PCTV USB Capture

[arp]

Hello,
I have a Pinnacle PCTV USB capture card.
I want to copy my Camcorder tapes (Sonny 8mm) and VHS tapes to DIVX. At now I can't capture with some quality. I work with virtualdub, freevcr, iuvcr, etc... and only can capture 352x288 PAL max resolution. Even this resolution drop many frames (best results 25%). Is too much to get some quality, right? Have DMA HD active. What I can do to improve this?
Thanks

[Thurbs]

Buy a new Capturing device. You will always loose frames and not be able to capture better because of bandwidth loss with a USB capturing device. I fought the USB for a while, gave up and bought a cheap card ($50 bucks) and can now capture much better without frame dropage and better resolution.

Good Luck

[arp]

Thanks, but I have a Notebook, so I need a external capture card right?

[omoses]

Well, with a notebook you have not much choice.
1. Buy a MPEG-Encoding-USB-Device (there is one available...) since these do not exceed the datarate USB ist capable of, you will be able to capture fullsize without problems. The picture on Hardware-MPEG-Encoders is not as good as software-encoders (since these have much more time and can make use of large Memory)
2. Use a Firewire device, such as the Hollywood Bridge. If your laptop has no Firewire-interface, you can add one with a pc-card for about 100$. This will only work with laptops that have fast hard disks, since DV-Video requires a steady stream of 3.6MB/s.

[spidey]

DUde, I totally disagree with you on a analog cap device vs a Hardware Encoder. I have used both a WinTV GO card, and a Dazzle DVC 1 USB. Over the past 2 weeks I have painfully tested both again over and over (as I want to get rid of the external device, solely cause I don't want it sitting on my desk - I just hate external devices....). But, no matter how hard I try, the Dazzle has far superior quality as well as, obviously uses far less disk space.
On the Hauppage I capped with Huffyuv (vid) by 44100 x 224 PCM Aud
On the Dazzle I capped at Mpeg 1 3000 x 224

Both then were re-encoded identically in TMPG. There was no comparison.

[arp]

Does Digital Camcorders "video-in" analog?
If yes, is a way to convert analog videos (link "video-out" of old camcorder 8mm, vcr,... to "video-in" of digital camcorder), since have a firewire port in PC, right?

[PatMar]

don't try so hard.
this card isn't uodated into the latest technologie.
the capture possibility of the PCTV USB device is only 352x288 PAL.
therefor is the PCTV USB not good for video editing.

use an Video editing device that is MENT for video editing not for tv watching.

[arp]

ParMar,

I think the Digital Camcorders don't need capture cards, link to PC by firewire (since PC have this port ofcourse), so in this case i don't use PCTV USB.
Then, if Digital Camcorders have "video-in" analog is a way to convert analog videos.
Link "video-out" of old camcorder 8mm, vcr (VHS), TV card, ... to "video-in" of digital camcorder. Then link Digital Camcorder to PC by Firewire. Is it correct?

[PhArAoH]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-12-07 08:09:27, arp wrote:
Does Digital Camcorders "video-in" analog?
If yes, is a way to convert analog videos (link "video-out" of old camcorder 8mm, vcr,... to "video-in" of digital camcorder), since have a firewire port in PC, right?

</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

I have Sony TRV320 (D digital camera which i connect to my PC via firewire card to capture video without a single dropped frame and quality equal to the source. Only Sony's (some of them, not all) camcorders can be used as analog to digital converter. I do this in two ways:

1. My camcorder can play analog 8mm tapes. The output via Firewire is digital therefore the video is digitized without loss of quality. I can either convert the video to (S)VCD format or record it back on the tape in digital format.
2. If I want to capture that's say a TV program or a VHS tape than I will connect my VCR (video-out)to my Sony camcorder with S-Video cable (video-in) and send the video to my PC via firewire. Again, the captured video is of the same quality as the original. It is not nessesary for a tape to be insterted in the camcorder for this process. Becuase I have a lot of old 8mm tapes I decided to go for Sony Digital camcorder as i can use it to easily digitize my video collection.

[arp]

Thanks PhArAoH,

I had some doubts but now I was to have the certainty that what I thought is possible.
Also I have a camcorder Sony 8mm and seems me that the best way to convert that tapes and other analog sources (VCR, TV for the PC is same to buy a digital one.
Thanks again

[PatMar]

arp

if you are using an camcorder that is sutable for 8 mm tapes then you can capture onto the computer by using Studio 7 or Ulead videostudio 5.

but in most cases these capture programs want to use the time code that is set onto the original tape these timecode cannot always work when they aren´t made with that camcorder.

also is the possibility of connecting the analog device to the camcorder and then to the pc no option because then there will be no time code to retreeve.