Firewire or direct?

[EwanG]

System has a firewire board and I have a Canopus ADVC-100 device. System also has an ATi All-In-Wonder radeon video card.

Video source is my TiVO across the room, and signal is sent using a Leapfrog wireless system. Initial fun was finding out how to get my 802.11b network and the Leapfrog to avoid each other (LF set to channel 1, Wireless to channel 6).

Given that I am already getting some signal drop by going Cable-TiVO-Leapfrog, is there any benefit to pulling directly off the AIW card rather than using the Canopus? So far I've used the Canopus because I figured it would do a better job of syncing the audio and video, and so far it has done that quite well. But I'm starting to wonder if I was jumping the gun by assuming the Canopus would do a better job?

Thanks,
Ewan

[edDV]

What format are you capturing to?

Direct S-video cables from Tivo to Canopus ADVC to computer via IEEE-1394 will get the best quality to DV or MPeg2 captures. If you are going for lower quality you have many options there.

I guess you should state your goals first.

[EwanG]

Direct S-video cables from Tivo to Canopus ADVC to computer via IEEE-1394 will get the best quality to DV or MPeg2 captures. If you are going for lower quality you have many options there.

Just to clarify, the actual setup is:

Cable->TiVO->Leapfrog->Leapfrog->Computer

It is the last step I'm curious about. Currently I do:
Leapfrog->Canopus->Kino->ffmpeg
to produce AVIs that I can then then show on either the computer, or hopefully eventually throw back to the TV when I get around to getting another Leapfrog pair (or a new low profile computer I can put in my entertainment center) after I get my tax refund in a few months.

Anyway, the question is, considering the setup above, am I going to notice any better image if the last step were:
Leapfrog->AIW Radeon->XawTV
than what I'm currently getting. IOW, does the Analog->DV conversion in the current last step destroy much detail/quality compared to what I already lose by throwing the image through a TiVO and then across the room?

Thanks,
Ewan

[edDV]

I'd expect leapfrog to be the weak link

I'd test s-video vs leapfrog first then compare the ADVC vs AIW

My bet would be on S-Video and ADVC
With Leapfrog in there you may see no difference ADVC vs AIW

[EwanG]

Well, the problem with the cable option is that it's a rather large room and has children and a largish dog constantly running through it Hence the reason for the Leapfrog.

What I'm hearing is that I probably should be concentrating on getting the small form factor PC I can move into the same cabinet the TiVO is in, and that will have more effect on quality than anything I'm likely to do at the current computer.

That said, anyone have any suggestions for getting a cleaner picture from the Leapfrog - or for that matter is there anyone else out there using one of these?

Thanks,
Ewan

[upshot]

I feel bad for you guys down in texas.. No basements to run all your cables! You should see mine...

[EwanG]

Had some time over the Christmas Holidays, and so thought I would see how the cable option would stack up.

Obviously, I'm doing something wrong.

As stated earlier, the TiVO/Cable Box is about 30 feet from the Canopus. To reduce cross-interference (or at least so I thought) I got a seperate 30 foot RCA stereo cable (red and white loops using gold connectors) and a 30 foot video RCA plug cable. Did not try S-Video, but I expect the results would be the same.

Using the cable, I got a somewhat clearer picture, but a horrible low-level audio hum. Tried using different outputs and kept getting the same result. Tried switching cables, same result.

On the other hand, the Leapfrog (not surprisingly) gives audible clicks and video pops every couple minutes which I assume comes from either the cordless phone, the baby monitor, or my wireless network setup. And if someone decides to use the microwave when I'm recording things get very interesting.

Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Anyone else using the Leapfrog who might have some ideas how to minimize interferrence further? Any idea how to wire things differently so I don't get the hum?

Anyone willing to help me convince my wife we need to move to get a more acceptable furniture arrangement?

Thanks,
Ewan

[edDV]

Does the "horrible low-level audio hum" show in the picture as well? It's due to the different sides of the room using different power circuits and bad house power grounds.

Only solution is to power all the equipment from the same power circuit or use "hum buck" transformers in the video and audio lines. Let me try to find a transformer link.

This gives you the idea, scroll down to Model VGHB-BNC
http://www.elect-spec.com/video_z.htm

In your case, the Leapfrog or something like it may be the best course.

[EwanG]

Does the "horrible low-level audio hum" show in the picture as well? It's due to the different sides of the room using different power circuits and bad house power grounds.

Not sure I like the sound of "bad house power grounds". Is this bad as in, "harms the video/audio" - or is this bad as in, "you might want to have someone look at this before your house burns down..."

Thanks for the info,
Ewan

[edDV]

This is typical when hooking up equipment on separate circuits in house or commercial buildings. I'm no expert on electrical grounding so I won't make the leap to "don't worry".

[EwanG]

Well, just for "the fun of it", I attached the Leapfrog transmitter to the end of the thirty foot cables, and put it one foot away from the receiver - making sure to plug the transmitter (via extension cable) into the same surge protector as the Cable Box and TiVO.

Sure enough, no hum. And at a foot away, no pops either. Not quite the solution I was expecting to find, but I suppose if it works...

Thanks again,
Ewan