Canopus ADVC-100 supporters - make your voice heard !!!

[Zetti]

I've been into the world of TV and VHS to DVD recording for some months, I am a very annoyed owner of an AiW card;

After so many research, it seems to me that recording MPEG-2 real time from the Canopus ADVC-100 with Ulead Video Studio stuff IS **THE HOLY GRAIL** :P


It's a shame that in my Country I can only get the Canopus toy by at least $ 400 - in the "black market"....you USA guys go and get it !

Zetti

[Solace]

Great thread. I am almost convinced that this is the hardware for me. I have a couple of questions if someone wouldnt mind answering. I will primarily be using this device to capture VHS video/audio, and audio only from cassette tapes. I will using my soundblaster audigy 2's firewire port to connect to the ADVC. Anyone see anything that would make them advise me not to purchase the ADVC or to purchase something else? Thanks much.

[lordsmurf]

You may want a dedicated firewire card.

[racerxnet]

To Smurf.

Why? Why get another card for firewire, and what exacty is wrong with the card he has? What issues prevent its use on the PC?

[lordsmurf]

To Smurf. Why? Why get another card for firewire, and what exacty is wrong with the card he has? What issues prevent its use on the PC?

Problems have been reported using the ADVC and a firewire that is not on a dedicated card, specifically ones found on Creative audio cards. Why? I don't know, but it does sometimes. So if he has problems, that may be the first thing to look at.

Most firewire found on audio and video cards was an afterthought, and often do not work properly. ATI and Creative are prime examples of added ports that function badly.

[budz]

lordsmurf is correct about the problems using a creative sound card. I read that at some other forum site before I purchased my CANOPUS ADVC-100.

COMPUSA has a firewire card that's not too expensive.
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=305323&pfp=BROWSE

[Phantom Of The Opera]

What about the Adaptec DuoConnect card (three USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire ports). Any known problems there with either the Canopus ADVC-100 or the ADS Pyro A/V Link?

[Solace]

Thanks guys, that was exactly the info I was looking for. Ill look into a dedicated card.

[vcdforme]

Had one, it was OK.
But I returned it and got an ADS Pyro A/V link. Same thing for less than 1/2 the price. I'm thinking that it may be possible that the DataVideo DAC-100 is
in fact the same as the ADS. I look at the two, and the plugs and everything seem to all be in the same positions. Different names, same bo? Anyone know anything?
Make your voices heard with your wallets, get Canopus to lower that ridiculous price. Go ADS Pyro!

[Will Hay]

Problems have been reported using the ADVC and a firewire that is not on a dedicated card, specifically ones found on Creative audio cards. Why? I don't know, but it does sometimes. So if he has problems, that may be the first thing to look at.

Most firewire found on audio and video cards was an afterthought, and often do not work properly. ATI and Creative are prime examples of added ports that function badly.

Another example of this could be here
I'm with smurfie, I've read far too many examples of this.
Will

[pippas]

I know that the ADVC100 is expensive, especially here in the UK, but it does seem to achieve better results than either the ADS or the DAC when capturing from less than pristine VHS sources - judging from several posts on this and other forums.

I chose a slightly cheaper route by going for the ADVC50 - about £100 cheaper - but same Canopus codec.

For those rare occasions where I need to go back to tape, I use the dual head option on my G550 video card - but of course not everyone has a dual head card!

Firewire -in through my Audigy 1 port - no problems here with that - guess I must be lucky

There is of course the dreaded 'black screen' bug with XP SP1 -but that's another story ( and it is quite easy to get round).

regards

roger

[Phantom Of The Opera]

There is of course the dreaded 'black screen' bug with XP SP1 -but that's another story ( and it is quite easy to get round).

regards

roger

What is this dreaded 'black screen' bug? And what is the easy way to get around it?

[pippas]

Phantom-

The'black screen' bug affects the ADVC50 (and I believe the ADVC100 more rarely) by refusing to let the card perform a new capture if the capture program is closed, and then reopened - all you get is a black preview screen and no capture.

