Best capture card PAL-M compatible to capture old VHS films

[vanitas]

Hello there,

I've searched this forum for some time looking for references to pal-m compatible capture cards, but there are few information, and no-one mentions if the cards they are talking about are any good.

I'm looking for some time for a good card mostly to digitalize some old brazillian films to the best quality. The sources are mostly not in great conditions, so I'm considering buying a TBC also. But I'd need some help to see the best card that fits those needs.

So, I need some suggestions: what do you think?? I feel somewhat insecure in buying an expensive card and an expensive TBC and they do not get along too well, or the card does not handle very good PAL-M sources. I'm not sure even about how would be the best way to connect to the card - via RCA or a TV cable (my vcr can do both) - as it would be nice also if I could also capture something from my cable tv (that connects to my vcr)


Thanks in advance!

[edDV]

Quick answer:

Look at a America's version (NTSC and PAL-M) of the ATI All-in-Wonder cards, not the euro PAL version.

Long answer:

Read through this thread and ask more.
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=286530&highlight=palm

[joelson]

Hi Vanitas,

As you can see, I'm from Brazil as well.

All depends on your cpu configuration. If your machine is fast enought, I don't think a TBC would be necessary.

About the capture card, I've heard that Pixelview PlayTV MPEG2 has shown good results and low prices!

You can find some models from Pinnacle... I guess the PCTV captures PAL-M.

Hope I helped you! Valeu!

[vanitas]

hi, sorry for taking so long to answer, I was away with no computer!

edDV: Thank you for your answer. I had already visited this topic, but it seems somewhat difficult to get recommendations of boards from here without asking this specific question, as you had stated there:

The problem remains for over the air analog PAL-M TV capture. For this you need a PAL-M capable tuner-capture card or a PAL-M aware DVD recorder. After capture you are in YUV component space and free from PAL-M.

joelson:
Thans a lot. I've heard good things here from Pixelview as well, Pinnacle as well. But I'm afraid here (from the options from the stores) there are few boards to choose, and they all seem a bit "amateurish", you know?
Thanks for your answer - And my machine has a pentium 4 3GHz . Do you think a TBC is needed?

Obrigado, cara!



I've researched a bit more, so I can be more specific:
I'm searching for the best equipment to capture PAL-M old vhs tapes in a $300-400 range (although if you have a more expensive solution, I could save some money to later)

The main purpouse is to restore and keeping old vhs videos from rottening. I've read on another topic that for old vhs tapes a TBC is recommended. Is this the case? I would need also a PAL-M compatible TBC, wouldn't I?

Does anyone have any suggestion?

Thank you very much

[edDV]

I've researched a bit more, so I can be more specific:
I'm searching for the best equipment to capture PAL-M old vhs tapes in a $300-400 range (although if you have a more expensive solution, I could save some money to later)

As I said before, the Western Hemisphere ATI All-In-Wonder cards are supposed to support PAL-M capture (as stated on the ATI site) but not the European versions. If this is true, you could order from USA mail order.

That is the limit of my research.

The main purpouse is to restore and keeping old vhs videos from rottening. I've read on another topic that for old vhs tapes a TBC is recommended. Is this the case? I would need also a PAL-M compatible TBC, wouldn't I?

There are two reasons to use a TBC: to improve the quality of the capture or to create insulation against Macrovision (so I hear). If you are only making copies of your own VHS recordings from TV or your own camcorder tapes then the TBC becomes an option. You can buy a S-VHS VCR with a simple buit-in line based TBC or use an external $150-300+ model that supports PAL-M. Both of these options require research on your part for PAL-M models.

If you would be happy with simple dub recording, the All-In-Wonder may be all you need. Why not try that first and determine if you need a TBC when you see the results?

[joelson]

Hi!
I don't think a TBC is needed, given that you have a good configuration.

Abracos,
Joelson.

[Caple]

I used a Pixelview PlayTV MPEG2 to transfer some VHS tapes to DVD. Had no problems with it. You can also try the Pixelview PlayTV Pro Ultra (10bits and probably a better quality) but use the drivers from the Brazilian site (older version), otherwise you won't have sound on 3rd party apps.
If you can spend more money you can buy a Pinnacle card. You cand find some on Mercado Livre that are transcoded to PAL-M. Now, if you can spend even more money, the ATI cards are your choice.
I believe those are your options if you are planning to buy it here on Brazil.