Which capture card and VCR should I get?

[Mp3Markel]

Hi! I plan on capturing the entire family's Home videos soon and just wondering what everyone would suggest. My computer specs are on my profile if you'd like to see them. I've looked at the reviews and ratings for the Canopus ADVC-50 and it seems to be the most popular. I was wondering if anyone knew how that certain card trassfered the video to your computer. By what I gather you input your video into the card then it has to be outputted with a FireWire connection to your computer, correct? Also, I don't need anything to great but what would be a good VCR/SVCR to get with little artifacting and a decent quality output for under 200 bucks? Thanks alot for any help! -Mark

[thecoalman]

By what I gather you input your video into the card then it has to be outputted with a FireWire connection to your computer, correct?

That's a bout it in a nutshell, it transfers the video as DV-AVI. the same foramat that DV cams use. The reason it's so popular is simply that it works flawlessly for most people.

There's quite a few threads about the differen types of capture cards, page through this forum and you'll find numerous threads.

As far as the VCR and what you use beforehand.... that can make a world of difference especially if your tapes are in poor condition. See the restoration forum for more.

[Mp3Markel]

Alright, thanks alot for your input! I'm so excited to do this! My Great Grandmother and Grandparents are still alive and I know they would be speechless if they saw their old home videos again, especially with custom Menus and other features. My family is pretty big and I know everyone would appreciate it. Thanks again.

[thecoalman]

Alright, thanks alot for your input! I'm so excited to do this! My Great Grandmother and Grandparents are still alive and I know they would be speechless if they saw their old home videos again, especially with custom Menus and other features. My family is pretty big and I know everyone would appreciate it. Thanks again.

There's other alterantives as well, th canopus converts to AVI which in turn has to be converted to MPEG@ which does take time.

Cards such as the Hauppage line or a DVD Recorder for direct MPEG capture can save you the time of this conversion process. On the other hand AVI is better for extensive editing.

Another option is purchasing a DV cam with pass-thru. This will perform similar to what the Canopus does except you get a cam. There's lots of options, again look at some of the threads in this forum for some more ideas. There was quite a few recently and they just about cover everthing.