Canopus ADVC55 A-D Converter review

The Canopus ADVC55 joins an expanding family of devices designed to convert analogue video and audio sources to DV in real time.

Unlike the larger ADVC100, which provides a wider range of AV inputs and outputs for two-way A-D and D-A conversion, the ADVC55 is a one-way converter only.

The attractively designed pocket-sized device is aimed specifically at users who have a collection of analogue (VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, Video-8) legacy recordings and wish to share them digitally via disk and the web. A fast-growing requirement is, of course, for analogue recordings to be transferred to DVD. The ADVC55 uses Canopus' proprietary DV codec to convert footage in real time in a single portable device. Available inputs are S-Video (for S-VHS, Hi-8, Betacam-SP) and composite video via a yellow RCA phono socket. Red and white RCA sockets are provided for stereo audio input. On the output side, a single 6-pin FireWire socket is all you get. When connected to any Mac using the supplied FireWire cable, the unit draws its power from the computer's FireWire bus, making it very handy for use in the field. However, where connection is to be made to a camcorder fitted with the more usual 4-pin FireWire connector, an optional DC supply can be obtained. Rear-mounted DIP-switches enable user-selections to be made, including a 15dB audio input lift where required.

The unit will convert PAL, NTSC and SECAM video standards from analogue to DV via FireWire on a pass-through basis. It isn't a video standards converter (NTSC to PAL, PAL to SECAM, etc), for which entirely different solutions are required, but when connected to any FireWire-equipped Mac running video capture software the device is identified as if it were a DV or Digital-8 camcorder in Play mode. Using iMovie 4 on a G4 Desktop running OS 10.2.8, the connection of the ADVC55 to the Mac resulted in it being recognised immediately. As the source VHS tape played, footage appeared in iMovie's capture window and stereo audio was fed to the speakers. Capture was a simple matter of clicking the Import button. No loss of audio sync was detected on playback of a 15-minute segment, and the quality of the captured video and audio lived up to expectations.

It should be noted that the ADVC55's output quality is entirely dependent upon the quality of video source material being fed to it; the unit can't compensate for dropout or picture noise, and it won't correct an unstable time-base. Given good-quality source material the unit will, however, produce excellent results that are every bit as good as its more fully featured cousin - the ADVC100. With a range of source materials, from off-air recordings to very old legacy footage, the unit seemed well able to cope with contrasty scenes, fast changes within shots and saturated colours. Some right-edge RF roll-off and fuzziness was detected on objects placed in low-lit scenes, but this should be attributed to the source quality.

The ADVC55 will undoubtedly be at its most useful in situations where instant A-D conversion is required, such as when capturing analogue footage in the field or when used as part of a live conference presentation. Image and sound quality is well up to Canopus' usual high standard, and it's difficult to fault the unit in any way. In fact, for anyone looking for reliable and dependable real-time conversion it offers excellent value for money.