Reading .avi files off a USB Hardrive - Page 2

If it really is the DV codec, download and install the latest version of VLC Media Player (free) for Mac. This software will play the DV codec. As an added bonus, if it does work but it is not DV, VLC will even display the actual video and audio codecs in use for future reference.
Edited by bluechunks - 1/19/13 at 2:33pm

It is important to know exactly which type of video recording your camcorder uses as it will determine which will give the best results.

Video8 stores data in analogue format equivalent to VHS, so composite is fine for that.

Hi8 stores data in analogue format equivalent to S-VHS, so s-video is best for that.

MiniDV stores data digitally using the DV codec: firewire should provide a lossless transfer of that quality, whilst s-video will perform a lossy D->A conversion and then you will need to perform another lossy A->D conversion to get it back into a digital form to store on disc (not recommended).

DV is an intermediate codec used for storage and editing: it's meant to be output in a more compressed format for final viewing. Consequently, very few (if any) devices support the DV codec directly for playback.

It is usually recommended to make a backup of the DV files from miniDV using firewire and archive them with redundancy, then convert the backups to DVD, H263 or H264 for general viewing and sharing.

Because DV is interlaced and around 600x480 resolution, DVD is a good medium for viewing (at high bitrates to keep artifacts at a minimum). This means that a good deinterlacer is required when scaling to an HDTV (Oppo player, VP, etc). Alternatively, it is possible to process DV with a good deinterlacer at the time of encoding, which means that possibly H.263 (Divx/Xvid) or H.264 might be a better viewing medium as it is more compact and only needs to be scaled since it is already progressive.

Some DVD/Bluray Recorders have firewire inputs that allow converting directly from DV to the output codec. This can often be the simplest way to convert and view the material. Processing via a PC allows more control over the process, but is more complicated.

Once you decide on an output codec, then that will dictate the type of player you need and the VP required to make it look the best on an HDTV.

It is also quite practical to play back a DV file via a PC direct to an HDTV, although either the PC will need to process the material for best results or it needs to be passed through a VP to do that.