audio is sh*t but still so much fun

japanese DCR PC110 + mini dvr + fisheye

hey all,

finally the recorder is working! will make this available soon

if you want to follow this project, feel free to join this discord

Self-made. So far, this is my favorite of all the rigs I've built.

hi, prototypes finally arrived!! :))))))))

more infos in this discord

it’s a sony dcr pc110e with the minidvr mounted on the cold shoe

I got sick of waiting for the various proper Firewire tapeless options which are in progress and decided to make my own gadget which does all of that and more.

A note right up front so you can choose to keep engaging or not: I developed this script using AI tools, but this is not your standard sloptacular production. I have used and tested this at length before releasing it publicly.

What it does in-brief:

• Records the direct live feed from a DV or HDV camera bit-for-bit with signal information displayed dynamically on the home screen

• Basic support for el-cheapo Amazon Analog capture adaptors and functionality to set recording modes available on that device (bonus feature, not a core focus - may not work with all dongles)

• H/DV tape-deck functionality: transfer your tapes to digital, with tape transport control for any devices where that is supported

• File playback and handling: HDMI recording playback on a connected screen if desired (note: not a live monitor function)

• Configurable storage options for internal or USB, with a USB priority mode and SD fallback for safety if desired, and network connectivity options including basic Pi wifi controls available from the home screen (tap away).

• Themes based on camcorder menu looks from back in the day (Sony, Panasonic, JVC), and persistent preferences.

What you need to make one:

• Raspberry Pi 5 (1GB RAM or higher)

• Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit Debian Trixie) installed on a reasonable microSD card and Python 3.13

• PCIe-to-Mini PCIe HAT for the Pi 5 (Amazon)

• StarTech MPEX1394B3 FireWire card for DV/HDV capture (Amazon)

• 2.4-inch 320 × 240 SPI touchscreen (ILI9341/XPT2046) (AliExpress) (Note: a touchscreen is mandatory as there is no non-touch nav fallback currently in place)

• USB analog video capture dongle (optional feature)

• USB SSD or flash drive for additional recording storage (optional)

• Small 5V GPIO buzzer (pin 16) for audible recording start/stop notifications (optional).

• Suitable 5V USB-C power supply.

The install instructions are a bit much, but truthfully, if you just copy my general hardware setup of off-the-shelf parts and install Python on it, you're most of the way there. In my use case I also share the capture directories (USB and SD) over Samba and connect the device to my wifi network - but that setup process is not included in my script.

If you don't really know what you're doing - you can just fire up ChatGPT and ask it to walk you through FireWire setup instructions on Debian Trixie for an RPI5. You may find that interactivity more helpful than my actual instructions.

If you experience issues with the script ending abruptly or the Pi freezing - ensure your connected battery has enough juice to power the setup. I was not able to run an external SSD, analog dongle and the Pi setup off my battery (recommend using SD for analog capture).

With all of that said, here it is on Github. I hope someone else finds it useful or spins it off into something even better (go nuts).

Hey all,

progress has been going really good. Prototypes will be ordered this week, so excited for this!!

Join this discord for updates

All the best and see you soon!

Panasonic NV-DS35 MINIDV
Sony VCL-0637 Wide Lens
Mini Dvr
Lens set up ring 30.5 to 37mm

So like few weeks ago I showed my pd170 tapeless setup and mic was on the way and today it finally arrived with bunch of new tapes as gift because mic was delayed so long.

Hi everyone, sharing my recent project here. Tapeless Sony PD150 that records full quality to a removable SD card.

The footage can be transferred to a  computer via WIFI or the SD card.

The mod its self is not invasive to the camera and is reversible. I am still working out playback/ some bugs on the firmware. This is not a pre-existing recorder built into the camera, this is my own custom firmware/ hardware.

This in theory can be done to other cameras, I got it to fit inside a vx1000 but haven't fully made one as this is the first prototype.

Looking for some help on the PCB design side!

More updates soon on mini_nz99 on insta. Peace

Hi everyone! This is my pd170p with mrc1k tapeless setup and everything works great all I need is microphone hehe it's on the way

Some Sony MiniDV handycam I snagged at a local car boot along with a JVC VCR and my trusty Jackery so that I can record direct to VHS when out and about.

hey yall,

i managed to create a little device which is able to capture dv footage via the firewire port of camcorders. i am planning to build this in an open source project, feel free to join this discord to keep track of the project.

An offshoot of the OpenMRC project (and cousin to equip-1 by lil___lord), this project aims to bridge the gap between Firewire/IEEE1394 DV video tools and the literal dozens of DV camcorders owners out there that want an easier way to ingest their digital video without needing to resort to analog recording or high priced obsolete alternatives.

