Help! Can't seem to decide on new capturing device

[bwt]

I need a new capturing device to connect to my Sony EVO -- I'm capturing dozens of Video8 tapes. Preferably USB 3.0 compatible, but I'm open to your suggestions. Quality is my only concern, as these videos are very important to me. My PC specs: http://www.staples.ca/en/ASUS-173-Laptop-24GHz-Intel-i7-3630QM-16GB-RAM-1TB-HDD-G75VW/product_100011_2-CA_1_20001

Also, I'm using Windows 8. It seems near impossible to find one that works with my OS and USB 3.0.

Your advice is very much appreciated. Thanks!

[bendixG15]

Link need fixing

[bwt]

Link need fixing

My apologies, it seems to be working for me. Maybe this will work.


By the way, has anyone used Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle USB 3.0?
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity/models/

[usually_quiet]

A Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle is overkill for this purpose, as well as more finicky than the simpler, less expensive USB 2.0 SD capture devices that most people buy to start out with.

What capture devices have you looked at that you didn't think would work? USB 3.0 is supposed to be backwards compatible for USB 2.0, so I'm not sure why you think capture devices with a USB 2.0 interface won't perform adequately for standard definition analog capture. Also, I'd be surprised if a capture device with Windows 7 64-bit drivers failed to work with Windows 8 64-bit.

[bwt]

Thanks for your reply, usually_quiet. I had a cheap iGrabber from Geniatech, but I can't get it to work on my new PC. Apparently the driver's not compatible with Windows 8.

Honestly, I didn't find the quality that great either, which is why I'm looking for a more solid device. I've looked at a few similar looking devices at TigerDirect, but I just want to ensure that I get the best video quality. They look almost identical to the iGrabber, which doesn't give me much confidence. For example, what's the difference between the StarTech and Sabrent devices, aren't they just branded differently? As for USB 3.0, it isn't really necessary, I just thought since I have it, why not make use of it. I'm thinking maybe I should go with a boxed unit, or are they any different from these cable-type devices?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[usually_quiet]

Thanks for your reply, usually_quiet. I had a cheap iGrabber from Geniatech, but I can't get it to work on my new PC. Apparently the driver's not compatible with Windows 8.

Honestly, I didn't find the quality that great either, which is why I'm looking for a more solid device. I've looked at a few similar looking devices at TigerDirect, but I just want to ensure that I get the best video quality. They look almost identical to the iGrabber, which doesn't give me much confidence. For example, what's the difference between the StarTech and Sabrent devices, aren't they just branded differently? As for USB 3.0, it isn't really necessary, I just thought since I have it, why not make use of it. I'm thinking maybe I should go with a boxed unit, or are they any different from these cable-type devices?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Some of the small USB-stick devices have better chips inside than others. The hardware inside is what matters, not the enclosure.

You might look at StarTech's SVID2USB2 http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-SVID2USB2-S-Video-Composite-Capture/dp/B000O5RIWO One of our members has had good results with it. There is some good Windows 8 driver information under the heading "UPDATE: 1/29/2013" in a review for the StarTech's SVID2USB2 here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R13EG4HUZZRZBW/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_1

Hauppauge's USB Live 2 http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-610-USB-Live-Digitizer-Capture/dp/B0036VO2BI is also worth looking at. It has Windows 7 drivers. Another of our members has had good results with it.

Both of the above use software for encoding, and have a good chance of working with third-party software if you don't like the software provided by the maker.

[bwt]

Great help, I'm definitely looking into these two. Thanks very much for your input.