Capture Card Choice

[Jake802]

Hi! I am just wondering if anyone can suggest a PCI Capture Card to use?
I would like to be able to capture to MPEG2 & AVI. Also i would also like the opition to possibly capture AVI at 720x480 format. I am currently using the ATI HDTV one. It does not allow AVI Captures bigger then 640x480, and I cant get to capture in any other program but the ATI. It will capture but at wierd sizes like 720x240. Thanks everyone.

[FulciLives]

AverMedia DVD EZMaker PCI

This card is best suited for AVI capture though it can do MPEG-2 DVD spec capture IF you have a very fast computer (like a 2.4Ghz P4 or faster).

ATI is probably the "best" card that can do AVI and MPEG-2 well.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Jake802]

Is there a PCI ATI that will capture at 720x480 and work in other programs! I have a P4 3.0E Ghz with 2 GBs of ram so I should be able to do most things Id hope. Does the other card you mentioned handle AVI and MPEG2 well? I mostly want to use the card for converting VHS to DVD. Thanks for the advice though! Ill be looking into that card shortly!

Jake

[jdizzy40]

Win PVR 250 or 500MCE. Works great with Beyond TV. Instant TV, but with a lot of neat options.

[mats.hogberg]

Win PVR 250 or 500MCE. Works great with Beyond TV. Instant TV, but with a lot of neat options.

The downside of the Hauppage cards, is that they only do mpeg captures - no AVI captures. In all honesty, I've never longed for capturing to AVI, but obviously some do... The big bonus is the hardware mpeg encoder, that lets you use your computer for whatever you like while capturing, without any worries over dropped frames and other nastinesses.

/Mats

[reboot]

I shall never regret the day I returned my poor, cheap, BT878 card and got the Hauppauge PVR-250.
No more dropped frames, no more hunting for good capture software, no more re-encoding to mpeg-2, no more audio sync issues.

Now I have two, wanna buy one?

[spiderlegs]

How good is the Canopus DV Raptor MTS2 card? I got it in a bundle. And can I run a VCR straight into it? I have some old VHS tapes from the 1980s I am trying to preserve...