If money is no object, what is the best capturing software?

[LanEvo7]

I am currently using Virtual Dub to capture from my VCR. I was wondering which capturing software is the best. With the most options and features. I don't care about simplicity of use. Would it be Adobe Premeire, Pinnicle Studio 8, or something else?

[housepig]

depends on what format you want to capture to, and how much you want the app to do besides capturing.

I've played around with tons of apps for capturing, and so far the best for me is iuVCR.

here's why -

- gives me tons of options on settings
- gives me the least amount of problems with audio sync
- easy to use and configure
- more detailed info than I need.

your mileage may vary.

- housepig

[MOVIEGEEK]

What do you want to do once the video is captured?If you want effects go with Pinnacle Studio 8(cons:unstable and poor capturecard support) or Ulead VideoStudio 7(cons:less effects but very stable and good capturecard support).If you have a tv tuner that you want to capture/watch I recommend Cyberlink PowerVCR II.

[LanEvo7]

My capture card is hooked up to my VCR. I want to transfer some series I have over to DVD. My main concert is quality without taking up to much space.

[Redd]

I use PS8. I switched to scLive for capture only due to the problem with audio sync in PS8. scLive has great audio sync, but the volume and picture controls ie. contrast. hue, color and so on arn't available during capture. I would love to be able to have access to those controls on the fly during capture. But it's still better for capture than PS8.

[jsnkc]

Go with a combination of Vegas Video 4 + DVD and a Canopus ADVC-100, That will give you a very powerful editing/capturing program as well as a great analog capturing device. Total it will run you close to $1000, and if you have more money, go with the Canopus ADVC-500.

[RickNwd]

Just my two cents after spending several months in total confusion and testing. I now get good analog captures through my Leadtek A280 VIVO card using Svideo cable and my mb onboard audio. I use Virtual VCR (free)and love its array of features. I did have to drop back to Nvidia ver 1.08 only for the WDM Video Capture to defeat Macrovision. Virtual VCR's new dynamic audio resampling worked magic on previous audio synch problems I had by any other capture program and my frame drops are insignificant (7 or 8) over a 90 minute capture. I also use the Huffyuv codec (free) at best setting to conserve space with my .avi files and have not noticed any loss of quality even at 2:1.

Although Adobe Premiere 6.5 (ebay - 6.5 update sold with old version) has a truly lousy analog capture function, it is an incredibly efficient editing program once you learn the tools and vocabulary. Add to Premiere, Mainconcept's new ver 1.2 or beta 1.3 encoder (free for Premiere users, nominal as standalone) and export with total control. I have tried several variable bit rate settings but finally just settled on using a constant 6 which solved all of my motion problems without costing me time on the dvd disk that I need for my projects. On my system, encoding with Mainconcept's 1.2 is near enough to real time to make me smile.

DVDit PE (ebay) comes next to add titles, chapters etc that seems to work fastest for me if I feed it both an m2v and wav file from Mainconcept instead of what I think is called muxing the two together while encoding. When done, I can preview my authoring and the movie in DVDit, and then either output to my hard drive or directly to my dvd burner. The hard drive option lets me preview my finished movie on a dvd software player and burn afterwards with Nero if I still like it. No big time loss since burning is a separate function either way, just launched automatically in DVDit PE.

I don't pretend to know a lot, but I do know that there are a lot of people looking for guidelines in hopes of achieving vhs conversions to DVD who like me became quickly and totally "mush" headed just as soon as they start reading about real time encoding. In the midst of despair about what to buy, I decided to first learn what individual steps were involved in the conversions most basic form, and how to do those steps in the least expensive way. Now I can be far more informed when later selecting any form of real time encoder, be it hardware or software, that will not compromise quality, sound or my editing requirements.

Last I will mention that I did invest significantly to upgrade my entire computer for speed and 720x480 capture ability. People without a powerful CPU, willing to wait 15 hours and up for encoding a one hour movie, might especially consider buying an analog capture device, like those discussed in this forum, as their front end analog handler.

Thanks all for a great forum and to those whose straightforward posts really helped me over some seemingly inconquerable obstacles. I know I am not the fastest on the block, but my DVD's are definitely as good as the source and maybe even marketable if I don't mind earning $2.00 per hour

Richard