opinon capture card brand

[edlomon]

hello,

im planning on buying a capturing card ofr my machine and so far i found two cards i like:

AVermedia
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100134

Kworld
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100116

now are either brands good? now while im here what brands would you suggest and if possible could you provide a link to it.

much thanks

[redwudz]

That first one is for a Media Center computer. Unless you are using that OS, you wouldn't want that. I would take a look at one of the Hauppauge video cards. They have hardware MPEG encoding. If your destination is a DVD, that saves some time. Editing MPEG video is a little harder, but if you just need to cut out commercials, should work fine.

The Hauppauge 250 is popular: http://www.hauppauge.com/html/wintvpvr250_datasheet.htm If you do a search for 'hauppauge' in the capture card section you will see some other models.

[edlomon]

i didnt catch that

now can the Hauppauge grab off stuff from like a vcr or anything like that? looking at this it looks like a tv tuner card, which isnt bad though i'd like rca output available

I'll look at this and see if anything catches my eye

[Abbadon]

Hi,

The following link will take you directly to a hardware mpeg encoder card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815255002

I do not own one, but I have read good reviews of it, very cheap I have to say.

[lordsmurf]

now can the Hauppauge grab off stuff from like a vcr or anything like that? looking at this it looks like a tv tuner card, which isnt bad though i'd like rca output available

Yes. The tuner coax input is only one of several inputs.

[edlomon]

ok good

earlier a user posted about me to try the 250 model, i have to say i havent found that model anywhere, but i have found the 150 for 99.99

should i just get the 150 model? i just plan to use it for grabbing stuff off my vhs tapes, nothing more.

thanks

[Bjs]

The actual avermedia card you should be looking at for xp or media center :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100008R

Avermedia product's work very well ... I own several , no problem's ...

A 2gig+ cpu is required by most product's .. unless genuine "direct encoding" is performed by device on the fly .

[mats.hogberg]

igrab off stuff from like a vcr

To get good VHS captures, a TBC is generally essential, regardless of capture card used. But I'd recommend the 1/2/350 Hauppage card. In its infancy, the 150 cards suffered from audio problems, but I take it those problems are cured in later series?

/Mats

[edlomon]

i like the card Bjs posted

a TBC i dont think I'll own anytime soon(way too pricy)

so its a battle between the Hauppage card or the AVerMedia card.

i posted on another topic, but i cant find the 250 model anywhere, but i can find the 150 model but so many of you all said it has audio problems, if anyone can tell me if a store that has the 250 model, ill check it out, otherwise i'll probabley go with the AVerMedia card Bjs posted as it looks like what i want for a very good price.

[TheFamilyMan]

If you only want to capture video and don't need a tuner, here are some decent cards that can be found for $30 or less:

http://www.avermedia-usa.com/2005home/product/videocapture/ezmakerpci/ezmakerpci.shtml

http://www.kworldcomputer.com/product/editing/001/dvd_maker_pci.htm

http://www.prolink.com.tw/english/products/multimedia/XCapture.htm (this is a discontinued model though newegg still carries it)

The last two use the same video capture chip (conexant CX2381x) as the hauppage cards. All of these will capture analog video to AVI; they do not have onboard MPEG1/MPEG2 chips. I recommend using VirtualVcr for the capture app, the bundled software for the products can be lacking. Good Luck!

[redwudz]

Hauppaguge renamed the PVR-250 to the 980: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815116602

I have also used a PVR-150 a had no problems with sound or anything else. Even the TV guide program worked perfectly. It's a good value for an inexpensive card. Hardware MPEG-2 encoding is a big time saver if you don't need extensive editing. Or you can edit with the freeware Cuttermaran or a payware editor like MPEG Video Wizard. For authoring, you can use DVDAuthorgui, which is also freeware, or TMPGEnc DVD Author, which, though payware is very easy to use.

I would still favor the 980 card if you have the dollars to spare. If, on the other hand you want the very best quality, use a ATI or similar card and capture in AVI with HuffyUV or PicVideo. The editing will be easier, but you will have to spend time encoding.

[edlomon]

130 bucks is alot to spend on a card

really i was going to use nero for the capturing as it does both AVI & MPEG as well as MPEG-4.

plus i really dont need a PVR system i already have one from my dish-provider, i just need to grab stuff off of my video tapes.

i was really hoping my dazzle item would work but obviously i learned not to think cheap on these things

[Nelson37]

You may not be aware that the Hauppage cards, though good quality, will not capture AVI. Also, the ATI cards will do AVI, as well as real-time MPG. With your processor, IMO the hardware-assisted real-time cap on the ATI will be equivalent to the dedicated-processor capture of the Hauppage card.

Macrovision may be an issue for you, and a TBC may be required to clean up other problems.

I personally have not been impressed with AverMedia products, IMO they are cheap, and I mean cheap as oppossed to inexpensive. Kworld similar.

If you don't already know, VHS is the absolute WORST source you will see, poor quality as well as its own set of unique problems and issues. Royal PITA. Standard cable will give a better capture, digital blows it away, and a downsampled HD feed of the same movie will have you throwing those old VHS conversions into the garbage. These sources can also use the IVTC from the MMC software, which some people think has no use whatsoever.

[edlomon]

im not picky on video quality

so far i have burned some wmv files to dvd that were pretty junky looking

as long as the sound is decent and the picture is viewable I dont care

plus my VCR can make a junky tape look like the tape was never used 30+ times

but i thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

I plan to get the AverMedia item as it suits my needs plus i wont have to go to radio shack to get a special plug for the Hauppage so that i can hook-up my rca jacks