The Canopus / Grass Valley ADVC-110 is an analog to digital video converter. This means your VCR and computer can share video files. This will allow you to burn DVD’s from your VHS tapes, or play computer videos in your video editing software on a TV. The most popular use for the ADVC-110 is to transfer VHS tapes to DVD. For an overview on how to do this, click HERE.
What’s in the box?
Upon opening the Canopus ADVC-110, You’ll find the user manual and registration card, a 6 pin male to 6 pin male Firewire Cable, and the ADVC-110 conversion box. As long as you’re using the 6 pin to 6 pin Firewire Cable to connect the ADVC-110 to the computer, you will not need to use any additional power, since the ADVC-110 has a powered bus that draws power from your computer.
Using the ADVC-110
The basic purpose of the ADVC-110 is to convert Analog Video to Digital Video. This basically means you can hook your VCR up to your computer to make DVDs. It wasn’t that hard to hook up, but I do wish Canopus would have thrown in an S-video cable and a set of RCA cables. Not that I don’t already own them, but I hate going out to the garage to weed through my “box-o-cables” to get what I need. My main test was to record a VHS tape through the ADVC-110 onto my computer using Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro took a few tries to see it, and that was only because I had to disable device control in the capture window. Windows Movie Maker saw it right away. I didn’t have to install any drivers or software. Upon plugging it into the computer, windows took care of everything.
Features
One feature I already mentioned is that the ADVC-110 has a powered bus. This means that it draws its power from your computer, provided that you use a 6-pin to 6-pin male Firewire Cable to connect the ADVC-110 to your computer. A 4 pin firewire cable doesn’t carry power, so if you’re using a 6 to 4 pin firewire cable between the computer and the ADVC-110, you’ll need to purchase the additional AC power supply. This power configuration is not affected at all by using a 4 pin firewire cable between a camera and the ADVC-110. Not that you’d ever need to plug your digital camera into the ADVC-110, since it you’d bypass it and plug directly into the computer. Also, the ADVC-110 doesn’t officially claim to disable macrovision, but we have run some tests inspired by various forum inquiries and we may have a fun solution to the macrovision controversy.
Macrovision Protection/Elimination Controversy
As many people in the video editing world are aware, Canopus has been around in the mainstream for a long time. One of their earlier products was an analog to digital converter called the ADVC-100. And often, when people talk about the Canopus ADVC-110, then often refer to it as “the ADVC-100 without macrovision elimination”. This is mainly because the ADVC-110 is only slightly different from the ADVC-100. According to Canopus, they added the powered bus feature to the 110, but got rid of the ability to disable macrovision. Because of these minor changes and because the ADVC-110 and 110 look almost exactly the same, people have been asking if there was a way to still disable macrovision on the 110. Many people have offered suggestions on how to accomplish this. And although Canopus doesn’t officially support this feature on the ADVC-110, we figured we’d give it a try anyway.
How to Disable Macrovision on the Canopus ADVC-110
• Press and hold the Input Select button on the front panel for about 15 seconds
• While holding, your captured image will freeze
• When the video starts playing again, you can stop pushing the button.
• Macrovision copy-protection is now disabled until you switch off the ADVC-110
This process is pretty much the same as it was on the ADVC-100. We didn’t test this with multiple units; therefore we’re not sure if this will work for everyone. Nor are we aware if Canopus or Grass Valley will continue to allow this awesome feature to keep working. But for now, feel free to bask in the joy of a cool little tweak.
DAC-200 or ADVC-110?
There are two very comparable products on the market right now, The DAC-200 by Datavideo and the ADVC-110 by Canopus. Both do essentially the same thing when it comes to analog to digital video conversion. A few years ago (when the DAC-200 was the DAC-100 and the ADVC-110 was the ADVC-100) it was safe to say there was a big difference. The ADVC-100 Claimed to have locked audio and the ability to disable macrovision, while the DAC-100 was falling behind in such features. But now, with the spirit of competition, they have both grown in quality and features as they advanced into today’s models. The biggest difference is the DAC-200 comes with a power supply and the ADVC-110 does not. The ADVC-110 is Bus Powered, meaning it draws its power from your computer through the 6 pin firewire port. This also means you'll save on messy cables. Assuming your laptop has a 6 pin firewire port, the ADVC-110 would be the best choice, since you won't have to find a power outlet to make the thing run. Still, if you need AC power, Canopus offers an optional power supply. I’ve heard people, who have tried both products, claim that one has better picture over the other or works better with Macs than the other, but on a large scale most everyone is pleased with whatever product they chose. From the tests I’ve done, I think the quality on both products is equally high. Upon disabling the Macrovision, The ADVC-110 seemed to have a very minor “Auto brightness and contrast” effect on video I captured. Still, the ADVC-110 looked great.
Summary
The ADVC-110 has the ability to disable macrovision and can capture full resolution NTSC or PAL video and sound. It’s a good converter at a great price. The bus powered feature is nice by eliminating excess cables, but is a draw back if your computer only has a 4 pin firewire port. Still, the ADVC-110 does everything it says it can do. And that can be a rare find in today’s world. Buy the ADVC-110 for at Guy Graphics.
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