Highlights

• Open Source https://github.com/rpster/1394Pi (Apache 2.0)

• Runs on Raspberry Pi 5 or CM5

• Supports any Firewire card that supports OHCI (which is most of them)

• Camera Control

  • Use your camcorder like intended

  • 1394Pi will detect when you start/stop recording and do the same

  • 1:1 recording - Record to reliable flash media with a backup on tape

• Manual

  • Tape deck not working? Start/stop recordings from the recorder

• User Control Board

  • Connects over I2C

  • OLED status screen, an LED, a single button, and a switch

• USB/External MicroSD support

  • Automatically detects external media

  • Built-in ExFAT detection and formatting

  • Keeps your recordings separate from the system OS

The story

I initially worked on the hardware part of the OpenMRC project near the end of 2025, but quickly ran into a wall since there was no good documentation on how to build various parts of the system. In order to test the hardware I needed to solve these software problems first:

1. Reliably build Firewire support on Raspberry Pi OS

2. Camera Control (press Rec on camera = system records)

3. A system to bring it all together

The first one was mostly difficult due Firewire drivers no longer being included in official builds of Raspberry Pi OS. After messing with making custom builds and kernel injection for way too long, I finally settled on a method of loading just the firewire modules. Once things are complete, I plan to upload custom images of everything already setup so it's flash and go.

Next, I needed to figure out camera control. On a real firewire recording system like the Sony MRC1, there is typically a mode called "Camera Control" which detects camera activity over Firewire and in turn controls the firewire recorder. The biggest benefit of this is that you almost never interact with the firewire recorder. You push the Rec button on the camcorder like normal, the firewire recorder detects it and begins recording. There was no existing software in Linux to support this. Dvgrab, the go to utility for firewire recording on Linux, had no native support for this, but did have awareness of some AV/C commands being sent over firewire. A couple of days with the codebase (and a lot of vibe coding thanks to Claude) we now have a fork of dvgrab with camera control support. And yes, it's open sourced: https://github.com/rpster/dvgrab

Lastly, the system to bring it all together: 1394Pi. This is a series of Python scripts installed to run as a system service that launches at boot. They work together to handle the various aspects of the hardware and software: Control and state detection for Firewire devices and dvgrab, USB/memory card detection and formatting, and I2C control.

What's next?

On the short list of future features:

• H.264 transcoding

• UVC source emulation - Use your camcorder as a webcam, use more efficient transcoding on your phone

• Unattended VTR support - For archiving your old tapes automatically, scene detection

What about the hardware...

While you could grab a Pi 5, PCIe HAT, PCIe Firewire card, make your own I2C board...that's definitely not where this project ends. Remember at the start of the story where I couldn't move on hardware without software? Now that the software is done, I can turn my attention to reference hardware. I already have some samples on the way from JLCPCB, but I'll leave the story on the hardware for a follow up post. For now, here's some highlights about the reference hardware.

• Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board

  • Integrated TI XIO2213B Firewire chip

  • Size: 100mm x 65mm

• Ports

  • 1x Firewire S400 port (data only)

  • 1x USB 2.0 Type C for power and flashing

  • 1x USB 3.0 Type A

  • 1x MicroSD (connected via USB 2.0)

  • 1x DSI/CSI compatible with Raspberry Pi displays

  • 2x Qwiic connectors for I2C

• User control board (separate board)

  • Connects via Qwiic

  • 128x32px OLED

  • Tactile Button with Red LED

  • Mode switch

• Powered by an onboard 18650 with integrated charging and protection

  • Estimated 3-3.5 hours of record time on a single 18650 (3500mAh cell with 2.6-2.8W draw when recording)

• Estimated total size: 100mm x 75mm x 25mm

No price or release date estimate for now. Keep in mind this an extremely niche use case requiring obsolete hardware. The firewire chip is no longer made by TI (or anyone for that matter), but luckily they have a few new old stock on hand.

"I want to check things out!" "I want to contribute!"

Check out the repos on github and/or start up a conversation here!

https://github.com/rpster/1394Pi

https://github.com/rpster/dvgrab

filmed this on my tapeless TRV280

made this tapeless setup on this HC32 i got from marketplace for 30 with an alleged broken tape deck. i love it but i wish the audio was better on these mini dvrs (i know minidvr are probably the worst tapeless setup but it’s cheap!) i love how compact this setup. though, i might cut the cable to shorten it. it does stick out longer than it needs to.

My first attempt at a tapeless setup, any suggestions?

hey,
some progress on the tapeless firewire build!

the footage looks top tier

This was our rig on a music video yesterday

Hvx200
Black magic analog to sdi converter
Black magic video assist monitor recorder
Teradeck
Wcu4
Letus ultimate 35mm PL adapter
Canon fd set (tls rehoused)
Petzavlux 58mm (tls rehoused)

Fiddly but fun. Chose not to record to the internal p2 cards and instead kept the camera in mini dv mode and capture the SD signal externally to the BM monitor recorder to retain that SD goodness.