Some technical questions about the official EZ cap usb capture device

[jimdagys]

It's rather strange that the EZcap help desk couldn't answer my questions:

We are not sure if the bit rate can be changed.

At any rate, these are my questions:
Since I have a netbook with XP 1.6GHz processor and 1GB memory, and the EZcap website says you need a minimum 1.7Ghz processor (with min 250mb memory), I was concerned if I would be able to capture smoothly. I got the idea (correct me if I am wrong) that if I capture at a bigger bit rate, this would be less taxing on the cpu because the computer would have less compressing to do while capturing. So, Question #1, can I tweek around with the capture bit rate, and then maybe get a smoother capture? I can always reduce the bit rate by re-encoding after I have finished capturing.
Question #2 Is it possible to do some kind of timer record? I mean, if a tv program comes on at 8pm-9pm, can I set something in the morning so the capture will take place from 8-9pm. I don't mind leaving the computer on all day, but I don't want to be capturing all day. If there is no timer device with the unit, is it possible to use Windows to start and stop the capture program by means of setting a future time period?

[danno78]

1.
To avoid any issue regarding CPU power I recommend a capture with hardware mpeg2 encoder. A used Hauppage card (PVR150) or ATI 550 (ATI TV WONDER ELITE) will be a beter solution and the price could be close to EZcap.
Or may go with EZcap and capture as uncompressed and encode later. You need a dedicated hard drive for capture.

2.
Hauppage PVR software should have timer record. With ATI550, Windows XP Media Center Edition or Cyberlink PowerCinema can be used as PVR.

[usually_quiet]

It's rather strange that the EZcap help desk couldn't answer my questions:

We are not sure if the bit rate can be changed.

At any rate, these are my questions:
Since I have a netbook with XP 1.6GHz processor and 1GB memory, and the EZcap website says you need a minimum 1.7Ghz processor (with min 250mb memory), I was concerned if I would be able to capture smoothly. I got the idea (correct me if I am wrong) that if I capture at a bigger bit rate, this would be less taxing on the cpu because the computer would have less compressing to do while capturing. So, Question #1, can I tweek around with the capture bit rate, and then maybe get a smoother capture? I can always reduce the bit rate by re-encoding after I have finished capturing.

It was smart to check the hardware specs before buying a capture device. If you are at or a little below the minimum system specs you are likely to be disappointed with the results you get . You are in a tough spot with a netbook. I don't have a good solution for you.

If you only lower the bitrate that will produce a blockier capture not a smoother one, capturing at full D1 resolution. You'd probably have to decrease the resolution to half D1 and lower the bitrate, but I'm still not sure that will work or that you will be satisfied with VHS-like quality.

The other option is to capture to an external drive using lossless compression and third-party capture software, but most netbooks don't have a USB 3.0 or eSATA port needed to provide a connection that is fast enough to allow it.

I agree with danno78's post above, that a capture device that does hardware encoding will work better for you than either of the above. However, the Happauge PVR 150 and ATI 550 are internal capture devices, so they are not usable with your netbook. Unfortunately I can't suggest a device that will work. All the external USB devices I know about that do hardware encoding are well beyond your budget, even used.

Question #2 Is it possible to do some kind of timer record? I mean, if a tv program comes on at 8pm-9pm, can I set something in the morning so the capture will take place from 8-9pm. I don't mind leaving the computer on all day, but I don't want to be capturing all day. If there is no timer device with the unit, is it possible to use Windows to start and stop the capture program by means of setting a future time period?

I have not come across any standard PVR software that works with a USB 2 pure capture device, except for a few expensive HD USB 2 capture devices from Hauppauge or AVermedia that use hardware H.264 encoding.

I recently read here at Video Help that it might be possible to use rcTVCap with filter graphs from GraphStudio to do timer recordings with a capture device like an EZCap , but I haven't tried it and don't know enough about it to fully endorse that route. I also doubt that this method is beginner friendly.

[Edit]I did remember an external USB 2.0 SD capture device that uses hardware MPEG 2 encoding and would give you the ability to capture video from a set top box. The ATI TV Wonder HD 650 USB. It has a ATSC tuner too. You might find a used one on eBay within your budget.

I had the both PCI version and the PCI-e version at one time. I did test them by capturing the output from my TV converter box. Other Video Help members disliked them because their automatic gain control would sometimes malfunction and make a mess of the picture, but I rarely saw that in my tests. They didn't last long for me. One lasted a year and a half, and I got a lot of use from it in that time. The other lasted only 6 months. Since the digital tuner failed in both cases, if you don't use the digital tuner, yours may last longer.

The Catalyst Media Center software that comes with it works for capture, but I could not get its PVR features to work. I never found a third-party PVR program that I liked for analog capture, except for Windows Media Center, but WMC requires you to install a USB IR receiver with IR blaster capability if using analog capture. rcTVCap with filter graphs from GraphStudio might work.