It's apparently to do with changes made to the 1394 drivers when XP SP1 was released.

There is a long thread on the Canopus forums about it!

Although Canopus has posted a couple of temporary 'fixes' they are not 100% for everyone.

The only reliable way to cure the problem is to power down the computer, and start again -in my case I go to standby -let the power 'die' and restart by moving the mouse -takes about 30 seconds.

Others have simply fitted a switch to the card supply -even quicker!

Apparently the problem is solved in SP2 (later this year?), although I have seen reports from a beta tester for SP2 who says it is not fixed yet!

In any event, I have found the card to be superb in every other way, and so I (and many others) have learned to live with it!

regards

roger

[WishMaker]

Here's what I want to capture:

1. short 2 sec to 5 minute captures to edit into a montage.
2. 30 minutes at most of some B&W Twilight Zone episodes from VHS
3. Maybe, at some point, transfer my Lazerdiscs onto DVD.
4. I DON'T want to convert back to VHS.

Editing it a huge deal, so would the Canopus ADVC-100 be about
the best way to go?

I have read all the posts on all four pages and realize I may have
some problems with my Sounblaster card, but am willing to work
with that, but not much else.

I just want to get the dang info transfered onto my hard drive and
worry about the rest later. Time is not an issue. However, my limited
computer knowledge is.

Please click on my computer specs first to make sure I have everything
I need to make the Canopus work. Sorry to be so short, but I'm so tired of buying things that don't work. I just want to get some captures on my computer, so I can have something to work and experiment with later.

Thanks!!!!

[WishMaker]

PS: I do have a 1394, but I don't know much about it. I've never used it.

[Will Hay]

4. I DON'T want to convert back to VHS.

Then consider the ADVC-50, not the 100
Will Hay

[rhegedus]

PS: I do have a 1394, but I don't know much about it. I've never used it.

I'd try that first.

[FulciLives]

PS: I do have a 1394, but I don't know much about it. I've never used it.

If you are referring to the Canous ADVC-1394 then that is really all you should need.

My understanding is that the guts of this thing are pretty much the same as the ADVC-100 except the ADVC-1394 is an internal PCI card. The only real difference is I don't think it will decode DV video to analog for output but who really cares about that? Obviously you don't and I don't blame you.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[WishMaker]

I've completely confused myself (not hard for me).

Looking at the back of my computer, there's a retangular w/one end being roundish, port that I've identified in the MB's User Manual as being
an IEEE-1394 Port (Female 1394). That's what I meant by 1394.

That's all I need for the Canopus ADVC-100 to get the analog transfered into a digital format onto my computer, right? (am hoping, at least)

The flow diagram on the Canopus Site http://www.canopus.us/US/products/advc-100/pt_advc-100.asp makes it look like that's all I need isn't it? (Besides some capturing program.)

I know I can capture something with this computer, 'cause I used an old, crappy Dazzle USB device to capture some really crappy, missed frames from a lazerdisc. I don't need a seperate caputre card right?

I'm wondering if it's bad to have the IEEE-1394 port directly located on the MB instead of in a PCI slot...

[tmann]

I've identified in the MB's User Manual as being
an IEEE-1394 Port (Female 1394).

Yes, this the port you need to connect the ADVC-100 device to your computer. As a someone mentioned in a post before, you could also consider the ADVC-50 -- it's less expensive. The ADVC-50 only allows you to capture video into your computer; you can't play the video back out to your VCR (the 100 allows you to go in both directions). It sounds, though, like you're interested in recording back to VHS. So, for this configuration:
VCR -> Computer -> DVD Burner
you can use the 50. For this configuration:
VCR -> Computer -> VCR OR DVD Burner
you would need the 100.

