Capturing AVI Among Different Cards

[Torrential]

Hello all,

I'm going to be capturing in uncompressed AVI format. My question is would it matter if I got a generic chipset Hauppauge WinTV-Go card or an AiW? Since it's uncompressed, would there be a difference in quality between the two cards? Even though the cheaper cards use a btXXX/conextant chipset I don't think there would be a difference between using one of those or a high end card like an AiW. I thought the difference was only in MPEG but more info would be great.

[harley2ride]

I would actually look and compare the specs for the cards. You need to look at the frame rates, record datarates, audio formats, chroma sampling, etc. to determine if the card will do the job or not. Hardware does matter just as much as software does. If you can get by with the results of the haupage card, then go for it. Personally, I do stuff for friends and customers, and I would prefer at least an AIW card. I currently use an ADS PYRO AV/LINK or an internal ADS Firewire card.

[edDV]

Hello all,

I'm going to be capturing in uncompressed AVI format. My question is would it matter if I got a generic chipset Hauppauge WinTV-Go card or an AiW? Since it's uncompressed, would there be a difference in quality between the two cards? Even though the cheaper cards use a btXXX/conextant chipset I don't think there would be a difference between using one of those or a high end card like an AiW. I thought the difference was only in MPEG but more info would be great.

Generic capture-tuner cards use very cheap parts ($2-10 btXXX/conextant chips) but I haven't heard many serious complaints on the A/D or the prefilter when used for consumer level capture.

Pros tend to use more expensive cards
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=....x=0&image.y=0
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/
http://www.aja.com/
http://www.ensembledesigns.com/

but you pay your money and you take your choice.

[Red Hat]

I recommend you get ATI Tv Wonder Pro.

[vhelp]

Evening all.

If absolute quality is desired, then read on..

Noise in captured AVI ...

Well, in my many experiences, I have had nothing but problems with
the final captured AVI being very noisy. And, I've used many capture
cards, but they all produce line noise (noisy black lines) in the
captured AVI. I haven't truely found the exact cause, but I can
safely say that it is not motherboard related, because I have used
many brand mobo's (for Athlon cpu's) and they all have their share in
such noise when the source is based on an internal PCI capture card.
Some examples are: wintv go; i/o magic pvr; ati-tv wonder/ve;
ati-rage fury pro; ati-aiw 9600 and much more.

There is something inside all these capture cards (related) that is
either, not set driver'wise, (a value or param) or is just plain PCI
I/O capture card related. But, the confusion I hit up against, is
when the capture card is a DC10+ card. This card is zero noise.
Anyways..

So, what's the point ...

My point is, that when deciding on a PCI type capture card, I want to
fair warn you, to expect noise in your final captured AVI. VHS is a
little worse. Though most people don't notice it, ..is probably on
account of the use of filters (before ever realizing it) and they
are ablivious from the start.

An alternative ...

If you want noise-less captures, then you have to go External.

By that, I mean something along the lines of a Hardware MPEG card or
an External DV device.. ie, ADVC-100 or dv cam w/ passthrough features.

These two DV type devices will give you noise-free AVI's, (no need for
filtering the final captured AVI) ..leaving you only with fine-tuning
the MPEG encoding.

However, if you are not really serious about quality, and just want
something to do the job, then any such capture card will do.. and your
original choice (wintv-go) will do just fine. I might recommend the
ATI-TV Wonder (anything) I have the ATI-TV Wonder VE, based on the BTxx
chipset, and this card is Macrovision-free. Any newer ATI type cards
with the Theater chip will induce Macrovision (when the source is VHS)

But, personally, I would recommend the ADVC-100 (if you can still find one)
because they are simply the best.. and in my opinion, is the Holy Grail
of capture cards/devices, bar none
(based on my vast experiences)

-vhelp 3599