What Capture Card/External Box??

[David_UK2002]

Can someone please suggest a capture card or box for creating high quality MPEG'S.

I had a Pinnacle Studio MP10 which I was extremely pleased with but now I have XP I need to change it due to lack of new drivers. I tried a Hauppauge PVR but the sound/picture quality is pretty bad and I don't like Hauppauge products, also I don't have Fire Wire output on my VCR so it has to be composite input. Anyone that gets very high quality video/audio from their capture device please post a reply

many thanks!

[loudanddeep]

Ok, if you read and do research for a long long time (as I have) you will....

Come to the conclusion that no one product is better.

Dazzle DVCII - some love it, some hate it.
PV 23x - a lot more love it.
ADS USB Instant dvd - might be really good.

Ok I think 99% of the devices out there capture video seperate from audio, and that is the problem. It *can* cause AV sync problems.

Supposedly the Snazzi III does both in hardware, but noone has tested it yet, and it is a bit pricy, when you take the shipping and bank fees in to account.

personally, I think I am going with the ADS...

good luck.

dp

[next]

This A/V sync thing had me going for the longest time. If you are having A/V sync problems my suggestion is to complain to your hardware/software provider loud and long enough until they fix it.

I realize this is not the proper forum or thread for these comments but A/V sync issues seem to pop up everywhere. I took a long look at the problem and came to the conclusion that it most likely was a timing issue between the capture device and the sound card. I came up with a solution for my real time mpeg2 captures that involved using a couple of programs that fixed the problem (none of that audio offset stuff though, too much of a guessing game for me). A slight pain but still 1/10 the time required to reencode or go the AVI - Mpeg2 route.

I use AIW Pro 128's to capture (great quality by the way if you know what you are doing). Then ATI comes out with MMC 7.5 and "poof" the A/V sync problems are gone. Not even a hint of an A/V sync problem on Mpeg2 captures - either VBR or CBR to SVCD. Real time SVCD if you use Mpeg2vcr to edit. ATI does a simple software upgrade and the problems go away.

So my advise is to beat the heck out of your hardware/software providers until they get it right.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: next on 2002-01-10 21:11:13 ]</font>

[loudanddeep]

Ok,

I thought the ATI did a "software/hardware" mpg capture.
Meaning, that your cpu does most of the work.

If this is true, what level processor are you using to do this (once you get mem above a certain level, the cpu is the constraint, and mem is cheap)?

dp

[tazzila]

Just bought a canopus ADVC-100 This captures both analog and DV with input and output for both sources. It can capture and output thru composit cables s video and firewire. it captures sound and video at the same time and lock the audio to the video so there is no sync problem. The canopus hooks to your computer thru firewire. I am using pinnacle studio 7 For my capture software and also convert my captured video to vcd format with it. The results are really good.

[dood]

Yes, but with that Canopus you still have to software ENCODE to MPG2 to use the files for DVD. Too much time involved.

[tazzila]

may be time consuming but the end results are really good seem like that is more than what people can say about most capture devices. So do you want to save time and end up with crap or spend some extra time and end up with something that was worth your time and something you will keep. Its up to you time spent = quality time saved = CRAP

I am thinking of getting a ADVC, and would like to use the TMPG encoder to encode my footage to Mpeg 2. What settings do you use, and do you think the quality is as good or better than some mpeg cards like Instant DVD and such.
Thanks

[AdamB]

Great topic and the same question I wanted to ask.
I have 50+ Hi8 tapes and 20+ DV tapes I want to convert to DVD or xVCD, so I would like a soluion with S Video and DV inputs??
Where would the ATI RADEON 8500DV fit? Is this as good as ADS USB Instant DVD?
Does anyone do a hardware MPEG solution that handles both the video and audio?
Would the Matrox 2000 or 2500 fit the bill? Anyone using this who could provide feedback? Does this do MPEG1 and 2 with the ability to change encoding rates? Does it do a DVD complient stream?
Has anyone experiance with the NAVIS-Pro?
Any input appreciated.

[PentaMedia UK]

Info about the Navis Pro:
the Navis Pro is a Encoder & Decoder card that has a Composite & SVideo input and out put(Analog Stereo For sound) i.e you can use the Output to View the Mpegs you have recorded back Via your TV or VCR. The Pre set Mpeg Formats The Navis Pro can record in is VCD, SVCD, Mpeg 1 2Mbps, Mpeg 2 4Mbps, 6Mbps, 8Mbps, 10Mbps, 12Mbps you can also use both CBR & VBR in Mpeg 2.
Also comes with WinDVD & DVD Junior ( to create DVD Titles) if you need any more info please contact me on, technical@pentamediaeurope.co.uk


_________________
Regards
David Hopwood
Technical Consultant
PentaMedia (Europe) Ltd. www.pentamedia.com(European Driver Download page) www.pentamedia.com
PentaMedia (EUROPE) Ltd

[Lamont Cranston]

This A/V sync thing had me going for the longest time. If you are having A/V sync problems my suggestion is to complain to your hardware/software provider loud and long enough until they fix it.

I realize this is not the proper forum or thread for these comments but A/V sync issues seem to pop up everywhere. I took a long look at the problem and came to the conclusion that it most likely was a timing issue between the capture device and the sound card. I came up with a solution for my real time mpeg2 captures that involved using a couple of programs that fixed the problem (none of that audio offset stuff though, too much of a guessing game for me). A slight pain but still 1/10 the time required to reencode or go the AVI - Mpeg2 route.

I use AIW Pro 128's to capture (great quality by the way if you know what you are doing). Then ATI comes out with MMC 7.5 and "poof" the A/V sync problems are gone. Not even a hint of an A/V sync problem on Mpeg2 captures - either VBR or CBR to SVCD. Real time SVCD if you use Mpeg2vcr to edit. ATI does a simple software upgrade and the problems go away.

So my advise is to beat the heck out of your hardware/software providers until they get it right.

Which ATI Driver are you using wiht the AIW 128 Pro?