advc-100 vs. gf4

[mtremel]

Hi,
Im currently using a gf4 to capture analog video from vhs, with the goal of encoding it for dvd use. My question is will the advc-100 give me any benfits over using my gf4? I have a fairly fast machine, so dropped frames are hardly an issue. Will the advc-100 allow me to reduce the time it takes to capture my content to avi? Will it render better quality video, or will dv source only benifit? Just currious, as I have seen many people here seem to be using one. If the quality or the speed would be greater, I could see justifying the $300 for it.

Thanx in advance

[IJM]

Hi,
I'm interested in the answer to this question too, the only difference being that I'll be using a gf3 (non Ti).

But to put the answer into context: in what resolution and fps are you capturing?

Thanks.

Ian.

[mtremel]

I capture at 720x480 at 29.97 (dvd ntsc)...

[TBoneit]

I do not see how the ADVC-100 (which I use) could shorten the capture time since the Video has to play at real time (1 Hour Tape takes 1 hour to capture).

Advantages of the ADVC-100 are much less load on the computer.... I t has a minimal impact on cpu useage on my system when capturing. Secondly it doesn't use your sound card to capture audio. So I find that the ADVC audio to be cleaner.

When I capture with the ADVC-100 I am also on the newsgroups and/or internet, laying out my next DVD, I don't create it until the capture is over tho... I never have a problem with the captures. I have been running the captures through CCE Basic two pass VBR after using a bitrrate calculator and they look good.

on the other hand if you are capturing to MPG format and are happy with the results then save your money. The process I go through does result in better results on fast action scenes tho... Takes longer than direct to mpg format too, even on a pretty fast computer.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
Roger

[Metaluna]

I have both the Canopus box, as well as a Geforce 4200ti VIVO card in my PC. Most Nvidia VIVO cards use a fairly low end Philips NTSC decoder that doesn't do all that great of a job when capturing, IMHO. I've found it to be inferior to my Bt878 capture card (Leadtek Winfast 2000 XP), which in turn is inferior to the Canopus (at least with default settings. I know there are tons of tweaks you can do with 878 cards). I've found the Canopus to give somewhat sharper captures and better detail with less muddy colors. The downside is that it also captures all the noise and timebase errors on the tape with great acuity .

However the biggest improvement in the quality of my VHS captures came with investing in a decent mid-range VCR. I bough a JVC HR-S9911U which is leaps and bounds better than the two consumer VCRs that I tried before (Sony SLV-799, JVC 3900). Of course most of my tapes were recorded with an old JVC deck, so maybe the 9911 is just more compatible with JVC tapes than the Sony.

[mtremel]

Sounds interesting....
Can you still capture the audio through the sound card? How does it do at lower resolutions, say half D1? Does the image stay as sharp? That is something I have found that I can not do. If I capture lower than 720x480 then the image gets blurry...

Thanks for the info 8)

[monoxide77]

one downside i've found to the ADVC-100 is capturing with reds against blues. especially while capturing Aladdin from laserdisc. i don't know if its a DV problem or what. all bright reds seem to bleed. another example is eddie murphy's red pants on Delirious.