I currently use a Hauppauge WinTV FM PCI card to capture to avi using AVI_IO, then edit with Virtual Dub, encode to S(X)VCD with TMPGEnc Plus and finally burn to S(X)VCD using Nero. I'm very happy with the results I get but although I am a very patient guy when waiting for the encoding to finish, I often have many video files to encode in a short space of time, so I need a card that can do realtime hardware mpeg encoding!

I have been looking into buying a Leadtek VIVO based card, such as the WinFast A180 DDR TDH MyVIVO http://www.leadtek.com.tw/3d_graphic/winfast_a180_ddrtdh_myvivo_1.shtml or models higher up the range. I'm not sure how the card captures, i.e. does it use software based encoding via a codec like my WinTV card or does it use a realtime hardware mpeg encoder while capturing like the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250? I've read many differing views on the WinTV PVR card and apparently it can't do variable bitrate files, plus it has software compatibility issues.

So please could someone clarify if the Leadtek VIVO cards do realtime hardware mpeg encoding or not.

Thanks for any accurate help,

Ego Shredder