Looking for a good USB-based video capture device

[Cyber Akuma]

Somebody recommend I post this question here instead of General Hardware.

The capture card I have in this computer is a complete piece of trash that can't do anything right.

I have been looking for a device that can capture from component for ages, but I only found two, a PCI-E card that costs $350 from a company called Black Magic, and a $250 or so standalone device meant to stream HD sources from one place of the house to another, but apparently had a built in HDD to record too that I saw at Frys.

So for the time being, until more options are available (and I build a desktop with hardware designed in this century so it can actually handle a PCI-E card.... or HD video period) I am going to have to make do with SD video.

Now....... my desktop still sucks, but my laptop is decent at least.

Which is why I am looking for a USB based device that can capture video from composite. I know there are several out there, but I have no idea which ones are any good, and what, if any, features they support.

This is why I am asking for recommendations.

Can anybody recommend for me a good video capture device that can capture video from composite and connect to a PC by USB? Preferably something under $100 if possible, I don't have a lot on me right now.

I will probably be capturing in Huffyuv for the purpose of keeping the CPU free so there will be no framedrops and then encode it with a codec (likely Xvid or h264) after the capture process is complete.

[danno78]

As a general rule USB capture device alow only mpeg compression. Capturing in Huffyuv with USB device I d`ont think it is posible.
Better buy tv tuner made for laptops like WinFast ExDTV2300 H. It has component input.

[Cyber Akuma]

As a general rule USB capture device alow only mpeg compression. Capturing in Huffyuv with USB device I d`ont think it is posible.

My friend got a dazzle, and I was helping him setup it up on his laptop since it didn't come with 64bit drivers (but they were avalaible on the manufacturer's website).

I was able to capture in Huffyuv using Virtualdub no problem, I didn't even bother touching the software disk it came with.

Better buy tv tuner made for laptops like WinFast ExDTV2300 H. It has component input.

Woah woah woah, WHAT?

I have been searching for a capture card with component for practically a year now, the ONLY one I found was some $350 PCI-E card. I looked everywhere and could not find others in PCI-E, PCI, AGP, or PCMCIA format.

Can it do 720p capture?

Would a 5400RPM drive be fast enough? How about a 7200RPM SATA USB drive?

[guns1inger]

It's PCMCIA, and supports up to 480p : http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overview.asp?lineid=6&pronameid=428

[TBoneit]

Component in @ $249 List, I just saw it today elsewhere @ $204

http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

HD PVR is the world’s first High-Definition video recorder for making real-time H.264 compressed recordings at resolutions up to 1080i. HD-PVR records component video (YCrCb) from cable TV and satellite set top boxes, with a built-in IR blaster to automatically change TV channels for scheduled recordings. Audio is recorded using AAC or Dolby Digital.

There are three formats which you can choose when recording a video:
.TS which is a generic 'transport stream' compatible with many digital media players
.M2TS which is compatible with the Sony Playstation3
. MP4 which is compatible with the XBox360

No tuner. Feed it 1080i and it captures at 1080i, feed it 720p it captures 720p, feed it SD etc.

You must have been looking in the wrong places.

CHeers

[bmo]

I was also going to recommend the Hauppauge HD-PVR mentioned by TBoneit. Here's a link to a review with sample video captured from the device (near the bottom of the page) http://www.geektonic.com/2008/06/hauppauge-hd-pvr-unboxing-first-look.html.

The quality great and sounds like it can do what you're looking for. Although, you will need to save a little bit more money first as it is $200+.

[Reelman472]

If original posters computer details are correct, its going to be very difficult to capture and encode any quality video.

[guns1inger]

If original posters computer details are correct, its going to be very difficult to capture and encode any quality video.

very true. Nothing but mini DV for him, at best.

[Cyber Akuma]

It's PCMCIA, and supports up to 480p : http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overview.asp?lineid=6&pronameid=428

Hmm, I can't find that thing for sale anywhere in the US, even Google barely returns any results on it.

How much would it cost anyway? I was hoping it would be around $50 since most USB capture devices I saw were around that price or less.

If original posters computer details are correct, its going to be very difficult to capture and encode any quality video.

I have multiple systems, the site does not have a way for me to list more than one computer.

I was planning to use my laptop, which is a Dual Core AMD 1.7GHZ system with 4 gigs of DDR2 dual channel ram and runs Windows 7 x64.

[guns1inger]

It retails in Australia for AUD$85 - 105, so probably around the US$60 - 70 mark. But it only does 480p, not real HD.

[Cyber Akuma]

Thats not that bad a price, but I can't seem to find it anywhere..

By the way, this thing just went on sale, is it anything decent? (I am only planning on using the device, not it's included software, I have my own software).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8853797&st=dazzle&type=product&id=1209166068373