CANOPUS AVDC-100 vs STUDIO MOVIEBOX

[Pedro Neves]

Hello:

I am planning to buy an external capture device. I have a Studio AV/DV Deluxe PCI card and it was very expensive. But, it does not give me the final quality i would like to have. For this reason i want to buy something better. I thought in two different devices:
- Canopus AVDC.100
- Studio Moviebox Deluxe

But i am not sure if these external capture devices are good in the final quality they produce. Can somebody please give me an opinion? Which is the better?

If it helps, I dont mind to wait for a day to make a compression from AVI to MPEG2 using TMPGEnc.

Please help

Thanks in advance

Regards,
Pedro Neves

[Will Hay]

I bought the ADVC-100 about a year ago and have never looked back, and still lovingly use the superb TMPGEnc Plus for encoding the superb avi produced by the canopus to mpeg2.
I have played around with the MainConcept mpeg2 softare but stuck with the avi > mpeg2 route.
I can't fault the device but sorry, I've not heard of your alternative.

will

[wwjd]

I have been using the ADVC-100 for over a year now to convert my nearly 20 year old family VHS tapes to DVD. It has worked flawlessly and in my opinion there is minamal loss in quality.

Before going to the ADVC-100 I constantly fought with audio sync issues and with editing problems. I was capturing using an AIW7500 straight to mpeg. I also could not completely stop from losing frames. I have a 2.53Mhz P4 and 512RAM, no matter how much stuff I turned off the AIW dropped frames. The only way I could minimize frame loss was to reduce bit rate to a point where the quality was significantly effected.

I have also found that editing the DV avi file from the ADVC-100 is very easy and less problematic than mpeg. I have run into mpeg files that are hard to cut exactly where you want. I think TDA is a good app but I suggest you take a look at some other inexpensive apps such as Ulead VideoStudio 8. With VS8 you can capture the output from the ADVC via a fire wire, then edit, add chapter points, customize menus and burn the DVD. There are other apps as well.

wwjd

[jimmalenko]

I bought the ADVC-100 about a year ago and have never looked back, and still lovingly use the superb TMPGEnc Plus for encoding the superb avi produced by the canopus to mpeg2. I can't fault the device but sorry, I've not heard of your alternative.

Same here.

I use the ADVC-100 to capture VHS, TV and XBOX signals, then use virtualdub to edit and TMPGEnc Plus to encode. I integrate the editing/encoding processes by way of AVISynth scripting, which IMO makes editing really easy and removes the need for intermediate files between the editing and encoding stages. IMO the quality is as good as source, and if you integrate a few noise reduction filters and the like, you can make improvements to your source.

One thing you might want to consider is that the ADVC-100, ADVC-50 and ADVC-55 are all very similar in functionality, the only exception being that the 100 can output back to an analog medium. If you don't require this functionality then you might be advised to look at the 50 or 55, which are much more cost-effective.

[Liquidant]

I Asked a similar question a while ago. I was about half an hour from getting the ADVC-100 until it was recommended that I get the DAC-100 instead. it's pretty much an identical copy of the ADVC-100 (not made by canopus tho) it removes macrovision without the aid of the so called hack which is needed on the ADVC-100. I've been using it for about a month now with great results, the picture and sound are perfect with no sync problems. Even some 10 year old + video tapes i have have turned out great. The DAC-100 is bi-directional the same as the ADVC

I guess the biggest diffrence and probably the only diffrence between the 2 is the price being nearly £50 cheaper than the ADVC-100

If your going for an external capture device then i would recommend you check out the DAC-100 before you make your mind up you won't be dissapointed.

hope this help m8

heres a link to my post
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=231534

[jimmalenko]

@Liquidant:
Good to hear that you are getting the results you seek. Just one point though:

...it removes macrovision without the aid of the so called hack which is needed on the ADVC-100.

I've never used it, but my understanding was that all you need to do to disable Macrovision with the ADVC-100 is hold the Input Select button down for 20 seconds ? Hardly a hack IMO.

[Will Hay]

.........but my understanding was that all you need to do to disable Macrovision with the ADVC-100 is hold the Input Select button down for 20 seconds

Correct.
It's the ADVC-50 you need to **** with a little, not the ADVC-100.
Will

[jimmalenko]

.........but my understanding was that all you need to do to disable Macrovision with the ADVC-100 is hold the Input Select button down for 20 seconds

Correct.
It's the ADVC-50 you need to **** with a little, not the ADVC-100.
Will

Thanks for clearing that up, Will

[Liquidant]

You are right the canpous can be changed by holding the button down but i have heard that the new or should i say the latest manufactured are unable to remove macrovision with this trick. I think they upgraded the firmware.
some people have said they had problems doing it.

I put it in as the DAC-100 doesn't need anything like that it's macrovision removal is straight out the box.



but thanx for pointing it out

[budz]

To Pedro Neves: I with Will and jimmalenko that the Canopus advc-100 is a good product. I haven't had any problems with the device. I don't need macrovision elimination. I've used the device to convert all my BETA tape collection to DVD. I capture directly from my digital cable box to AVI format then encode with TMPGE PLUS, then author with TMPGE DVD AUTHOR & burn with NERO. It'a a great device to own. You'll always have someone else compare the device with the DAC-100. Do a search in this forum on advc-100 and you'll see how many people are satisfied with the product.

[proxyx99]

Not a single response about Moviebox
I guess you'd need to check Google groups to find out. My advice is this: if you want to edit a lot, you enjoy it, then ADVC-100 is good. If you want to use it as PVR or archival tool for quick problemless jobs without editing then Moviebox may be your tool. As to the Moviebox quality check here: https://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCard=Moviebox&Submit=Search&searchcon...&Search=Search or search Google.
In the hardware MPEG2 encoders group check the Hauppage Win-TV PVR USB2, seems to have an excellent quality, may be an option too.

PS some time ago I was also wondering about ADVC-100 but went for DAC-100 from Datavideo. Cheaper and every bit as good. Check the notes above.

[SLICK RICK]

I have had the ADVC 100 for a little over a year and it is a really great piece of hardware. Work excelent for long captures.

SLICK RICK

[OverBurn]

I've had the DataVideo DAC-100 for a few months now and I high recommend it. I've captured over 2 hours directly to MPEG2 at one time with no sync or any other problems. It also works flawlessly with every capture software I've tried.

[xxiangg]

I have bought MovieBox in May, 2003. It used to have a hanging problem.
After I sent it back to Pinncal to get a flashing new firmware, the
hanging problem is fixed. But it still cannot handle poor quality video
very well. Finally, I bought a ADVC-100 a few month ago. Its capability
to handle poor quality video (like 10 years old video tapes) is obviously
better than MovieBox. If budget it not a concern, get an ADVC.