Recommend one good external capture device

[jranaudo]

Can anyone recommend a working external capture device?

I am trying to convert my Hi8 tapes to digital.

I am currently using my sony DCR-HC96 and VirtualDub for passthrough capture but was wondering if I would get better quality with an external device. I know I can fudge with the settings, plugins to correct video using tools but I dont have the time to mess around with this stuff.

Thanks!

[redwudz]

If you are using your camcorder to convert to DV, then transfer to your PC with FireWire, then that should normally be as good as it gets. Other DV hardware converters like a ADVC box would likely give you the same quality most times. I use WinDV for FireWire DV transfers, but since it is only a transfer from the camera, the software used isn't a big deal.

If you are getting good quality, then I would do post processing in VD or other programs to clean up the video if needed.

You could probably spend a lot of money and get maybe better quality with hardware devices to modify the video before transfer, such as a Proc amp, but I don't see where you will get that much improvement. You might try the Enosoft DV Processor and it may give you some options during the transfers.