HDMI capture card w/ HD Camcorder

poboy22 · 10-30-2009, 10:54 AM

Hello, new here with a few questions after a few days of research and really not much gray area being filled.

I own a Panasonic HDC-HS9 Camcorder that records in AVCHD format that I would like to use to stream live video over the internet, preferably in HD.....or as high of resolution as my equipment is capable of. I am not looking to use any other HD signal or broadcast any copyrighted material. My goal is to broadcast live original content like mortgage and credit training. Essentually I would like to use my camcorder as a webcam to broadcast live video on the internet in the best resolution I can. My camcorder has HDMI, s-video, component, and USB2.0 outs, yet no firewire output. I do have firewire in on my computer.

From what I understand, I could use Blackmagic Intensity Pro HDMI Capture card but that takes me to next problem, system requirements. The system requirements for uncompressed HD video, mainly for storage, are out of this world and beyond my budget even though I have a fairly good workstation.

I would like to use this machine for broadcasting:

Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit, service pack2
Intel Core Quad2 @2500GHz/w 4gigs ram
600gig RAID HD(not 100% sure how it is configured)
Intel ICH8R/ICH9R SATA RAID Controller
NVIDIA GeForce 9300GE video card
Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
ViXS Pure TV Video capture card
IE 8....and Firefox browsers..have both.

Now to the questions.

What options do I have besides an HDMI Capture card to get my camcorder to act like a webcam and retain the quality?

According to Black magic's literature, it can be used to capture lower resolution as well, to save drive space and computing power....does anyone have experience with this lower setting and will my current system be good enough for an hour of video using a lower standard, and would it still be good quality?

Can I use the Blackmagic card to capture video, via the HDMI link, in lower resolution as set on my camera? In other words if I don't have the computing power and storage to use my camcorder on it's highest setting(1080p), will the Blackmagic card accept and capture source video that is not in HD?

What type of upsteam bandwidth is required for a venture of this sort and what factors(either on my end or the viewers end) should I be considering when purchasing bandwidth to broadcast a live show. How does the quality of the feed affect this(streaming in low or high res)?

Is there a way to convert HDMI to another signal that would still be HD quality and get it in my computer that way? S-video or Component maybe? Some sort of conversion box or splitter? And would this require more hardware/software?

Should I scrap the HDMI camcorder and get one that outputs with a firewire and would this save me money in the long run or would my system requirements still be a problem and need upgrading?

When broadcasting video live over the internet, does the signal still need storage? Can you send a feed without "recording" it so to speak?

If I am way off base and broadcasting from home in HD is going to require many expensive upgrades in equipment and bandwidth, what is my next move? Is my equpiment good enough to broadcast a quality signal in non HD? With my current camera/computer/bandwidth, should I even be considering an HD broadcast? And if not, what resolution should I be shooting for without alot of upgrades?

Should I just buy a good webcam?

A million thanks up front as you can clearly see I'm in over my head, any help would be greatly appreciated, especially someone who has and uses the Blackmagic Intensity capture card..

10-30-2009, 10:54 AM	#1
poboy22 What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	HDMI capture card w/ HD Camcorder Hello, new here with a few questions after a few days of research and really not much gray area being filled. I own a Panasonic HDC-HS9 Camcorder that records in AVCHD format that I would like to use to stream live video over the internet, preferably in HD.....or as high of resolution as my equipment is capable of. I am not looking to use any other HD signal or broadcast any copyrighted material. My goal is to broadcast live original content like mortgage and credit training. Essentually I would like to use my camcorder as a webcam to broadcast live video on the internet in the best resolution I can. My camcorder has HDMI, s-video, component, and USB2.0 outs, yet no firewire output. I do have firewire in on my computer. From what I understand, I could use Blackmagic Intensity Pro HDMI Capture card but that takes me to next problem, system requirements. The system requirements for uncompressed HD video, mainly for storage, are out of this world and beyond my budget even though I have a fairly good workstation. I would like to use this machine for broadcasting: Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit, service pack2 Intel Core Quad2 @2500GHz/w 4gigs ram 600gig RAID HD(not 100% sure how it is configured) Intel ICH8R/ICH9R SATA RAID Controller NVIDIA GeForce 9300GE video card Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio ViXS Pure TV Video capture card IE 8....and Firefox browsers..have both. Now to the questions. What options do I have besides an HDMI Capture card to get my camcorder to act like a webcam and retain the quality? According to Black magic's literature, it can be used to capture lower resolution as well, to save drive space and computing power....does anyone have experience with this lower setting and will my current system be good enough for an hour of video using a lower standard, and would it still be good quality? Can I use the Blackmagic card to capture video, via the HDMI link, in lower resolution as set on my camera? In other words if I don't have the computing power and storage to use my camcorder on it's highest setting(1080p), will the Blackmagic card accept and capture source video that is not in HD? What type of upsteam bandwidth is required for a venture of this sort and what factors(either on my end or the viewers end) should I be considering when purchasing bandwidth to broadcast a live show. How does the quality of the feed affect this(streaming in low or high res)? Is there a way to convert HDMI to another signal that would still be HD quality and get it in my computer that way? S-video or Component maybe? Some sort of conversion box or splitter? And would this require more hardware/software? Should I scrap the HDMI camcorder and get one that outputs with a firewire and would this save me money in the long run or would my system requirements still be a problem and need upgrading? When broadcasting video live over the internet, does the signal still need storage? Can you send a feed without "recording" it so to speak? If I am way off base and broadcasting from home in HD is going to require many expensive upgrades in equipment and bandwidth, what is my next move? Is my equpiment good enough to broadcast a quality signal in non HD? With my current camera/computer/bandwidth, should I even be considering an HD broadcast? And if not, what resolution should I be shooting for without alot of upgrades? Should I just buy a good webcam? A million thanks up front as you can clearly see I'm in over my head, any help would be greatly appreciated, especially someone who has and uses the Blackmagic Intensity capture card..