HOWTOs, tips and tricks

HOWTO erase miniDV tape on Linux using FireWire IEEE 1394 port

Preparations

Get the frame size:

export FRAME=720x576

Prepare black and silent video file

ffmpeg \
    -f lavfi -i color=size=${FRAME}:rate=25:color=black \
    -f lavfi -i anullsrc=channel_layout=stereo:sample_rate=44100 \
    -s ${FRAME} -pix_fmt yuv420p -r 25 \
    -t 600 empty.dv

Write video by camera

cat empty.dv > /dev/dv1394