which vid cap software is best?

[mdplayer82]

I have a TV Wonder PCI. I currently use ATI MMC 7.1 to cap all of my stuff. The problem is on some channels (or some shows), I get this fuzzy line on the very top that is extremely annoying. You can crop edges in the tv mode so I don't realize the fuzzy line is there until I play the capture file. So now I am trying to find a vid cap software that can crop the edges while it's recording. I don't want to cap uncompressed using ATI MMC (so that I can crop the edges manually w/ virtualdub) because I don't have that kind of space and I don't have that kind of time to re-encode it. I tried to use virtualdub but that apparently doesn't work with ATI WDM drivers. I tried Dscaler but that don't work too well either because the capped file would play for a few seconds, then it freezes. Is there any other software that I can use? I heard of PowerVCR II but I don't want to put my hopes on that specific software until I find out for sure whether it can record while cropping the edges or whether it won't even have the annoying fuzzy line when recording.

[darkelf]

alot of those cap programs offer free (albeit limited) demos on their website.

winVCR and the Cinemax WinDVR are two good options.
You should be able to find out of the line goes away.

If you have more time you could use vdub to cap and chop off the annoying line.

[TIbrO]

Hmmm... on the fly cropping, eh? Sounds like you would need quite a monster processor for that, don't you think?
AVI_IO is the best capture program, but it cannot do what you need. Premiere will let you do what you want, but it requires exporting the clipped AVI... and it doesn't render realtime... so in order for you to do it while capturing, you'd have to like get a Pentium 5 or something... hehe...

I would capture the files wth AVI_IO using PICVideo MJPEG, load those up in Premiere, and set them up to export with the annoying fuzz cropped, then just let it render and go to the arcade or something...

[Shabubu]

VirtualDub can crop on the fly, and it doesn't take that much horsepower. Though you may have driver problems using it.

[mdplayer82]

Thx, everyone. I had no idea that it requires that much power to crop on the fly. Virtualdub would be a nice option, but I can't even get the vfw drivers to install properly anymore. Since cropping on the fly is not an option, can someone explain (or guess) at what causes the fuzzy line on the top of the screen? I have DirecTV and the receiver s-video out directly to my tv wonder card. This setup should eliminate/prevent most anomalies from being introduced. So what can cause the fuzzy line on top? I noticed that it only on certain channels and/or certain programs that is being broadcast.

[qaa]

I tried a demo of PowerVCR II, was impressed but do not remember about croping. Try demo to see if it is for you.
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On 2001-11-20 20:32:08, mdplayer82 wrote:
I have a TV Wonder PCI. I currently use ATI MMC 7.1 to cap all of my stuff. The problem is on some channels (or some shows), I get this fuzzy line on the very top that is extremely annoying. You can crop edges in the tv mode so I don't realize the fuzzy line is there until I play the capture file. So now I am trying to find a vid cap software that can crop the edges while it's recording. I don't want to cap uncompressed using ATI MMC (so that I can crop the edges manually w/ virtualdub) because I don't have that kind of space and I don't have that kind of time to re-encode it. I tried to use virtualdub but that apparently doesn't work with ATI WDM drivers. I tried Dscaler but that don't work too well either because the capped file would play for a few seconds, then it freezes. Is there any other software that I can use? I heard of PowerVCR II but I don't want to put my hopes on that specific software until I find out for sure whether it can record while cropping the edges or whether it won't even have the annoying fuzzy line when recording.


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