Looking for good external capture device.

[troublechuter1]

Hello.

I am trying to find an external hardware box (preferrably with IEEE1394 OUTPUT) that will let me capture directly to MPG2. I prefer NOT to have a card in my computer for this.

I am considering Pinnacle's Studio MovieBox Deluxe and Pinnacle's Studio MovieBoxDV, or something *like* Plextor's PX-AV100U.

Could someone please answer the following questions? If you don't know the answer, please say so, even if the answer is simply, "I don't know." Also, if you have actually USED the product(s), could you please note that? Thanks.

1. Does Pinnacle still offer MovieBOX DV version?

2. I thought that I saw or read somewhere that the MovieBOX USB product has an IEEE1394 output port. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

3. Does Plextor offer a box that outputs IEEE1394 (Firewire), or do they only have USB2 offerings?

4. I have heard bad things about Pinnacle's products, especially their software. Has anyone used Pinnacle's MovieBox hardware products with other software, such as Adobe Premiere Elements? (Please BE SPECIFIC when specifying brands and model numbers.)

5. Has anyone used Plextor's hardware capture products with "other" software, such as Adobe Premiere Elements? (Please BE SPECIFIC when specifying brands and model numbers.)

6. Are there any other high-quality external capture devices that would meet the criteria I mentioned above? (Price range is about $200.00)

Thank you!

[harley2ride]

Go take a look at www.videoguys.com. They recommend the ADS PYRO AV/Link, the Canopus ADVC100, and some others. The ADS PYRO can be had for around $150.00. I've used one for over a year now with no problems.

[redwudz]

One thing to keep in mind if you really want to capture directly to MPEG is you will have little control over the quality, that will be set by the hardware encoder. And MPEG-2 is more difficult to edit, if you need to do extensive editing.

I use a Canopus ADVC-100 for those reasons. DV is very easy to edit and has less sync problems after editing than MPEG does. And I can encode it any way I like. The downside is that it takes more time.

However, if you don't need to edit and you are satisfied with the quality of the hardware encoder, that method is certainly faster and easier.

[troublechuter1]

Thanks, Redwudz.

When you say "extensive editing," what are some specific examples of what you mean? (Everyone seems to have their own opinion of what extensive means.)

Again, I've heard others say that, for scene cutting, working in MPEG2 directly is fine.

Thanks for the reminder about the hardware being a limiting factor. That's GREAT to keep in mind!

[redwudz]

Actually, my definition of 'extensive editing' would be cutting and pasting between several video files with the same specifications or moving clips around within a existing video. Or doing similar with audio tracks.

Generally just cutting out parts from a MPEG file is safe enough, as in editing out commercials. But still, you would want to use an decent editor like MPEG-VCR or similar. I take my caution about MPEG editing from the amount of sync problems I see reported from posters on this site. Bad joins can cause a lot of problems.

[troublechuter1]

Thanks, Red!

I have tried the trial version of VideoRedo Plus and am thinking of purchasing that. I've got to play with it a little more, however, before I make a final decision. (Who has free time for all this stuff, anyway?! :: )