Dropping frames, resolutions, capture card help

[nutbar]

Just started with video capture from my analogue camcorder.
My system is Athlon 1.4ghz, Gigabyte GA7DXR mobo, 60GB Maxtor HDD, Geforce 2MX 32MB, 256MD DDR.
My current capture card is a fairly old Winnov card (not sure of model but dates back to '96) I have managed to capture my video and sound using Adobe Premiere but the amount of dropped frames is amazing - about half!! Also the bottom section of the capture is "fuzzy" - I think this is a common problem but any suggestions on how to remedy these problems would be appreciated. Also I would like to know what is the highest resolution you can capture at in this situation and any suggestions for a good card to buy at the moment - I think mine is a bit old!!

Thanks :P

[debgk]

Hi,

I don't know about your capture card, but you might need a 2nd hard drive for capture. Do you just have the one? What are the specs on the HD? Some of them just aren't fast enough to capture without dropping frames.

A really good resource is www.videoguys.com ... they are also a very reputable vendor with an excellent support and return policy, but you don't have to buy from them - the info they share is "free" - check their resources pages to read about different capture cards and also HD requirements for capture.

I use a dv500 from Pinnacle systems - a decent "middle end" card for both analog and DV capture.

deb

[nutbar]

hi
i will check them out.
it is a 60 gig 7200 speed hd which has separate partitions from the OS.
i think the main problem is the card.
is premiere a good thing to use or are the freeware apps better?
i need the highest quality video i can get at the best resolution too i wouldnt mind getting a card with a tv tuner on it too if i have to buy a new card any suggestions without getting very expensive?
thanx alot

[debgk]

hi,

if you only have the one HD it may be part of your problem. Even if it's partitioned. From what I've read a seperate HD that is dedicated to video capture is really important. How big of a file/ how long is the video you want to capture?

Premiere is great! (just my personal opinion, but I know others who will agree =) It all depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend -- I doubt you can do as much with most of the freeware programs, but I haven't tried them.

Not sure about a TV tuner card -- I know there are some less expensive cards, but they don't have as many features -- is it just for analog, or do you have/ will be moving to DV, too? You can find some cards bundled with video editing software -- depending on your price, some will include premiere -- you need ot compare you system specs with the cards, though, and make sure you have what you need so you won't be disappointed.

did you get a chance to visit the videoguys website yet? They have lots of good info -- much more than I could ever pick out of my brain!!

Have fun!
deb