Encoding Dreamcast onto iMac for fullscreen viewing

[karas]

Hi newbie here, hope you'll all be kind to me

I'm a recent Mac convert, after being a microsoft dude for ages- and am having a problem as i have never used a mac before or done any type of video encoding would really appreciate all of your expert help.

what i would like to do is to encode ingame footage of dreamcast game, then cut it together to make a movie and watch it fullscreen or burn it onto a dvd

I have the elgato eyetv hybird capture device connected to my dreamcast via composite - though that will change when i get my s-video cable through the post
I also have the encoding program IShowU and have tried many alternatives to encode it at reasonable codec for great quality and more importantly disk size but I still cant get a decent enough great quality when i view it in fullscreen on my 24" iMac - am i being paranoid or is this the furthest i can go

anyhelp would be greatly appreciated for a newbie, thanx in advance

[terryj]

You would use iShowU to encode the "hijacked" footage
in DV PAL Stream format, which is the highest you'll be able to capture
(uncompressed). Then, this footage would play back
on the iMac using Quicktime Player in FullScreen.
This would be the best you can get on the iMac.

If you do not have enough HD space to encode to DV PAL Stream
( 1 hour of footage equals 13GB) , then this will be a problem
you'll need to fix by deleting some unused files.
Also, you have enough Ram,you should be ok in your encoding,
unless Leopard isn't playing nice with the ElGato.

[karas]

thanx for the reply, are there any other capturing devices out there that work through usb or firewire - i've been reading about the canopus/grass valley edius whats that like though its expensive?

[terryj]

I'm using OSX 10.4.10, and a Canopus ADVC-100.
( it has been replaced with it's big brother the advc-110).
Captures are flawless to DV NTSC stream into iMovie or
FCP. I reguarly run either a VCR or DVD Player to
the s-vhs in, and then capture through the firewire I/O port.
Works fine.

[karas]

is it easy to convert the dv into a playable dvd as in encoding (sorry if newbie question)

[terryj]

Yes, you can import the DV Stream straight into iMovie
or FCE / FCP, and then edit out any undesireable parts
(false starts, etc) and then with iMovie, route it over to
iDVD to make a playable DVD, or in FCE / FCP, create
DVD assets in Compressor to hand off to DVD Studio Pro
to make your DVD.