ATI AIW - A Few Basic Questions

[Jenny]

Hi there.

I'm looking in to getting the ATI AIW analog capture card.
I read through the reviews (to the left) and they're both good and terrible.

Has anyone had any problems with it using Win98 (SE)?

Is the AIW difficult to use for people new to video editing?

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Here's my system:
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Processor: 700 Mghz
RAM: 448 MB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Video Editing Software: Vegas Video 3.0
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Here's my camera:
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Sony
Handycam Vision
CCD-TRV98 NTSC
Video Hi8
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Thanks for reading.
Jenny

[energy80s]

Hi Jenny, I've had an ATI AIW 128 Pro for nearly a year now. It's not a bad card but is overpriced. I paid about $200 for it. It's a good graphics card / TV Card, but the TV out is rubbish. Also the ATI MultiMedia Software isn't very good (although the new version 7.6 is the best yet) and the card uses WDM drivers which makes it incompatible with a lot of other video software which uses the older VFW drivers. Oh and the direct MPEG1 captures are crap at VCD bitrates, so if you plan to cap directly to VCD standard DON'T go for an ATI card, the PV231 is a much better (and cheaper) bet. However, if you can get a good deal on the card and are prepared to "fiddle" about with it, then go for it!

[Mirror_Image]

Considering that you can get a retail box AIW7500 complete with remote for about $170USD, it's a much better buy than it used to be.

[Tbear]

I have tha ATI AIW rage 128 pro 32Mbs AGP. I use Vdub to capture to AVI W/huffy codec. The biggest thing is to set it up right. If you follow the guide on how to capture with ATI AIW from this site it will be a good capture card for the price. I have used it with Win98se and XP Pro. I use the MMC 7.6 software which is better then 7.1.

[Jenny]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the responses.

I'm only interested in capturing 10 minute video clips (max).

Can the ATI AIW transfer edited video from the PC to the VCR?

Thanks.
Jenny

[techno_1]

NO NO NO!!! DON'T USE IT!!!!

I had HELL with it, even capturing 4 mins!

either a bsod, won't capture, it was the sh****st quality I have ever seen with LARGE FILE SIZES!

ATI dont care about their customers when it comes to capturing.

I had to format the hdd everytime I had to capture something.

I tried it on:

Windows 98SE
Windows 95 OSR2
Windows ME
Windows 2000 PRO

none of them suited!

Techno

[Zogg]

I just started capturing with my AIW Radeon a few weeks ago, and I'm still experimenting with the best capture method. I'm actually pleased with the quality of the raw video I capture. I used Stinky's registry tool to tweak the settings for SVCD capture, and it looks good. I have tried multiple settings based on comments I've seen here in the forum, but the the basic SVCD settings (as tweaked by the tool) seem to work best for me.

I think a lot of the past problems have been with the ATI software, but the last few versions seem to have helped quite a bit. Since the AIW cards do not have h/w on them to help with the capture, it is important to have a decent computer. I have a P3-933MHz, 384Mb, 80GB drive, running XP.

The only real problem I have is with using TMPGenc to edit the video to make it fit onto an 80 minute CD. Now THAT has been an experience. Every time I try to re-encode using VBR the files are all goofed up - the video hangs on the first frame while the sound continues. Or the sound gets out of sync with the video.

The AIW has many features, and does most of them very good but probably none of them excellent. For the money I think it's a good buy.

[Zogg]

Oh yes, the AIW series does have video out, both composite and s-video. You have to pull the sound from your sound card.

I have not yet tried the video out yet. I have read that if you are using it instead of a monitor then the desktop doesn't look very good, but I suspect that video will look better.

[Jenny]

Hi guys.

Oh yes, the AIW series does have video out, both composite and s-video. You have to pull the sound from your sound card.

What does composite mean?

I have not yet tried the video out yet. I have read that if you are using it instead of a monitor then the desktop doesn't look very good, but I suspect that video will look better.

What do you mean: if you are using it instead of a monitor?


Thanks for the help everyone :-)

[Zogg]

I meant the video that comes out of an RCA (yellow) jack. Maybe that's component instead of composite.

With that video output, you can use a TV instead of a monitor, like a WebTV. The resolution of a TV is not as good as a computer monitor, that's why it doesn't look as good. It can be functional, though, if you really want to use it that way.