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  1. So I am new to analog video capture. Basically my grandmother has a ton of old vhs that she wants to move to DVD. I figure it would cost a lot less for me to buy a couple things then it would to have it converted. I see rates at about $20 per tape.

    I have a VCR\DVD combo unit that has RCA out. I bought an RF converter ($7) so that I can connect to the ANT in (coax) of the AIW 650 (it has both a cable and ANT in). I believe that this card can do analog as it picked up a few analog channels when I used to have it connected to a TV antenna.

    I have tried using VirtualVCR and VirtualDub with no luck. they both recognize the card but I can only get static.

    I havent yet tried the setup to a TV but I only have newer HDTV's and am not sure if they will even show anything. I have read that others get captures off this card but I cant seem to get it. I have worked in networking for about 5 years and am in school for programming currently so I am good with most of the terms, wiring etc. I am sure that the wires are correct at this point just cant get any video to show. I have heard that the stock drivers suck and that is what makes this card difficult.

    If anyone has experience using this card and a successful setup please let me know.

    Thanks.
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  2. Member
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    I only know of a TV Wonder HD 650 PCI-e card that is just a TV tuner and analog capture device, but not a video graphics adapter as well, like the All-In-Wonder cards. I used to have one. I had the PCI version too. I think I allowed Windows 7 to find drivers.

    The two devices were a little different when capturing from an analog A/V connection but both could tune analog channel 3 or 4 with no problem, Unfortunately I no longer have either card installed. The PCI-e card died and the PCI card appeared to be failing, so I removed it a few months ago. If you have it, you could try Windows Media Center to see if you can at least get a picture tuning to channel 3 or 4.

    I haven't heard of an HDTV that only has a digital tuner. If you were to add analog channel 3 to the HDTV's channel list and connected the RF modulator to an HDTV, the HDTV should display the signal from the VCR on channel 3. If you see a picture then you will know the VCR and RF modulator work.

    If the tapes are commercial ones rather than home-made recordings, you won't be able to capture them. ATI capture cards won't work if they detect Macrovision protection.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 6th Aug 2012 at 00:55.
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    Your card has no analog inputs. The card have support for S-Video and composite inputs with an external adaptor. See the picture below.

    http://www.legitreviews.com/article/815/2/
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  4. Lone soldier Cauptain's Avatar
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    Its your card?

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    If yes, try Power Director 10 only.

    Update: Some users using Power Director 7/8/9 to avoid some "block like macrovision".


    Claudio
    Last edited by Cauptain; 6th Aug 2012 at 09:30.
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    I am familiar with this product line. Trying to make this card work is going to be difficult. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it was really designed as a TV capture card rather than an "any video source" type of capture card. I'd suggest following Cauptain's suggestion as he's posted before about having good results with Power Director and that has worked with some cards that basically won't work with anything else. Trying to make Windows Media Center work to capture from a VCR is going to be very difficult.
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  6. Most commercial VHS releases in the USA have Macrovision protection. The ATI products won't record such tapes. Off-air and camcorder recordings should be ok but damaged tape can cause the ATI driver to think it sees Macrovision and screw up the picture.

    Unless you use an S-VHS deck with a line time base corrector, or an external TBC, and plan on a lot of filtering, a DVD recorder with built in line TBC will get you a better picture and will be much easier to use. But, like the ATI devices, they won't record Macrovision protected tapes either.
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  7. Thanks Cauptain that is my card. My apologies for the wrong name. I will try power director.

    I have a Magnavox VCR\DVD combo so I may need a TBC. any advice on where to get a good one thats not too expensive.

    thanks for all the quick responses.
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    AVT-8710 is popular with forum users.
    One of the trusted and well-known vendors of this TBC: B&H Photo/Video Pro Video Dept.
    There are others. You might check the forum Tools section.
    Last edited by sanlyn; 23rd Mar 2014 at 07:24.
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    @jstillwell I re-installed my TV Wonder 650 PCI card. It is working but I can't get the analog tuner to work properly with anything but Windows Media Center or a GraphEdit/GraphStudio filter graph. Virtualdub, DScaler, AmaRecTV, Virtual VCR and AmCap didn't work correctly with the analog tuner. I didn't try ChrisTV, which is reputedly able to work with many analog tuners,

    If you want to try making a filter graph yourself here are some basic instructions and an example using HuffYUV as its compressor. This graph has the ability to show what is being captured.You could substitute other compressors but if you want to use the card's MPEG-2 hardware encoder or MPEG-2 software encoder, then the graph would be constructed differently. The graph below worked for me, but since HuffYUV is a lossless compressor and its files are gigantic, I have only made very short test captures. If Windows Media Center is using the analog tuner, you may have to uninstall the tuner from Windows Media Center.


