Good MPEG2 Capture Software

[mcg22]

Can anyone suggest some good, simple MPEG2 capture software. I used to use Intervideo WinDVR, but it is no longer available. I would like to capture directly to MPEG2, not AVI.

Thanks!

[lordsmurf]

Get an MPEG hardware card, such as the Hauppauge PVR or USB2 series. Software-only MPEG capturing never worked for crap. MainConcept v1.4 used to have capture modes too, but it's not made anymore either.

[PuzZLeR]

Didn't mean to grave-dig, but why start a new topic? Well, I did use the search function after all.

I was wondering if there have been any updates on this, or it's still a lost cause, particularly for analog capture.

I have a Hauppauge myself, and it's pretty stand-alone, but I also have an ATI 600 that I adore, which has the WDM drivers that make it portable with other apps including VirtualDub.

However, VirtualDub, although excellent with AVI formats, doesn't do MPEG very well.

My other app, Beyond TV, is quite good, but rather inflexible on output options.

The software that came with the ATI 600, Catalyst Media Center, is surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be compared to other apps that come with capture devices. But, maybe there's something better?

Wishlist (whatever I can get):
-High quality
-Flexible settings (bitrate, GOPs, audio, etc)
-Has a system tray type of option that minimizes system resources when running
-Needless to say, but worth mentioning - dedicated to the job at hand and will be good with not dropping frames. And if so, it reports how many, and maybe where.
-Can be timed, not only when to end, but when to begin the next session, in a batch or queue with other jobs
-Supports WDM drivers, obviously

Thanks for reading.

[dorenhagen]

My needs are rather more modest. Namely, just rock solid hardware performance. Don't care about ultimate flexibility as long as designers have done their homework. I'm guessing Hauppauge comes closest?

[PuzZLeR]

Hi Dorenhagen,

You are correct about Hauppauge tools for MPEG - fine performance, good on system resources and very reliable. They, IMO, are the workhorses of the capturing hardware.

Unfortunately, as good as they are, they tend to capture rather soft. And yes, I've compared, it washes out detail and there is no setting to correct this.

The ATI 600 does reveal more artifacts, like blocks, edges, and the like, but it captures more detail. Grass shows more blades, faces show more freckles, hair shows more strands, etc.

I prefer the latter. If re-encoding to another format, for example, you can correct the latter imperfections somewhat. However, detail that is gone is gone forever.

So hence, I search an MPEG app for the ATI 600. Apparently such a search is harder than it looks even if I would pay for one.