Genuine quandry for the opinionated respondant !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stanross]

Let me get to the point...

While I've been converting, capturing, and burning
for almost a year, I haven't really committed myself
in my hardware and software because I just didn't think
it was there yet. I am ready to take a critical look
at my system and help myself into advancing the art.

This is my system as it stands:

Athlon 2000xp
512 ddr ram
80 gig western digital anniv. with 8 mg buffer
16x10x40 burner
onboard graphics sis 740
firewire, router, laser, belkin surge, 19in tube, etc.

The areas I wish to focus on are:
Capturing tv video and other video -and-
dvd, svcd, & vcd authoring and processing.

ONE, which tv capture (mpeg hardware) and dvd writer
do I chose ?

[I tried a low-cost tv card - tv wonder ve and it is useless
for vcd/svcd production. It only captures mpeg1 in formats
which are non-compliant. Poor quality. Its graphic overlay
(software shortcut) plays havoc with operations.]

[Dvd writers are everywhere. Is it better to get 2 drives for
dvd-2-dvd on-the-fly (if possible) ? Is it better to get a pair
of drives by the same manufacturer to eliminate conflicts ? Is 8x worth the extra $50 bucks ?]

-and-

TWO, what can I do to my system to increase its ability
to complete processing and authoring tasks ?

[Is ram king, processor king, graphics card do anything for me, does the motherboard rule in conjunction with specialized components ?]

[I seem to spend the most time with the red light on the hard drive, they haven't made any large gains in the last 18 months. Is SCSI a big time saver, firewire hookup, single isolated wire lead a big deal ?]

[Does the Operating System make a difference ? I'm still using W98se because the new platforms seem to have more problems, place more demands on hardware, and doesn't really save any time. Only drawback I can find is that newer authoring software has started to require w2000 minimum. I've run it before, but went back to 98 when I encountered conflicts with tv card in w2000.]

I pose these questions because I know there a those of you who excel in authoring and know what demands it places on the system. Unfortunately, you can only get sales people to guess at facts as they tout their next possible commission.

Thanks,

Stan

[redwudz]

Of course all of this is opinion: I would upgrade to W2000 or at least XP. With W98 I spent more time reformatting than using it, not very stable compared to W2000 or XP. Get a DVD burner, 8X is better, 4X is fine. 8X we're still wating for the media price to come down. A DVD rom and a DVD burner is the best setup. Forget DVD to DVD, you need software to backup DVD's, not hardware. As far as capture, it's depends on the quality you want VS the time spent. Video card capture will generally get better quality, but with a sharp learning curve. Hardware, such as a ADVC-100 is easier. If you are using a capture card, try lordsmurf.com for info on capture with a card. A second HD is helpful when capturing or working with large video files. Most newer IDE drives are fast enough, 120G is big enough for most uses. For encoding, a fast CPU is best. Capturing, a good Video card. Hope that covers some of what you asked, others here can add more.

[indolikaa]

CPU is king, with FSB a close second.

That being said, if you want to keep the core of your setup, I'd recommend an ATI All-In-Wonder card with a DVD 4X or 8X burner (I like Optorite myself) and a good editing program like MPEG2-VCR.

I'm capturing DirecTV daily with an Athlon 1200 system and an ATI AIW. Works like a charm.

[jimmalenko]

Of course all of this is opinion: I would upgrade to W2000 or at least XP. Get a DVD burner, 8X is better, 4X is fine. 8X we're still wating for the media price to come down. A DVD rom and a DVD burner is the best setup. Forget DVD to DVD, you need software to backup DVD's, not hardware. As far as capture, it's depends on the quality you want VS the time spent. Hardware, such as a ADVC-100 is easier. If you are using a capture card, try lordsmurf.com for info on capture with a card. A second HD is helpful when capturing or working with large video files. Most newer IDE drives are fast enough, 120G is big enough for most uses. For encoding, a fast CPU is best. Capturing, a good Video card. Hope that covers some of what you asked, others here can add more.

I'm impressed. This sums it up perfectly.

[Glamdring]

I have a Radeon 9500 Pro. I couldn't afford the AIW at the time so that's what I had to go with. What would be the best capture card option if I am wanting to convert VHS tapes to DVD? For example, I have this nifty copy of 'Rad' (please tell me someone knows what I'm talking about) but I want to have it on DVD.

I'm sure I'd find other things that I would like to use the capture card for if the quality works out well enough, but that's the only major example I can think of at this time.
Please do not hijack a topic. Write your own. Thanks
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