Is it good device or just crap ?

[cd090580]

Hi,

On ebay, there are several USB 2.0 video capture devices with analog input and convert to digital.

Do you think it's good devices or just crappy ones ?



Here is the specs given:
USB 2.0 high speed
True plug and play performance
Support NTSC, PAL, Video inputs
Up to 30/24 frames per second at VGA resolution (NTSC/PAL)
Support net meeting and videoconference
Video capture solution for both still and full motion video
Single snap shot button takes still photos at VGA resolution
USB bus power
Support USB remote wake-up
Support high resolution still image capture at 640 x 480
Dimension: 88 (L) x 31 (W) x 21 (H) mm

System Requirement:
USB equipped computer
CPU P3 1G GHz (Real time MPEG -1 capture)
P4 1.8G GHz (Real time MPEG -2 capture)
128MB of RAM
Sound Card, speaker and microphone/line in function required for audio recording
4MB Ram for VGA Card (AGP Type)
Windows 2000/XP


I know it would be better an analog to DV capture via firewire but all these devices are very expensives. All the canopus advc are expensive even on ebay (mostly are sold in the us not in europe on ebay).

[DB83]

I cannot see one that matches this specification (maybe not ebay.co.uk ?)

The ones listed there have a slightly higher spec and capture at full dvd resolution 720*576 PAL.

These are very cheap. And there's an old addage "You get what you pay for"

But they are also cheap enough that if they do not work out as you wish you do not lose a great amount of money.

Maybe someone who has actually used one of these can advise a little more.

[rumplestiltskin]

USB2 video capture devices are, by the nature of the USB2 spec, a compromise. USB2 is built for short bursts of data, not a continuous flow. There are some USB2 TV capture devices (the El Gato units, for example) that have additional hardware to help with the capture.

As DB83 advises, though, you do get what you pay for. Perhaps if you limit the capture size to 320x240 you might get drop-free captures.

[cd090580]

here is one: http://cgi.befr.ebay.be/USB-2-0-Video-capture-Grabber-Creator-Device-Maker-B_W0QQitemZ...QQcmdZViewItem

[JohnnyMalaria]

Since you are in Belgium, I assume PAL is important to you.

It states VGA resolution (640 x 480) - that's not good enough for PAL which requires 576 lines, not 480.

The statement about real-time MPEG2 capture may be misleading - it may be MPEG2 but it may also only be 320 x 240.

[edDV]

My bet is these use software MPeg1, MPeg2 encoding. Note that MPeg is only mentioned under CPU system requirements.

I've used something similar in the past to do simple utility 352x480 dubs from an external tuner to a laptop. Don't expect quality.

[prouton]

Based on the price and the hardware requirements, you can count on them being software encoders -- not hardware based MPEG encoding. Hardware based USB 2.0 encoders work fine, but I would question the ability of USB 2.0 to keep up with the uncompressed data stream these create, especially on something as (relatively) slow as a P4 1.8GHz machine.