[WishMaker]

Thanks tmann

I like the "box" better as opposed to the in-the-computer ADVC-50.
This way, I can hook it up to other computer's. (There's 4 in 2 different rooms)

I shouldn't say I'd never want to transfer back to VHS. One never knows and with the difference in price being around $60, I'd hate to limit myself, but the main reason is the ADVC-100 is portable.

I'm going to order/buy an ADVC-100 today. (Thanks to all of the info provided)

[proxyx99]

Absolutely. I've had quite a few internal cards and always hated that (seemd my PC was always at the wrong place at the wrong time) sold everything and don't regret my decision (had a lot of money saved for upgrades). Thanks to firewire and USB2 we can enjoy much more freedom to operate, upgrade, replace whatever item. I know that I will never buy anything of that kind (capture thing or hardware encoder) that is internal again. Prices are affordable. Setup, handling is a breeze that way. I wish there was a bigger selection and more competition in that area from well known hardware manufacturers. Just look at digital cameras prices almost hitting the ground.

[dwiesel]

Lordsmurf…After perusing your site and reading your thorough and logical statements, I have to come to value your opinions…so getting an answer to my next series of questions would be greatly appreciated.

Though a newbie, my focus is on HIGH quality MPG…an MPG may look good if you've never created it using another method…then you may see a notable difference. Shouldn't my primary concern be to get a capture card who's main function in deliver the highest quality uncompressed AVI file from an analog source (because, tell me if I'm wrong, but that's what you need to start with -and not DV AVI -- to get the best capture quality). If you're source files are digital and already in DV format, then I guess it's not an issue...but to the folks who seem happy with DV AVI files from analog…have you tried taking that AVI and an uncompressed AVI of the same footage, and convert these to MPG? I think you'll see a difference, I did. By converting first to a DV AVI file, and then to MPG, you have two compression stages…I prefer to have as little compression steps as possible so as to keep as much integrity as possible of the original footage. I know it takes gobs of hard drive space to hold these uncompressed AVI files, but hey, it's worth the quality you get…and once you convert to MPG and create your DVD, you can delete the AVI.

Bottom line: whatever software I use means nothing if the capture card quality is not optimal. Yes?

I've tried Pinnacle Moviebox…it being my first purchase, I thought it delivered a great image, I returned it because the audio was terrible, and wanted the fuller functionality of a PCI card. I also tried and returned Pinnacle Studio Deluxe…it seemed overall great, but for $200 I was wondering if I was paying more for software (which I don't care about) than hardware.

I want to try one more PCI capture card as a final test. I was leaning toward the Canopus, but am glad I read your comments. According to what you're saying, Canopus will not capture in uncompressed AVI, is that correct? But maybe the DV AVI it creates is superior to the DV AVI created by the Pinnacle card? Any ideas anyone?

Can anyone recommend anything $200 or under that delivers the highest quality uncompressed AVI? And please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what we should all be wanting (at least for analog capturing) if we're striving for the highest quality? Thanks for any help.

I've seen a slew of ATI cards at CompUSA and it's hard to know which are just video cards and which have composite/s-video capture ability (the product's box is of little help, as are the associates there).

One more question: do I really need to worry about editing the AVI? Ulead lets me pick start and end points of the MPG's…does this mean re-rendering the MPG and losing additional quality?? I thought it didn't.

[Bondiablo]

I'm thinking that it may be possible that the DataVideo DAC-100 is in fact the same as the ADS. I look at the two, and the plugs and everything seem to all be in the same positions. Different names, same bo? Anyone know anything?

Might want to look at those again, they don't look much alike, the ADS is the only one that has component inputs.

I like the "box" better as opposed to the in-the-computer ADVC-50.
This way, I can hook it up to other computer's.

The ADVC-55 could be the next best option, seems to be just an ADVC-50 in it's own little break out box.

[AjnabiZ]

Can we compare Pinnacle Studio Movie Box DV 9 with Canopus ADV. ?
Since PInnacle Studio Moviebox also costs around $250

I only want to convert VHS tape to my computer for Real Media Streaming.

