There is a huge market for conversion of “legacy” formats to the current digital way of putting information down. I’m not talking about software on diskettes but particularly personal documentation in the form of video, film and other means.

I‘ve got hundreds of VHS videos and a large number of spools of Super 8 film that I want to digitize and make accessible for my kids by putting them on DVDs.

There wasn’t an easy way of converting analogue info until I came across Directors Cut 2 from Miglia.

To see what this magic box can do in the area of analogue to digital conversion, read on.

Miglia has quite a history when it comes to rescuing valuable information from format obsolescence. And when you see what sort of Pandora’s Box we are creating with the multitude of competing formats Miglia will have a bright future as well!

It’s obvious that the creation of information formats is going through ever-decreasing time cycles.

Hieroglyphs worked fine for millennia, pen on paper for centuries, film for decades but our current hunger for more memory means that CDs are not enough and DVDs are fast becoming old hat as we talk about Blu Ray discs and beyond. We’re constantly creating new formats and most are not readable with the same hardware.

Enter conversion equipment like the Directors Cut, “Take 2” from Miglia.

We’ll shorten it to DCT2.

Simply put: the Miglia DCT2 allows you to take an analogue video signal such as from an Hi-8 tape or VHS and convert it into a DV signal and then – if you want to -- convert that DV signal back into an analogue signal after editing. Or write it directly to DVD.

First impressions: a simple but reasonably elegant unit with all the input/output ports on the back and switches gracing the front panel.

The width is exactly that of my PC tower but the unit is slightly higher than a CD drive bay. Which made me think: it would be an ideal candidate for integration into your PC if you wanted to streamline your operations.

The greatest amount of bonus points awarded to the gear we review come from two factors we consider most users would want to rate equally high: how well does it work and how easy is it to use?

Well, the manual gives a bit of a clue: it’s 6 pages “thick” and half of that space is occupied by setup drawings. Must be a simple box and, indeed, it is.

It’s Plug & Play all the way and all the cables you might need are included such as the FireWire to plug into your computer, S-Video and composite video cables.

The only thing missing is a complimentary copy of a video editing program but these are easy to download or usually come with the video equipment you already have. My FireWire card came with a copy of Presto! VideoWorks.

Frankly, the editing software takes a lot longer to learn than everything you need to know about the DCT2.

I converted VHS tapes of family memories without any problems but the box is capable of so much more that we would be remiss in mentioning the highlights.

• Eliminates the need for a separate video capture card

• Recognised as a DV camera by your computer

• No drivers needed

• Powered by 6-pin FireWire bus or with optional power adapter 

• Handles many different formats

• NTSC & PAL compatible

• No loss of quality during conversion

• Bypasses proprietary formats

• Ignores MacroVision DVD protection

• Works great with a plug-in preview monitor (essential for TV output)

• Headphone jack with volume knob for monitoring audio

The Miglia Directors Cut Take 2 does a great job in processing and converting analogue data to digital and back. The unit is extremely easy to set up and use and can be used quite effectively by novices in the video editing game as well as by seasoned users.

The price at USD 299 seems to be right for this magic box. There are other solutions on the market that are cheaper but presumably also less capable. The Directors Cut “Take 2” not only put you firmly in the director’s seat but also seems to be a cut above the rest…

There might be an opportunity for Miglia to bring out an integrated unit for building into a PC tower with all the ports and controls at the front. It wouldn’t look as nice as the DCT2 but for folks who do a lot of converting it might be even easier to use.