GeForce4Ti VIVO - keep or upgrade?

[Mudjock]

I am currently capturing analog video and converting to DVD using a Leadtek GeForce4 Ti4200 VIVO card. Due to Timebase/Macrovision issues, I am using an older driver (Nvidia WDM 1.08). I often like to real-time encode to MPEG2 to save time and HD space, but the picture quality leaves quite a bit to be desired (blockiness, artifacts). I have heard that newer WDM drivers are better in this regard, but am not aware of any for my card that are free of the timebase/Macrovision issues (I did find a version of a WDM 2.20 driver that was supposedly modified to fix this problem, but have not tried it yet as the source may not be completely trustworthy). I really don't want to spend $100's on this, so that seems to leave 4 options.

1. Keep same hardware, find better WDM drivers that work.
2. Give in to the fact that to get quality, I need to capture to .avi and convert from there using a better encoder.
3. Invest a little in better hardware (Hauppage PVR x50 or alternative?)
4. "Cheap" timebase correction (SIMA SED-CM didn't work for me, but it was a cheap ebay purchase and therefore possibly defective).

Can anyone who has dealt with these issues comment on the relative merits of these options (i.e. "Even the best WDM drivers for your device will still yield lousy results compared to a better card or .avi capture")?

Thank you in advance....

[Coop]

Mudjock,

I had a Gainward Ti4200 Vivo card as well, however my capture/conversion results with that card were excellent using the WDM 1.08 capture driver. What codec(s) and program were you using for capturing? Your hardware looks adequate, so I'm not seeing any issues there. I do capture to AVI and then convert to MPEG2 with very good results. The trade off here is obviously time spent having to convert formats, but I find it worth it.

Last month I upgraded to a Gainward Geforce FX 5950 - an obviously faster card with double the amount of RAM. The capturing has been just as solid, with the only noticable issues being weaker noise filters - I ended up needing a $100 Monster power strip to defeat ground loop noise that ended up causing horizontal scrolling bars in the display and audio hum as well.

[Mudjock]

Sorry for not getting back to this sooner, Coop. I agree with you in that I can get pretty good results with the VIVO card if I capture to AVI using VirtualDub (and go through the appropriate filtering if neccesary). My biggest issue is with trying to capture straight to MPEG2 via Leadtek's software encoding (which is very convenient for those quickie "can you make a dvd from this videotape?" projects that get dumped into my lap from time to time).

After a lot more reading on this site - I came to the decision that the first thing I should do is upgrade my front-end gear (VCR) to one of the JVC units with Digipure. I have a refurbished hm-dh40000u d-vhs on the way, which has the digipure circuitry and should also be good for making backups of my dv home videos. If it works out as expected, the improved signal quality should help whatever I am trying to do at the computer. I may continue on to add a full-frame TBC and other goodies depending on how involved the restoration projects get.

[Coop]

Glad to see your reply. I've been capturing using Virtual VCR and the Huffyuv codec. Tried the software enclosed with the card and it was CRAP.

I'm using a Sony SLV-N55 that I bought a few years ago for vHS conversion and it's been great.

I've also been capturing Directv and have had really good results there as well.