New to capturing

[dizidave]

I would like to get into the video capturing game.

Mainly from TV or video....can anyone suggest which cards are good.....i want to spend as little as possible being only a novice.

thx

[PentaMedia UK]

Hi Dizidave

I would say Take a look at the Navis Pro Encoder & Decoder, The card has a Composite & SVideo input and out put(Analog Stereo For sound) i.e you can use the Output to View the Mpegs you have recorded back Via your TV or VCR. The Pre set Mpeg Formats The Navis Pro can record in is VCD, SVCD, Mpeg 1 2Mbps, Mpeg 2 4Mbps, 6Mbps, 8Mbps, 10Mbps, 12Mbps you can also use both CBR & VBR in Mpeg 2.
Also comes with WinDVD & DVD Junior ( to create DVD Titles) if you need any more info please contact me on technical@pentamediaeurope.co.uk

[Dave B]

If you don't have much of a budget, I would recommend starting off with a cheap TV card and seeing how you go.

The PCTV Rave and Hauppage WinTV Go are both cards around the $40 (or £40) price range and will allow you to capture to AVI (uncompressed, MJPEG, HUFFYUV or DIVX) in most resolutions.

Both cards have tuner, composite and s-video inputs

In the long term, you may like to experiment with hardware encoder boards. There is a good list of cards, prices and features on this site at http://www.vcdhelp.com/capturecards.php

[dphirschler]

I am very satisfied with the Pinnacle PCTV Pro. $29 on sale. I still can't get over that price! TV Tuner, S-video and composite inputs, stereo, FM tuner, and a remote control.

Captures at all kinds of resolutions, but I had to use "preview" mode. I don't see a down side to that. Also, had to use Virtual Dub to get the higher resolutions (greater than 352x240). I've captured as high as 640x480 no problem. Haven't tried higher.

Darryl

[loudanddeep]

Hmmmm....

You need to say what you want to DO with the video you capture. That will determine the possible solutions.

Also, what OS, hardware, dvd player, etc. all are a factor.

Read the boards, the What IS, and then ask...

dp

[sommersby]

the tv99 card is a good choice, i used one for over a year before upgrading to an ATI radeon. You can buy these on-line or at shows for under $40.