Which is best? 1 Combo Card, 2 Proprietary Cards, or USB/FW

[hansolo77]

I'm looking to get into the capturing scene and have a question about compatibility. I don't have any models or brands particularily in mind.

I currently have an AGP graphics card which I use for everything. It has no capturing capabilities. To get into capturing, I realize that I must have some type of capturing device on my computer. I've heard that USB devices are great compatability-wise but aren't that great capturing-wise (dropped FPS, etc). I have 2 1394 FireWire ports, but no devices that output to that. I also have some USB 2.0 ports.

My question is; Should I purchase an all out new graphics card that supports VIDEO-IN as well as the standard VIDEO-OUTs, a separate graphics card of lesser output quality for proprietary capturing, or a USB/FireWire external device?

Many thanks to those who reply/help.

- Han

Ps, I've been a great fan of dvdrhelp/vcdhelp/videohelp for a VERY long time. You guys are great!

[redwudz]

It kind of depends on what you plan on capturing. For best quality (IMO), I would recommend a AGP capture card. Since you have a ATI card already, you might check lordsmurfs page for recommendations. http://digitalfaq.com/.

If you want to do it an easier way, with less of a learning curve, something similar to the ADVC-100 might suit you better. It is great with VHS captures.

I'm not a fan of USB devices. Some people swear on them, some at them. I prefer Firewire for ease of use and compatibility.

If you are not planning a lot of capturing, you might be better off with a PCI capture card, at least should be cheaper than the other alternatives.

You really have to consider your video source, it's quality, how much time you want to spend to encode, or edit and also how much money you want to spend to accomplish this.

Just my opinion, there will be others.

[hansolo77]

Thanks for your reply redwudz. I'm actually planning on doing some capturing from a DVR i'm getting from my cable company. I may also be capturing from VHS, but that wouldn't be my main source.