    1. Download GraphStudio and HuffYUV

    2. Add the filters from left to right and connect by dragging and dropping between the pins. If you make a mistake you can remove filters or connections by clicking on them to select (they will be highlighted in blue) and then pressing the Delete key. Your XBar filter will be a little different from mine due to having the PCI-e version of the card.

    Here is where to find the filters:
    ATI AVStream Analog Tuner from Graph->Insert Filter->WDM Streaming Tuners
    ATI AVStream Analog XBAR from Graph->Insert Filter->WDM Streaming Crossbar
    ATI AVStream Analog Capture from Graph->Insert Filter->WDM Streaming Capture
    Infinite Pin Tee Filter from Graph->Insert Filter->Direct Show Filters
    Huffyuv v2.1.1 from Graph->Insert Filter->Direct Show Filters->Video Compressors
    AVI Decompressor from Graph->Insert Filter->Direct Show Filters
    Default DirectSound Device from Graph->Insert Filter->Audio Renderers
    Video Renderer from Graph->Insert Filter->Direct Show Filters
    AVI Mux from from Graph->Insert Filter->Direct Show Filters
    Test.avi from Graph->Insert File Writer

    Connect all your equipment and go to the VCR's menu to provide a stable signal. To configure the TV tuner, right click the analog tuner box in the graph. and enter the information shown. The Status will show "Locked" if the signal has been tuned successfully.

    Save the graph to re-use, but you may have to set up the tuner again when you re-load the graph.

    Start captures with the green arrow control and stop them with the red square control below the menu bar.
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    Last edited by usually_quiet; 6th Aug 2012 at 20:40.
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  10. So power director 10 worked but only from the cable input antenna got me nowhere. i am guessing there is no analog there?

    I am having problems with the audio now and having a little bit of video issues. I guess this is just from the tapes being from the early 90's and a lot of them are the old mini VHS tapes and recorded in the super or long modes so there is a lot of loss of quality.

    Would getting a better VCR (SVHS) with a TBC in it or an external unit help with any of this? I have seen a few units that claim to upscale to HD. Is this really possible? for several hundred dollars I would expect them to work miracles.

    I can provide a link to dl a portion of the file so you can see what I mean. some are actually turning out really well though.

    thanks again for all your help.
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    Originally Posted by jstillwell View Post
    So power director 10 worked but only from the cable input antenna got me nowhere. i am guessing there is no analog there?
    The TV Wonder 650 PCI-e has two tuners, one digital and one analog. The connection marked "ANT IN" is for the digital tuner. The connection marked "TV IN" is for the analog tuner. The TV IN connection worked for analog over-the-air TV broadcasts before those ended in the US, plus FM radio and analog cable.
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  12. Cable channels 2 to 13 are the same as the old broadcast channels 2 to 13. So the analog antenna input should work. But you're better off using composite.
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Cable channels 2 to 13 are the same as the old broadcast channels 2 to 13. So the analog antenna input should work. But you're better off using composite.
    Normally I'd agree, but the TV Wonder 650 PCI-e cards were packaged without a break-out cable, so there is no analog video connection available other than S-Video, and no audio connection other than a 3.5 mm stereo audio port. It is easy enough to find RCA stereo to 3.5mm stereo cables, but compatible breakout cables are hard to find. The breakout cable for the PCI version of the TV Wonder 650 has the wrong number of pins (9). The A/V port for the PCI-e version of the TV Wonder 650 has only 7 pins.

    Since he doesn't have an S-VHS recorder to use for playing the tapes, the coax connection is the only one he can use, unless he can locate the right breakout cable, or find a good composite to S-Video converter. Those inexpensive little unpowered S-Video to Composite adapters usually don't work well going in the opposite direction.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 8th Aug 2012 at 13:24.
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  14. the VCR does have an s-video out and the 650 has an s-video in and the audio in is 3.5 as you all stated. I dont have an s-video cable but I will get one if you all think that it will help with the capture. I can easily make a cable to convert the RCA out to a 3.5mm audio.

    What do you think?
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    Originally Posted by jstillwell View Post
    the VCR does have an s-video out and the 650 has an s-video in and the audio in is 3.5 as you all stated. I dont have an s-video cable but I will get one if you all think that it will help with the capture. I can easily make a cable to convert the RCA out to a 3.5mm audio.

    What do you think?
    If your VCR has an S-video connection you should definitely use that for video instead of the analog tuner. The quality of your captures should be better using S-Video for the video connection.

    If you are in the USA, you can find both an S-Video cable and an RCA stereo to 3.5mm stereo cable in the A/V department of many variety stores, such as K-Mart or Target. RCA stereo to 3.5mm stereo cable are so common and inexpensive that it doesn't make much sense to build one yourself. I have even seen them in a drugstore.
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  16. Looks like the svideo out is only for the DVD side of the player. waste of a few bucks but oh well. hopefully I can find something that will clean up the sound issues I am having.
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