Flat out Best Capture Card

[XanaXManX]

Hi, What is the very best capture card, I have a ATI AIW 8500 and my captures are ok I guess but they are far from perfect. This site http://www.tape2dvd.com/services.htm Says it can take VHS and make it look a little better than the original. How? I have done alot of captures like this and I have NEVER had the Captured video be better than the original.

I do this in my spare time.
But if money was not an issue what capture card would I need to get to get quality like that?

[Sulik]

What version of ATI MMC are you using, and how fast is your CPU ?
The 8500 quality depends very much on cpu speed and/or MMC versions.

It might be cheaper to tweak you AIW or invest in a faster CPU before looking at a new capture card, especially if you're satisfied with the uncompressed video quality.

[lordsmurf]

You may to invest some time in my site, www.lordsmurf.com

And it take more than a capture card to improve video. You need a good VCR with filters and you need to use a handful of software filters.

[XanaXManX]

Thanks for the quick replies.

My CPU is a XP 3200+
I think I have the newest version of the MMC. What is the best version?
I am using the Nforce2 chipset if that matters.

My captures are ok but could really use some improvement.

So I might need a better VCR. Do you recomoned any one in particular.

Also, what software filters?

[jdizzy40]

WIN PVR 250, makes the best dam MPEG-2 pies around. It out performs my AT AIW 9800, 9700, 8500DV.

[BKL]

I would recommend using an Av to DV converter such as one of Canopus's products. If you have a digital camcorder, most Sony units for example, you may be able to feed the analog into your camcorder and get DV out. Of course, this approach requires a Firewire interface, but will definitely give you excellent quality.
You can also try using something like the sima Video CopyMaster, model SED-CM. This unit digitally cleans and enhances the VHS signal before capture via whatever device you settle on.

[tweedledee]

I have done alot of captures like this and I have NEVER had the Captured video be better than the original.

Is it possible to make a copy better than the original?

[GKar]

You can go ahead and spend the Big Bucks on a Win PVR 250, or you can get a Dazzle DVC II (Digital Video Creator II) MPEG2 capture weapon for less than $100 on Ebay. I have been very satisfied with it especially after going to http://www.spawns.dk/svcd/ which provided me with TWNH 1.9.5.8 for capturing (Freeware) and a link to the latest Moviestar 4.25. Just make sure you give this card it's own IRQ for best results. I use Win 98/SE so the file splitting function of TWNH 1958 really make life easy as well as full control over VBR/CBR and Bitrate, as well as timed recordings. The results I have received with this card are very good, especially for Satellite TV recordings, but it does a decent job on VHS backups too, just check into the registry fix to lock Audio and Video into sync on the Spawn site.. I bought mine on Ebay for less than $100 delivered BTW.

[lordsmurf]

Is it possible to make a copy better than the original?

Absolutely. I do it frequently.

[vcdforme]

[quote="XanaXManX"]Hi, What is the very best capture card, I have a ATI AIW 8500 and my captures are ok I guess but they are far from perfect.

After reading your post I'm sure gald I didn't get the 8500, I was cautious from my past ATI experiences.
I glad that I got the ADS PYRO A/V Link instead.
Only $150 at Circuit City.
I make VCD's and SVCD's, and this baby is the ticket.
It's a external DV/Firewire Device.

[spectroelectro]

I would second the vote for the Canopus ADVC-100 or Datavideo DAC-100. In my experience these firewire carpture device have the fewest video artifacts of any reasonably-priced (under $1000) capture devices. By cpaturing the same mateiral from laserdisc I've ascertained that the ADVC-100 significantly outperforms even such high-end cards as the Pinnacle DV500. No real-time MPEG-2 card can approach the quality you get by capturing an AVI and then converting it outside of real time using TMPGenc. There are always a few little motion artifacts or other artifacts in real-time-encoded MPEG-2 DVDs, and this includes DVDs created with a Panasonic DMR series.
That said, firewire capture devices will NOT let you use neat softare like AVI_IO or VirtualDubMod to capture with, and this can be a disadvantage.
Tweedledee asked, "Is it possible to create a copy better than the original?"
Yes. The key is to use VirtaulDubMod's video filters or AviSynth's video filter. LordSmurf has authored guides showing people who to do that. It can make a huge difference especially when restoring old videotapes, but also when captruing from older laserdiscs with laser rot. Using the right video filter magically gets rid of the sparkles in the picture, and the laserdisc video becomes DVD quality.