Analog Capture

[pbezares]

Hi everybody, I have an analog camcoder and would like to capture what I have in tape and save in cd so i can view in my standalone dvd player. I am new in this and don't even know which hardware i need to get nice cd's. My computer is Compaq SSF PIII 600mhz, 128MB ram 20gb HD.
thanks in advance to any advice!!!

Pablo

[sommersby]

your computer is ok for what you want to do but you may want to pick up another hard drive, 20 gig would be ok just make sure it is a 7200 rpm model, you will need a capture card, I used a $40 tv99 capture card for over a year before upgrading to an ATI aiw, which is another option if you want to spend a little more and get a better gaming card at the same time and the price has fallen on these to around $100. after getting these things come back and read the guides here and give it a go, any problems you know where to come.

[pbezares]

Thanks, maybe I will need another pc because this one is a small form factor and that means that only have space for 1 hd; unless I can swap mine with a 40GB or more? What about the software?

Pablo

[sommersby]

Generally it is better to capture to a different drive than your os is on, less dropped frames at higher resolutions. But if you are limited by case size than try a bigger drive. But a second drive is a much better way to go.

[equinox]

For software, a good way to go is to capture the video to an AVI file using Virtual Dub (Free), encode it to MPEG using TMPGEnc (Free), and then write it to a cd using Nero (Demo Available). If you have limited HD space, then you can use a program that captures directly to MPEG such as CinePlayer DVR (Demo Available), but that will result in poor video quality.

[pbezares]

Sorry for the delay!
I will try all your advices as soon as I can buy a bigger drive. I am also considering using external scsi drives.
Thanks all
Happy New Year!