Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner...need capture suggestions

[Lcarvone]

I recently installed on old Hauppauge PCI TV tuner in one of my daughter's computers (Conexant 878 based model). The default AVI captures are huge as expected so I am looking for recommendations on alternatives like Divx, Xvid, etc and their proper corresponding audio compression choice to save some space. The system has the following specs:

Mobile Celeron 1.8 Ghz (Socket 478 - 256k cache - overclocked to 2.4 Ghz)
512 megs PC2100 ram
60 gig Maxtor SATA 150 hard drive
GF4 Ti4200 128 meg

Any suggestions based upon experience and/or predicted limitations of the tuner/PC are appreciated

[FulciLives]

Try using PICVideo MJPEG on the "19" quality setting. You still get "big" files but not that big especially compared to some of the other popular codecs such as HuffyUV.

However while PICVideo MJPEG is a great capture codec it is NOT freeware.

Having said that PICVideo MJPEG on the "19" quality setting (the highest setting thus highest quality is "20" but "19" is still very nearly as good with a much smaller size) will give the "best" compression while still giving steller quality.

Unfortunately one should never capture direct to a MPEG-4 codec and yes that includes both Xvid and Divx. Don't do it! Why? Well such codecs compress by a very large factor and do not do a good job when doing this "on-the-fly" which is what is needed when you capture. Also these formats really do not properly support interlaced video yet any video you capture will be interlaced so ... sorry but MPEG-4 is not the answer.

Also you should capture the audio direct to a 16-bit 48k Stereo PCM WAV audio file otherwise you might experience A/V sync issues if you try to use "on-the-fly" compression such as MP3 etc.

For a computer with such a small HDD you need to either add another HDD (internal is best) or perhaps an external but if external make sure it is FIREWIRE and not USB 2.0 as USB 2.0 may not handle the transfer rates needed for capturing purposes.

Another solution would be a USB 2.0 device made for MPEG-2 capture where the device is external and actually does the conversion to MPEG-2 before sending it to the computer via the USB 2.0 connection.

Popular choices there include the ADS Instant DVD 2.0 or the Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2

The benefit of MPEG-2 is that it supports interlaced video and the capture will be DVD ready (assuming you set it up correctly) and file size will be small or at least much smaller than AVI codecs such as HuffyUV and even PICVideo MJPEG.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Lcarvone]

Thanks for the input. I also have a Hauppauge PVr-250 in my main rig where I capture to MPEG2 with no issues. The file size is manageable and I'll use AutoGK to convert to Divx or Xvid later is needed.

Are there any other choices known in the "video compression: and "audio compression" choices within WinTV2000 that may not result in such huge files but still provide decent quality? This card is more of a "backup" so to speak in the evnt that the PVR-250 is busy recording something else at the same time.....

[FulciLives]

Thanks for the input. I also have a Hauppauge PVr-250 in my main rig where I capture to MPEG2 with no issues. The file size is manageable and I'll use AutoGK to convert to Divx or Xvid later is needed.

Are there any other choices known in the "video compression: and "audio compression" choices within WinTV2000 that may not result in such huge files but still provide decent quality? This card is more of a "backup" so to speak in the evnt that the PVR-250 is busy recording something else at the same time.....

Hauppuage WinTV PVR 250 is a great hardware MPEG cpature card. The Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2 has basically the same "guts" but is an external USB 2.0 device.

That is what you should get for the back-up truth be told.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[FulciLives]

That computer the normal Hauppauge PCI TV tuner is hooked up to is fast enough that you might be able to capture direct to MPEG-2 DVD spec if you lower the resolution to Half D1 (352x480 NTSC or 352x576 PAL).

Full D1 (720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL) might be too much for that computer though. You would have to use a program made for that though instead of the Hauppauge software which I don't think supports MPEG-2 capture with the PCI TV tuner version.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Lcarvone]

That computer the normal Hauppauge PCI TV tuner is hooked up to is fast enough that you might be able to capture direct to MPEG-2 DVD spec if you lower the resolution to Half D1 (352x480 NTSC or 352x576 PAL).

Half D1 is actually what I use with my PVR-250 but it is not a resolution option with this card based upon the drop down list.

As for another device this PCI card cost me a grand total of $5 shipped and the Tv Tuner works fine which is worth the money. Just wish I could find a happy meadium between the gargantuan uncompressed format and what this system will handle as far as compression.....

[FulciLives]

That computer the normal Hauppauge PCI TV tuner is hooked up to is fast enough that you might be able to capture direct to MPEG-2 DVD spec if you lower the resolution to Half D1 (352x480 NTSC or 352x576 PAL).

Half D1 is actually what I use with my PVR-250 but it is not a resolution option with this card based upon the drop down list.

As for another device this PCI card cost me a grand total of $5 shipped and the Tv Tuner works fine which is worth the money. Just wish I could find a happy meadium between the gargantuan uncompressed format and what this system will handle as far as compression.....

Well if the PCI card is a BT chipset then you do have options when it comes to drivers and software.

For instance there is the BTwincap driver.

And for software there is iuVCR, TheFlyDS and VirtualVCR amoung others.

Using that driver and software (maybe the software alone) you will be able to capture at Half D1 resolution but ... BEWARE ... BT chipset capture cards (at least the old school PCI Tuner type) give a very soft image when you capture at Half D1 ... probably more so than your Hauppauge WinTV PVR 250. This "softness" is due to how the chipset does the resizing. There is an old massive thread about it but I couldn't find it just now with a quick search but I didn't try so hard either LOL

Anyways ... Good Luck !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman