Easiest Capture Card to Operate??

[reubenray]

I currently have the Xcapture card and after adjusting (it seems like forever) I have finally got a decent picture. The problem now is audio. I even installed the Maudio DiO this weekend and have still not got it working right. Could all of these problems be avoided if I just got another capture card. It was cheap, so replacing it will not be that big of a deal. The DiO was not so I need to keep it.

What capture card do you recommend for ease of operation, video picture quality and C/D quality audio?

I will have my satellite receiver connected to this via either s-video or composite. The audio will be connected to the sound card via toslink and outputed to my a/v receiver by coaxial. I will be using this similiar to a VCR for watching shows at a later date. At some point in time I will want to transfer these recordings to DVD, so I would need something that is compatible. I have WinXp, a Radion 9500 Plus, AMD Atllon 2000 with the A7N8X Deluxe MB.

[txpharoah]

I find the ATI All In Wonder Radeon cards easy to use. My friend LS even wrote a guide for how to make DVDs using the ATI cards. Link is in my signature.

All cards can be hard or easy. It just depends on your computer knowledge and the availability for guides that specifically outline what you want to do.

In the case of that ATI guide, it transfers VHS/tv/satellite to DVD with markable quality, unsurpassed by any other consumer card I've tested or used, only rivaled by the performance of the more expensive $1K+ Matrox and $1K+ Canopus systems.

[reubenray]

Is the AIW card AGP or PCI? Also how would this work being I already have a Radeon 9500 Plus.

[Yorel]

Another option is the ATI TV@nywhere. It's a dedicated capture card. Works in conjunction with your existing video and sound card. Captures to MPEG1 and MPEG2 with several built in templates, as well as the ability to create your own templates. I capture to a DVD template, then trim in TMPEGEnc, then author and burn.

[txpharoah]

The ATI All In Wonder RADEON (7000-9000 series cards) are the best ones from the series, and most of them are AGP. Some earlier 7000-series cards have PCI.

Some of the other ATI capture cards have known issues and flaws, but may not be as bad working in conjunction with another ATI product. Try one out from a local store, and try it at home. If it's no good, take it back.

[reubenray]

Thanks for the responses. Have a few questions.

Is the Tv@anywhere an ATI or MSI product? I have found info on the MSI, but not ATI.

Is it better to capture in AVI or MPEG? My Xcapture card captures in AVI and the TV@anywhere does not.

I do not want to replace my main video card if at all possible. I downloaded Iuvcr last night and the PQ is great. Will try to record something tonight.

[Nelson37]

ReubenRay, can you describe your audio capture problem? If you are attempting to capture raw AC-3 as opposed to PCM output from your satellite this may be the problem.

Or, if the capture is AC-3 and audible but distorted please describe your capture software?