[FulciLives]

Can we compare Pinnacle Studio Movie Box DV 9 with Canopus ADV. ?
Since PInnacle Studio Moviebox also costs around $250

I only want to convert VHS tape to my computer for Real Media Streaming.

I could see being interested in another similiar device if the price was much less but at the same price ... just go with the Canopus ADVC-100 rather than monkey around.

I mean this thing has been proved more than once with this thread perhaps being the ultimate version of that.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[e.lectronick]

While I used to be a big fan of the ADVC-100, I've since seen FulciLives' screen cap post and decided against the DV codec. I'd prefer to capture to uncompressed AVI, edit, retouch, then do a final render in MPEG2 with AC3 surround.

I just thought I'd throw my two cents in and recommend the ATI Theater 550 Pro based cards. I know the software is crap right now, but there is sooooo much potential in that little chip that some 3rd party is going to write some F@(%!#& software for it. Even if it's only to captue AVI, the filters and pre encode processors are excellent from all tests thus far.

-Erik

[DVWannaB]

Proud owner for about 2.5 years of an ADVC-100. I also owned at one point the PVR-250 card until it mysteriously stopped capping. It ws always fussy in my machine and there were days when I wanted to just rip it to threads . I was not broken apart when it stopped working and happily sold it on ebay (aint life great........... a place to dump your problems on someone else and get money at the same time ) Dont worry, it worked for the buyer.

I see both as advantages and disadvantages. For me having a breakout box, a dependable unit that worked every time I turned it on combined with the no headache of AV synch, was a comfort. The ADVc-100 also cn be used with Mainconcept to capture MPEG2. I tried it as an experiment and it worked. Configuring MC was extremely tricky though. With the ADVC-100, you can preview your capture, but this is dependent on the SW you use, Scenalyzer provides a small preview window (large preview window is not very good). Mainconcept also offers a preview window. So definitely SW dependent for previewing.

The file sizes was one problem I see with the ADVC, especially when you are doing captures and dont have enough time to turn around to immediately edit, filter and encode to DVD. Hard drive space dies quickly with repeated capture. This is in sharp contrast to an MPEG2 direct capture card. Much smaller files sizes and can capture to the moon with a similar hard drive size as previously mentioned with the ADVC.

So, it all comes down to preference really. They both work well. The user/buyer has to decide what is most important. There are many variables at play. A buyer can certainly buy a less expensive DV AVI card and hope that it works like it should. the ADVC-100 proved that it can do and you know what you are getting. AVI from ADVC vs ATI card or a Hauppauge card and which is better. Only the user can know, I guess. We have to be willing to experiment and see which is best. There are 30 day back to store or just sell it to some unsuspecting sucker on the net . So you cant lose here

Finally, let me just say, that if one already has a good DV cam with pass through, I would use that instead of buying an ADVC-100.

EDIT:
WOW!!! Didnt realize this thread was so old. Just looked at the date of the thread start date. 2003!!!!

[pippas]

You're right - this thread is 18 months old! --- same arguments still seem to be raging though!

What does seem to have changed a bit is the idea of using DVD recorders for MPEG 2 capture, rather than 'capture' cards, with all the audio sync. and driver problems that they can bring.

When it comes to DV capture, I still think that the Canopus DV converters have the edge over DV camcorder 'pass through' with regard to audio sync, especially on longer captures.

I do know that I have lost less sleep (and hair!) using Canopus for DV, and a Panasonic DVD recorder for MPEG2 than my brother, who keeps on trying (and failing!) to get reliable capture results with an ATI card!!

[lordsmurf]

This thread was made back when the ADVC was the "site favorite" and kept being referred to as the "bestest ever". People would recommend this card for anything and everything, even when it was not the best choice.

Canopus ADVC = excellent DV captures
ATI AIW = excellent AVI/MPEG captures
Hauppauge = excellent MPEG captures
DVD recorders = excellent MPEG captures (depends on brand)

Not everybody needs DV. In fact, few do.