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Times are tough all over.
Remember in a previous post how I talked about using the Linux box for video capture? I have no idea if it's going to work, so I'm not willing to spend very much (read: any) money to buy a new card. I called the PC repair shop that happens to be on my way home from work. However, cautious type that I am, I'm not willing to just stop in on the outside chance that he might have one. I called on the outside chance he might be in.
The phone call went like this.
*ring* *ring*
"Vic's PC Shop."
"Your sign says you have used PC parts."
"Yep, I do."
"I need a PCI firewire card."
"Wow...we don't get a lot of calls for those. I might have one I can pull out of another machine. Let me check."
There is the sound of rummaging.
"I've got about a dozen places I can look..."
There is the sound of more rummaging, small plasticky crashes and scrapings.
"Okay, yeah I've got one."
"How much?"
"Oh, let's say...fifteen bucks."
I don't laugh. Not out loud at least.
"Nope. I can buy a new one cheaper from Tiger1. Thanks for your time, though."
Through the earpiece of the descending handset on its way to the phone cradle, I hear the tinny exclamation, "Well, now, hold on...I'm a good guy...wait wait wait..!"
I guess when you get caught with your hand in an empty cookie jar, you want to retreat as gracefully as you can.
The handset pauses, then returns to my ear. I'm always willing to be entertained.
"Yes?" I say, all consumer innocence.
"I'm a good guy..."
Victory, but not without work, and not without some unaccomplished goals. Apparently, there is what Windows would call a "folder" that you have to have rw permissions on in order to capture video from IEEE1394. Once permissions were in place, Kino perked right up and found my camera.
The challenge now is that I can only capture DV, not SD or HD, which for my purposes is just fine but isn't a good place to be long term. My own personal projects work well in DV, other projects may not. My camera also has the idiosyncracy that to record at 16:9 resolution, you must either be in SD/HD (auto or manual) or in DV on "manual" - manual focus, that is, which is a pain in th'ass.
Still, it's a victory, however small. I can capture DV on the Linux box, which frees up my main machine for other work.
1 This isn't even remotely the card I would have purchased were I in a position to do the retail price of anything, but it made the point.
The phone call went like this.
*ring* *ring*
"Vic's PC Shop."
"Your sign says you have used PC parts."
"Yep, I do."
"I need a PCI firewire card."
"Wow...we don't get a lot of calls for those. I might have one I can pull out of another machine. Let me check."
There is the sound of rummaging.
"I've got about a dozen places I can look..."
There is the sound of more rummaging, small plasticky crashes and scrapings.
"Okay, yeah I've got one."
"How much?"
"Oh, let's say...fifteen bucks."
I don't laugh. Not out loud at least.
"Nope. I can buy a new one cheaper from Tiger1. Thanks for your time, though."
Through the earpiece of the descending handset on its way to the phone cradle, I hear the tinny exclamation, "Well, now, hold on...I'm a good guy...wait wait wait..!"
I guess when you get caught with your hand in an empty cookie jar, you want to retreat as gracefully as you can.
The handset pauses, then returns to my ear. I'm always willing to be entertained.
"Yes?" I say, all consumer innocence.
"I'm a good guy..."
"I know you are. You've done work for me in the past."
"Well, since it's you..." Yeah, even not knowing who I was on the phone, he actually said that.
"I can let you have it for...five bucks."
"Sold. I'll be there on my way home from work."
Pause.
"And, thanks!"
*click*
Epilogue.
I got the card, and I'll install it later. Supper first, then dishes and general pick up 'round the house.
In Vic's defense, he is a good guy, just really optimistic. Or is that opportunistic? The distinction evades me sometimes. In any case, yeah, I'll do business with him again. Of course I will.
His shop is on my way home.
Victory, but not without work, and not without some unaccomplished goals. Apparently, there is what Windows would call a "folder" that you have to have rw permissions on in order to capture video from IEEE1394. Once permissions were in place, Kino perked right up and found my camera.
The challenge now is that I can only capture DV, not SD or HD, which for my purposes is just fine but isn't a good place to be long term. My own personal projects work well in DV, other projects may not. My camera also has the idiosyncracy that to record at 16:9 resolution, you must either be in SD/HD (auto or manual) or in DV on "manual" - manual focus, that is, which is a pain in th'ass.
Still, it's a victory, however small. I can capture DV on the Linux box, which frees up my main machine for other work.
1 This isn't even remotely the card I would have purchased were I in a position to do the retail price of anything, but it made the point.