Capture cards experts' advice...

[dan1st]

Hi, this isn't really a technical problem.
But I really need help. I’m a newbie and I don’t actually know anything.

I would actually like to:-
- capture video from analog video (TV/VCR)
- edit them digitally on PC
- burn the videos to VCD

I am still a student and looking for something (that produces good quality) just under $150 or even less.

My problem:-
- I have no idea what capture card to choose as I've seen various kinds and genres in stores (with huge price ranges). I also got numerous recommendations and opinions that differ significantly.

Should I get a tv-tuner?
Dazzle card (will it work for me and which?)?
The ATI All-in-Wonder?
FireWire card (like the Studio Pinnacle DV, will this work on my pc, VHS and tv? Or other Pinnacle products?) I don’t know anything about firewire.
Or other capture cards?
Will I need extra hardware/software?

I am quite confused and don’t really know what to get. Can anyone help me?

I have two PCs to choose from to do the capturing.
One an Athlon Thunderbird 1 GHz, and another a P3 1 GHz.
384 MB SDRAM
Geforce 2 MX
SB Live! Value
20++ GB hdd
50x CD-Rom drive, and an 8x burner.

Help very much appreciated.
Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience caused.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dan1st on 2001-12-02 05:05:08 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dan1st on 2001-12-02 05:05:50 ]</font>

[magicmycote]

False topic=bad netiquette...No one is going to help you this way, although a lot will read it Learn from your mistakes and edit the topic or post a legitmate thread.

[dan1st]

Okay, I apologize for the previous false topic.
I understand you guys are professionals...
I changed the topic, so can anyone offer help?

[rallytbk]

Well, what worked for me:

Studio DC10Plus (under $100)
AVI2VCD (latest Ver and free)
VirtualDub (latest ver and free)
Either Nero (under $70) or Easy CD Creator 5 ($??)

Your capture computer should not have other programs other than the Studio and the above software (the more programs you have, the more the hard drive works to fill space). Try Burning VCD at 2X speed.

And read this website for tips and tricks.

[vhelp]

morning dan1st,

You sound like a potential lazy-body

I saw your first post late last night - but I passed it by!
People like myself (who has come a long way) don't like
to see this kind of deceat (spelling) - anyways, on with
my response - -

The BEST that I can offer you, as a bewbie to get started,
is this (since prob have a 56k like me and
don't want to wait for all those web pages to load)
I'd get myself an offline web site downloader, and
point the URL's to the topics at your left and are color
coded'ly grouped. Then read at my own pase.
The one I use is very small, about 40k in size but does
a great job for me WHEN I need it.

Also, I know this hurts, but you really need to read everything
to your left.
Some day, someone will have something easier for the
newbie to get started, but until THAT day arrives, you'll have
to due with my suggestion above. I wish I could help
further, but I have a lot of projects going on right now,
and I'm pretty bombed out at the moment

But, if you have the time, download some of the sample here
on this website, to your left - see "Tools" and scroll most way
down. There, you'll see samples that you can download, and
in various formats, ie, VCD / SVCD / DVD, etc.
Also, you might wanna jump over to my website and have a
few download of my sample clips as well. The samples are
from various capture cards I have and use.

Note, you'll need to make a few decisios about your goals.
do you want VCD or SVCD, or do you want decent quality that
you can put up with (some tradeoffs) or good quality (also,
some tradeoffs)
Depending on your decision, you'll want to do/try one of the other
or both:
* capture in AVI and then encode, or (hours to process)
* capture in real-time mpeg1/2, or (maybe 2 hours to process)
* capture in hardware mpeg1/2 (maybe 2 hours to process)

But, here's the process in a nut-shell:
* CAPTURE the source "tv/vcr"
* ENCODE the source (avi)
* ?? cut/EDIT your source ??
* BURN to cd (vcd or svcd)
* WATCH it on your tv set and enjoy!

Now that you have the above pretty much layed out, you'll
want to head over to your left and start clicking (reading)
everything in it.

I hope that I've ben helpful
Take some breaks - you're gonna need it!. . .
and, Good luck!

---------------------------------------------
Sample Clips . . .revised web site

[dan1st]

Bah, you got me all wrong...
If you get what I meant, what I want actually is suggestions
or recommendations about WHICH CARD to get...

ps: I'm also on 56k, and I did do some research as I'm a newbie.
(I did do alot of clicking/reading, I spent alot of time online despite my ISP is bloodsucker). I came a long way as well.
I'm not a lazy-body, what's wrong with my spelling?
And no, you haven't actually been helpful...but I appreciate it. Thx~!

Anyone can suggest something good for about $150-$200?
Is the Dazzle DVC good? Should I get something from Pinnacle?
Or are there any better stuff out there?

Have no intentions of being rude or disrespectful,
but any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance...

[TheInformer]

I myself am taking a different track from the majority here.

I'm going to use a Sony DVMC-DA2 media converter to convert the analog source to DV format, then convert that to MPEG-1/2 using TMPGEnc, probably. Downside is that it requires time and a nice sized hard drive. Time is no big deal at present, and I'm going to use two 60 gig HDs in a RAID-0 configuration so the HD space shouldn't be a prob.

[mgruber]

Just buy a $40,00 model based on BT878.
If using Win2K/XP you then download the driver in
http://sourceforge.net/projects/btwincap
and you will get a great start, without spending much money.
Besides anything you do, you will get your headaches.
Usually freeware will work (V-Dub, TMPGEnc). But for cut/edition you will download many, many softwares (and cracks) before finding a decent one. Then you will discover the "good one" is so expensive, that you will continue with a cracked demo...

[sommersby]

ATI AIW 32ddr, on sale at Best Buy for $104 after rebate and $15 gift certificate, Great all around card, thats why it is the editors choice in most PC mags, yes it has driver issues but then most cards do, don't believe it? Just scan the forum. The main reason I went to it was the reviews and I wanted to keep my card count as low as possible, less conficts that way!

[Arepiv]

Get a card based on Connexant chipset BT878. It's cheap, easy to use and quality is good. Lots of drivers also from the digital video community. Look for the S-VHS connector support, it's a must. Pinnacle Studio PC TV Rave was my choice.

In addition, it avoids you getting very nervous with the lack of ATI support (if you ever thought buying an ATI card).

[Joel0607]

Two things:
Vhelp, I love your comments as do most people here. We know it's you when we have to scroll down to read the full message.

And TheInformer, you mentioned using the Sony DA2 to convert to DV, then later convert to mpeg1/2 to edit. Why do that? Isnt there a way to edit DV since that is great quality? Wont you be going backwards?

(I'm not sure about how that works, though. I'm someone who is looking to put a good editing machine together and I'm spoiled having worked on an AVID. I'm hoping to come as close to that as possible with my home computer and I need suggestions.)

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Joel0607 on 2001-12-06 20:15:13 ]</font>