Is there a capture card that doesn`t drop frames whatever ?

[Sartori]

I need help in trying to find a capture card , that steadfastly refuses to drop frames (or at most very little) whatever the source (vhs) quality , just a few short notes on names , and I`ll do the rest , if anyone can help please , and thanks in advance for any help .

My Ati AIW Radeon drops like a bastard under duress . I want to convert my old videos (music videos captured off the tv) to dvd .

[Tommyknocker]

Canopus ADVC-100, DAC-100, ADS IDVD, etc. You know, hardware encoders.

[wwaag]

Get a Canopus ADVC-100--top rated capture device. You can capture with no dropped frames and do other things as well--like surf the net, e-mail, etc. The only time I've experienced dropped frames (just a few) was attempting to capture and encode (using CCE) at the same time--I won't do that again. Other advantages include: (1) audio-video synch lock--a common problem reported with other capture devices; and (2) ability to disable macrovision on your VHS tapes. You may spend a few bucks more, but you won't be disappointed. Although I've got a P4-2.53 system now, I used to capture on an old P2-450 with no dropped frames. Recommend this device highly--also Scenalyzer as your capture software--now has a timer which works great. Good luck.

wwaag

[fmctm1sw]

Canopus ADVC-100, DAC-100, ADS IDVD, etc. You know, hardware encoders.

Tommy, this is very interesting to me. So those will not drop any frames at all for beat up VHS tapes? In other words, you would not need a $2500 time base corrector? Will the pass through feature on those DV camcorders do the same thing?

[Tommyknocker]

I use the cheapest of the three I mentioned, the IDVD, while I save up for the AVDC - 100. It captures at 702 x 480 mpeg-2 (or mpeg-1), DV, AVI with no dropped frames. And it came bundled with Video Studio 6, which I often use to frameserve to TMPGEnc with the video server from videotools.net.

Although some DV camcorders have pass through which can accomplish the same thing, not all of them have this feature. My Sony does not, but I will not upgrade just to get that feature, as I have a JVC analog camera as well, so the hardware encoder will be perfect for me, while I let my camera do what they are primarily for.

I capture from VHS to mpeg sometimes, but I have not found a need for a TBC as yet, so I cannot address that question yet.

[wwaag]

Don't forget GIGO--garbage in-garbage out. For VHS, I use a JVC-HR-S9500U that includes a TBC, noise reduction, etc. Although it "cleans up" older tapes pretty well, there are instances when there occurs a "big-time glitch" for want of a better term--picture rolls or video tears. Although there are no reported lost frames, it is apparent that there is a "glitch" in the resulting DV--especially the audio--presumably because of the locked A/V. However, this occurs rarely and you can always edit these frames. Although the JVC has automatic tracking I always disable it and set the tracking manually to avoid the occasional "searching" and audio popping.

I also have a Sony DV camcorder with pass-through and a Sony GV-D200 digital 8 video recorder with pass-through. I've only used the GV-D200 in a test and found that I gradually lost A/V synch (around an hour into the recording)--not a problem with the ADVC-100. For that reason, I've stuck with the Canopus for capturing and use the Sony for archiving DV--plus the Sony has no provision for defeating macrovision. Others, however, have reported no problems capturing if you use Type 1 DV during your capture. Hope this helps.

wwaag

[fmctm1sw]

Don't forget GIGO--garbage in-garbage out. For VHS, I use a JVC-HR-S9500U that includes a TBC, noise reduction, etc.

How much did that set you back?

[wwaag]

Its an SVHS unit that I bought 4-5 years ago--intention was to do analog video editing (big mistake). Think I paid around $400--don't have the receipt handy. Also bought another JVC-S7600U for around $350. Also has TBC but only 2MB rather than 4MB (not really sure it makes that much of a difference). I believe that JVC still makes these (their descendents), although different model #s. Should be cheaper now.

wwaag

[Jayhawk]

I use a Hauppage PVR250 (paid $100 at CompUsa) which has a hardware Mpeg2 encoder onboard. No dropped frames, extremely low cpu load. Captures are 100% compliant and I feed them into MovieFacory2 to create the Video_TS folder (and add menus if you want). Just takes a few seconds. I then use DVD Shrink to crop (if needed) and compress (if needed). You could skip if no cropping or compressing is needed. Burn the output with Nero. They play and look great.

[Solarjetman]

Other advantages include: (1) audio-video synch lock--a common problem reported with other capture

You forgot...
(3) ability to output to tape
(4) ability to watch video on the TV while capturing. So you can turn off preview on your capture program, saving CPU time for the capture
(5) Windows picks it up as a digital camera so no drivers and huge compabitiblity with programs

I love mine.

[Bob W]

If you're in the states then I suggest getting the AVerDVD EZMaker PCI capture card from ComUSA fore a mere $40. It comes with NeoDVD standard software. I have this card in two systems, one with WinXP the other Win2000 and the card never drops a single frame. I have used it to capture about 50 VHS movies that are not yet available on DVD.

[fmctm1sw]

Wow, really beat up ones? That's cool.

P.S. 1300 posts since Februrary? Dude, you really need to get out more....

[emats]

The AVerDVD works great for me too. One thing though, you need to get the upgraded version of NeoDVD to eliminate audio sync issues. It also captures to DV AVI, but not with all software. I use Virtual VCR for this.

[feeras]

wwagg,

FWIW. I am able to capture and encode at the same time. I use Video Vegas for capture and encoding is mostly done using Canopus Procoder. I find it odd because my machine is a lower spec then yours; AMD2000+, 512M, Canopus ADVC50 and Seagate 120G (7200/8M). I can surf the net but it is usually very sluggish and I guess a frustrating. In any case, the priority just drops with the encoding part which means that it takes a little longer. In addition, I'm more careful as to what I do because it could mean me starting the capture all over again. I'm thinking maybe the software used is a contributing factor. Anyone else have any thoughts on this.

Cheers,
feeras

[MrKGB]

Sartori,

you must first find out why you have dropped frames.
there are just 2 main reasons for this:
1. bad source
2. bad system

you can determine which one is a problem by capturing "good" signal, e.g. cable broadcast or from dvd player. if you have dropped frames - your system is the culprit, if no dropped frames - source is the problem.

i feel like the source is a problem, if this is the case i would suggest winfast tv2000, it works very well with very bad signal.
i used to have about 20% of dropped frames with my old avermedia tv/fm98 card while capturing very bad vhs tapes, then i bought winfast and i don't have dropped frames.

[Sartori]

Thank you to everyone who has answered my plea , it was originally for a card (so I can hide it inside the pc , so that I don`t have to explain its existence to the wife) , but the Canopus hardware looks really tasty after tracking down a few reviews - so much so that I`m working on excuses to buy it .
The details of my problems are that its a bad source , its not a defrag or driver problem , it captures without loss over an hour straight off satellite .
I`ve amassed a huge video collection of old music videos dating back to 1983 . One of the tapes looks like its actual digital tv despite being recorded back in 1984 , but the majority have a few glitches in them which makes my Ati go bonkers , it will survive a bit of a glitch but its annoying me .
I`ll be looking in to all the suggested cards/hardware suggested here , ( we should really start a topic of plausible excuses for spending money on video capping hardware or if you are single good self justification reasons , so there`s no guilt anymore ) and also see what is available over this side of the pond .

Anyway thanks to all who posted again .