Hauppauge vs graphics card for captures

[colt4523]

Just wondering what is generally better for capturing video. I have a Hauppauge 401 and a Geforcefx 5900. I am going to be capturing from a VCR w/svideo. So should I go with the Tuner or Vidcard?

[yoda313]

Hello,
I'm not sure what the specs are for the 401 model. I use the wintv pvr250 model. It does direct mpeg encoding. The nice feature of this is most if not all dvd authoring software will read the mpeg file without a glitch. The downside is I can only record in mpeg and no other programs seem to recognise the capture card (for recording purposes).

If avi capture is important to you (ie easy divx conversion) your probably better off with the graphics card. I believe most of them can record directly to avi. This would be easier for conversions. However, some dvd authoring programs may not like the avi codec your using. Though, you may take longer to convert it to dvd (ie tmpgenc dvd author doesn't seem to like avi directly, it needs to be in dvd mpeg mode).

It depends on your final output destination for the card choice. If you want quick and easy conversion to dvd go with the hauppage card. If you want more flexible software choices and encoding choices (ie avi format) go with the graphics card. Good luck.

Kevin
P.S. If you already have both installed go ahead and do a comparison with the same video clip. Do a one minute capture on both cards using the same tape. Compare the ease of recording, file size, compatibility with authoring programs, etc... Then you can more accurately choose which has the better picture quality and functions you want.

[SatStorm]

If you manage to deal with all the issues, then Geforcefx 5900 gonna give you better results.

[fmctm1sw]

Just wondering what is generally better for capturing video. I have a Hauppauge 401 and a Geforcefx 5900. I am going to be capturing from a VCR w/svideo. So should I go with the Tuner or Vidcard?

I have no complaints with my Wintv card. If I am not mistaken, that is the one with a SVHS connection in addition to the RCA/TV/FM radio. I love it.

[colt4523]

I was going to try both but I ran into a couple of problems. First thing was that I had to cut some of the rubber off the vivo adapter to get it to fit into my graphics card. Second, after several problems installing drivers, I finally got them to work. After all of that, I could not get any video from my vcr to show. It turns out that my Hauppauge tv tuner and my graphics card share the same IRQ. I believe this is what is causing my problems. Is there a way to change this so I do not have to uninstall my tv tuner? I am using Winxp home.