usb2 or pci video caapture hardware?

[psykoerik]

Hy there....

i already have a pci tv card (haupagge win tv 878)...but wanted to know..if i instead had an external usb2 video capturing device would tthat be any better?

cus its usb2...would this mean..i wouldnt lose any frames etc? and the vhs-> computer conversion would be really sharp,smooth & crystal clear?

thank you.

[mats.hogberg]

if i instead had an external usb2 video capturing device would tthat be any better?

No, not if the uinterface is the only difference.

/Mats

[jagabo]

YUY2 video (what the PCI card is capturing) at full D1 resolution is about 20 MB/sec. The USB2 spec may be 60 MB/sec (480 Mb/sec) but its real world throughput is closer to 20 MB/sec. Given how close YUY2's bandwith requirement is to USB2's real world performance I believe all USB2 capture devices will have to apply some kind of compression. Most of the USB2 devices capture as MPEG2 or DV. So you may see a drop in quality with USB2. On the other hand, audio sync issues (depending on what device you're talking about) can be much less problematic since the device handles both audio and video in hardware.

[mats.hogberg]

much less problematic since the device handles both audio and video in hardware.

...just like a PCI Hauppage PVR 250.
I don't think frame drops is so much about how you hook it up, as much as how much strain you put on your CPU. (Software vs. hardware encoding cards)

/Mats