from Japan. I found the component video out on the camera. So, it does appear to have s-video and component. I'm not sure how I would get audio out of the camera though. There is one more port labeled "DV". It's rectangular in shape. I'm attaching two pics of these ports.

noiseboy72

There's no analogue component output on that camcorder. It has an AV port that carries composite video and stereo audio via a mini jack connection and an s-video connection that carries video only and would be used alongside the av output for audio.

The DV socket is a digital connection that does carry component as part of the Firewire protocol, which also includes control signals and the ability to connect a 2nd camcorder and copy the the video as a crude editing solution. FireWire is very badly supported on modern PCs from Windows 7 onwards but an older Mac will have the connection. I am not aware of any TV with a FireWire input or a FireWire to HDMI converter. Back in the day you could get FireWire to analogue converters but these are hard to find now.

Your best bet is to find an AV cable. These can be found on eBay and Amazon easily enough. Check your TV as it may have the port available to connect directly or may require an additional cable to connect.

Your other option is an HDMI converter, but I think you will find you can connect directly via the Av output.

steph746

I suppose my original inquiry is actually two questions. To watch on the TV, my best/easiest option would be to use the composite video and headphone jack to go to the TV?

As for eventually transferring my miniDV tapes to a format that I can archive and view online or an a computer, what do you think is the best option? I can get a device that would transfer using the composite or s-video port on the camcorder? Do you think it makes sense to purchase an older Mac and then I could transfer using the firewire? Would transferring using the firewire yield a better image or is it more about the speed of transfer?