Is my computer fast enough for video capture?

[EatMoreChickens]

I plan to convert some VHS tapes to VCD with an old Celeron 466mhz w/ 384mb. I have both 7200 and 5400rpm HD's available to put in the system.

I need to get a video capture card of some kind, can this system support this? Some recommendations would be great.

I'm only using it to capture some class lecture material, so the quality isn't that great to begin with. I rather not move my new computer or the VCR into my room. So it would great if I can just use my old system that's just collecting dust.

thanks in advance

[G-man]

Video card capture may be too much for your system, but if you go the firewire route (Canopus advc-100 or MiniDV with analog conversion) it will probably work fine because then you are basically just doing a file transfer with very little processor load.

But it will take a LOOOOoooooonnnnggg time to encode to MPEG in TMPGEnc or similar software encoder.

[housepig]

capture should work without too many problems - I had a Pinnacle DC-10+ in an old p2-300 that would capture without dropping frames.

but G-man is right - conversion on that machine is going to take a looooooooong time.

I would probably network it so you can transfer captured files to a beefier machine for editing and encoding, or make sure it has cd burner, and segment all your captures at 700Mb....

- housepig

[jsnkc]

I hope you have a few months to sit around to render!

[EatMoreChickens]

An option I have for conversion is transfering my files ton my external harddrive and converting them on my P4. So the conversion aspect shouldn't be a problem.

Are there any particular features I need to look for in a card? Or will any one w/ a video-in work. thanks in advance

[housepig]

if you have any devices with an s-video out, get a card with s-video in.

if you want to export back out to VHS or another tape format (non DV) look for one with a video out.

it really depends on your budget. Check the Capture Cards section, look at the ratings on the card (you can search by Highest Rating).

Then look at the prices and see what gives you the most bang for your bucks.

I wanted something that was not tied to my graphics card, would accept s-video in, and was under $100. I ended up with the Aver DVD EZmaker card for $50, and I'm very happy with it. But if you've got $300 (or $500, or $2,000) burning a hole in your pocket, you can find great results at any price point...

- housepig