What it looks like
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Copies MiniDV and Digital8 tapes over FireWire, one file per scene, named by the date it was filmed.
SiggySoft DV Capture copies MiniDV and Digital8 tapes from a camcorder or VCR to the PC over FireWire. The camcorder wrote the date and time into every frame, so the program starts a new file wherever the camera was stopped and started, and names each file after the tape and the moment its scene was filmed. Picture and sound are copied as they come off the tape, with nothing compressed again. Afterwards it makes deinterlaced MP4 copies for phones and computers, and its clip list shows tape damage and dropped frames. A one-hour tape takes one hour and about 13 GB.
Where the recording date jumps between two frames, a new AVI file starts, named after the tape and the date and time the scene was filmed. Sorting by name puts the scenes in filming order.
DV video and its sound are written as the camcorder sends them, never compressed again. Files close before 2,048 MB (about 9 to 10 minutes), at a scene change in the last 30 seconds when there is one.
On request, or after every capture when that is ticked, an H.264 MP4 without comb lines at 59.94 frames a second. On the test PC the standard deinterlacer ran at 6.2 times playback speed, about 10 minutes for an hour of tape.
Each clip counts the frames the camcorder could not read and the frames the PC missed. The damage window shows a picture of the worst frame at each damaged spot.
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| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Monitor | The picture from the tape with the date and time it was filmed, the tape timecode, what the deck is doing and, while capturing, a red REC mark. |
| Deck buttons | Rewind, frame back, play backwards, stop, pause, play, frame forward and fast forward, for camcorders that take commands over FireWire. |
| Device, tape name and tape photos | Pick the camcorder, type the tape's name, and drop up to four photos of the tape and its case, which can be cut out from their background on the PC. |
| Capture, Pause and Split | Capture plays the tape and writes the files; Pause stops the tape, and resuming starts a new file; Split starts the next file at once. Rewind the tape when it ends is a tick box under them. |
| Clip list | Five pictures per clip, when it was filmed, length, size, timecode, and badges for interlaced or progressive, tape damage and a deinterlaced copy. |
| Messages and status bar | What happened, newest first; then files, dropped and damaged frames, the RAM buffer, and free space in hours of DV. |
| Edit button | Opens a clip in SiggySoft Video Editor to trim, split or join it, when the editor is installed. |
| Settings | Twelve groups, from scene detection and stop rules to still pictures, deinterlacing, tape photos and updates. |
| Tools | The setup check with its installs, Optional tools for ffmpeg and QTGMC, and a hard disk speed test that writes 5 minutes of DV. |
| Capture > Timers | VCR-style timers: a start time and a number of minutes, or a stop time. |
To check the download, run Get-FileHash SiggySoftDvCapture-1.17.2-Setup.exe in PowerShell and compare the result with the SHA-256 above.
An installed copy asks www.middlesiggy.com for a new version at every start, and once a day reads Microsoft's public list of .NET releases (7 KB); Settings > Updates turns either off, and the .NET check sends nothing about the PC. ffmpeg, the QTGMC packages and the 224 MB cut-out model are downloaded only when you press their button in Tools > Setup check and agree, and tape photos are cut out on the PC, never sent. A Feedback report leaves the PC only when you press Send; there are no usage counts and no crash reports. See the site's privacy policy.
What the recent versions added, newest first. The full list is in the manual.
Version 1.17.2 · 2026-10-26
Version 1.17.1 · 2026-10-26
Version 1.17.0 · 2026-10-07
Version 1.16.0 · 2026-10-07
Version 1.15.2 · 2026-10-06
Version 1.15.0 · 2026-10-06
The program's Help menu opens the manual. To report a problem or suggest an idea, use the Feedback menu in the program: you see everything before it is sent. Or write through the contact page.