Capture Card Index misleading?

[joejackson]

I'm a newbie trying to decide how to convert Hi8 video into SVCD. This website is a great resource.

BUT, in trying to decide which capture card to use, I have come to realize that the Capture Card index is misleading (unintentionally, I'm sure) with the column about Hardware Codecs. It appears that the hardware codecs that column lists are for decoding, not encoding. Since I assume most of us looking for *capture* information, this has greatly confused me. I could care less about decoding, since, for example, I think watching DVD movies on a PC is a very poor substitute for watching them on even a 27 inch TV from a $120 DVD player.

I humbly submit that a *Capture* Card list ought to emphasis the *capture* features of a card, not the playback features.

How can we find out which cards do encoding in hardware? Are there MJPEG hardware encoders? Or what?

I'd like to recommend to the site owners they add a column to the Capture card list that specifies endcoding capabilities of the cards, especially the hardware capabilities.

Just my 2 cents. Hope my newbie frustration isn't showing through too much in this post.

THANKS! --Joe

[ktnwin]

I think the list really shows the capture capabilities, not just the playback.

[Beavis]

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On 2001-07-12 09:07:19, joejackson wrote:

BUT, in trying to decide which capture card to use, I have come to realize that the Capture Card index is misleading (unintentionally, I'm sure) with the column about Hardware Codecs. It appears that the hardware codecs that column lists are for decoding, not encoding.
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You are not correct. The HW codec column tells you exactly what you want to know.

[joejackson]

Well, it would not be the first time I was wrong about something! So I remain confused...

I thought I read in several places that the ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon cards did MPEG capture with software, not hardware. So according to you (and the capture card list), I can hook my Hi8 video output from my Sony handycam and the ATI will capture that directly into an MPEG2 file with a hardware encoder? (meaning I don't need a fast processor on my computer?)

But the Matrox Marvel only does MJPEG hardware capture, and does not encode to MPEG at all?

Or (as is most likely) maybe I don't understand that column?

I'd sure appreciate futher guidance on this. I'm trying to decide whether to pay more for a faster computer and less for a card with software encoding, or less for a slower computer and get a presumably more expensive card with hardware encoding.

Thanks! --Joe

[tacosalad]

You're right--the column is a bit misleading. However, I think you might have confused us when you tried to tell us "how" it's misleading!

Bear in mind that the information was submitted by assorted users who were often as unsure which codecs their capture card supported in hardware. Hence, there's a lot of inconsistency.

If you disregard the actual name of the column heading, and just assume it always means "real-time codecs" you'll get more accurate information. Even so, it's only as accurate as its author's best-guess. For example, I'm pretty sure the Pinnacle DC10+ doesn't support "uncompressed" captures, but the chart lists it as an option.

It's probably wisest to use the list as a quick guide to choosing a "candidate" capture card, then check the card's actual specifications at the manufacturer's web site.