Best program for capturing MPEG-1 for xVCDs

[888888]

Recently, I bought a TV card. Since then, I have had tons of trouble with various capturing programs. I have a KWorld V-Stream TV878RF that came with Honestech TVR. I have also tried PowerVCR II 3.0 and WinDVR 3. All three of these programs didn't work properly for me.

I only do one thing with my TV card which is capture television shows from cable. I capture MPEG-1 at a video bitrate of 1000kbps so I can fit four 22 minute shows on one CD-R. I take out commericals using M1-Edit and burn the xVCDs using Nero 6.

The Honestech TVR works alright but the captured MPEGs have to be re-multiplexed with M1-Edit to make them work. The main problem with TVR is that the scheduler does not work properly and I have to program a capture every day even though it is on at the same time each day. This is a real pain in the ass. I tried the update from KWorld which completely messed up the program and I had to reinstall it.

PowerVCR seems to be really bad. There is no way to control the recording volume. The scheduler works fine but there is no option for auto-hibernate after recording as with TVR. PowerVCR makes MPEGs that snap, crackle and pop when I put them on xVCD making them unlistenable.

WinDVR apparently has a bug that makes the customizable preferences unusable. That and the scheduler dosn't work.

So finally to my question. What is the best program to capture MPEG-1 in real time. I only need one feature, a scheduler preferably one that auto-hibernates. That is it. I have tried the three top programs for MPEG-1 capture and they all suck. Are there ANY good MPEG-1 capturing programs? I am sure somebody has had success with what I am trying to do.

ALSO, one day, my MPEGs started to capture with a real hissy annoying noise. This happens regardless with any program I capture with. The sound quality used to be great so it really sucks. I think it might have to do with me updating my TV card drivers so I rolled them back but the noise remains. Any ideas.

[888888]

I guess most of you don't feel like reading my long boring post. So let me simplify the question.

What is the best software to use for capturing in real time to MPEG-1 with same specs as VCD except 1000kbps instead of 1150kbps. I plan to make xVCDs with these files. I have tried Honestech TVR, PowerVCR II 3.0 and WinDVR 3 with pretty bad to nonexistant results. I would really appreciate some help.

[fmctm1sw]

If it's the audio given you trouble, try demultiplexing and fooling around with the audio. I've never captured directly to MPG-1 so I know I ain't much help....

Edit: Maybe this... https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=205027

[SatStorm]

xVCDs at 1000KB/s? CBR or VBR? It must look really bad....

Best solution in your case: Realtime mpeg 1 VBR capture, with mainconcept 1.4.1

M1 is not a good solution for cut and join mpegs. There are better programs for this, some even freeware. Look at the tool section.

And don't expect an instant answer to your questions. When you post a question wait a full day for an answer.

Kworld cards works well with old windvr versions only. I think 1.8 (released someday in 2000)

[babyboo]

He waited 4 days before bumping.
I would say that is being very patient

[SatStorm]

Yeah, sorry for that, it seems that I mess up the posts! I was reading other one's title, when I answered this one
You know, when you have open 2 - 3 windows and answer alltogether, sometimes you mess some stuff.

[888888]

xVCDs at 1000KB/s? CBR or VBR? It must look really bad....

CBR, they don't look that great but are almost indistinguishable from standard VCDs. I mostly capture cartoons like Futurama and Family Guy which look alright even at low bitrates. As long as I can fit four episodes on a VCD, I am happy.

I downloaded an updated version of TVR Capture from the KWorld website and that seems to have solved most of the problems I had with the previous version. So half of my problem is solved. Honestech TVR is by far the best capture program I have tried and also has many more features. I think it could use one more update though because there are still a few bugs and issues.

BUT... I have an even bigger problem now. Like I mentioned, there is a loud hiss on all my capures. The first two weeks after I got my card and captured exclusively with Honestech TVR version 1, the sound was very good. There was a hiss but it was hardly noticeable. Then, one day, I did a bunch of stuff- updated to newer drivers from the KWorld website, installed PowerVCR, installed the update patch for TVR (not the whole version, just the patch which didn't work). Since then, a kind of frequency hiss has appeared. I would compare it to the sound a VCR makes in the background of a movie's sound but not quite.

This noise is pretty bad, it is not unbearable but considering I didn't use to have it, I can't continue capturing until I get rid of it. Since then, I have rolled back the drivers to the originals, uninstalled PowerVCR, uninstalled the update, updated my sound card drivers, and tried other capturing programs. I thought it might be an external problem such as the cable going into the TV card, but I can't imagine how one day there is no hiss and the next, it appears. I don't think I can blame my reception either since when I watch TV on my TV set, there is not as much noise.

I want to try to get rid of this hiss at its source, but the only solutions I have found for this kind of issue are programs that get rid of a certain sound frequency. I don't think this is a good option for me.

Thanks.

[888888]

Well the hiss seems to have gotten a little better for some reason. Maybe it was the wires. Nobody has had this kind of problem?

[bottle-necked]

Have you tried changing your cable wires or whatever you're using. May be a bad connector or something. Do you have this sound when connected to another input device like a camera or VCR? I would try some other sources to see if this problem was just a single input or system wide.

Good luck.