Recommended software and PC configuration for true HD captures

[MoreQsThanAs]

Thanks in advance to all of you for your help.

I've been doing PC video editing for about nine years now, primarily in connection with a hobby of collecting sporting events. In 2002, I bought a Canopus DV Storm and configured a PC with XP Pro, 512MB RAM and have done captures primarily through the years to a 250GB drive. I used Canopus' proprietary StormEdit program for the captures and have really only had need for basic editing features (color corrections, transitions, occasional titling, etc.). Once I've rendered the MPEG2, I've used Ulead DVD Workshop for authoring and rendering the DVDs. What I've liked about DVD WS is that it is simple, allows me to create chapter points, plus some basic menus for the DVD. While I can appreciate what the more expensive hardware and software do, I in no way consider myself a video editing professional and don't see myself having a need for this.

Put simply, I capture a sporting event from either TV or tape, bring it into my PC, render the MPEGs to my taste (usually doing nothing more than editing out commercials) and author a DVD from there. The difficulty I have had over the last few years is that my financial situation has not enabled me to move with the technology into the modern era. Therefore, I've lost track of what is out there.

I am wanting to be able to begin doing true HD captures and when the technology comes available (whenever that may be) - 3D capturing and authoring. I would very much appreciate and enjoy hearing your feedback on what is out there and get your recommendations on computer requirements and software based on my needs as stated above.

Thank you again for your help.

Matt

[redwudz]

HD video is a whole different 'world' than DVD. You can take a quick look at 'WHAT IS' Blu-ray to the upper left on this page for BD structure, format and specifications. 3D HD capturing and authoring would be even more complex.

You generally need a multi-core CPU running at 3Ghz or better and lots of hard drive space to work with HD video. I do some basic AVCHD editing with my PC with three 1TB hard drives and I'm always running low on space.

For software, I'll let others make suggestions.

Some HD editing programs here: https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/video-editors-h264-avc
Some authoring programs: https://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/authoring-bd-hd-dvd

And welcome to our forums.

[dragonkeeper]

I would look at the HD specifications and learn the what audio\video formats (resolution, fps, video codecs, audio codecs, audio sample rate,etc) are allowed in BD and AVCHD disk. There are many ways to go here with authoring software, Adobe Encore will let you create some pretty impressive BD titles but is rather expensive. Free alternatives are multiavchd imo hands down best app free app for creating AVCHD with menus (but no longer developed), a close second would be AVCHDCoder.

To capturing video as it streams to TV or copying video from your HD camcorder, won't require a high end rig just plenty of hard drive space. But to edit this video will require at least a dual core CPU @ 3Ghz and 4gb of ram (mind you this is the bare minimum it will be very slow) and lots of hard drive space (separate from you system drive would be best). If you want to edit and render in real time you need a quad core or better, @ 3 Ghz or better, 8gb of ram, plenty of HD space (a system drive, and separate source and destination drives). System drive i would recommend 7200 RPM drive at min of 80gb but probably no bigger than 160-250gb, and 1TB for source and destination drives anything smaller and you may find yourself running out of disk space.

I have not ventured into 3d capturing and authoring so i will let someone else comment on that.

[usually_quiet]

The HDTV source that you want to capture determines the hardware and software you will need.

Speaking from personal experience, capturing over-the-air TV from an antenna is easy if you have good reception. An ATSC capture card will allow you to record transmissions as received. I just bought an AVerMedia AVerTVHD Duet to replace an ATI TV Wonder 650 card that died, and I like it very much so far. Windows 7's Media Center or NextPVR are relatively easy to set up for recording. I found that VideoReDo's products are the best editors to use for snipping commercials from my ATSC captures because they handle errors from transmission losses in the audio and video streams better than the others I tried. However, they won't allow adding transitions or titles. You will need other software for that. I haven't tried it, but Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 11 is a good choice for adding titles and transitions. You shouldn't need to correct color but another Sony product, Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11, can do that as well as add titles and transitions.

Much of the time, copy protection prevents capturing via the firewire outputs of a HD set top box, but it can work for recording local TV stations. No capture device necessary, merely a firewire port on the PC. Timer recordings are possible with CapDVHS capture software (http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/stbfirewire/), but it can't change the channel, only capture what the set top box is tuned to. It outputs a MPEG-2 transport stream.

HDCP is used to prevent recording from the HDMI outputs, and while some people manage to get around it, that is not the only challenge to be overcome. To put it simply, there are easier ways to record HDTV from a set-top box.

If you want a relatively painless way to capture HDTV, recording the analog component output from a set top box is the easiest way to capture HD video. The Hauppauge HD PVR or the Hauppauge Colossus are good choices for capturing analog component output (they do hardware H.264 encoding). Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 can handle editing. Windows 7's Media Center will work with both Hauppauge devices with the addition of a purchased software plug-in.

If you have to re-encode from HD MPEG-2 to DVD compliant video or h.264, a fast 4 core, 6 core, or 8 core CPU will come in very handy. I'm not working with 3D video, or doing Blu-Ray or AVCHD authoring, so I can't advise you on which programs are best for that and easy to use.

[edDV]

A quick overview of 3D divides between TV/cable broadcast and self shot camcorder material.

For the latter, several companies make prosumer level camcorders. Sony Vegas Pro is the lowest price editing/authoring solution.

Other than isolated experiments, 3D is not yet available from ATSC broadcasts but cable companies like Comcast offer a 3D material as VOD and Discovery is planning a dedicated 3D channel. ESPN will offer some games in 3D starting with the World Cup. Expect all of these to be copy protected.
http://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-news/discovery-communications-sony-and-imax-announce-pl/
http://news.discovery.com/tech/tv--channels-going-3d.html

In 2012, the FCC is going to be re-examining ATSC broadcasting and will be implementing new services now being designed and tested under the ATSC v2 industry working group. Among the options for ATSC 2 is an h.264 3D provision. Keep in mind that ATSC 2 will require a new tuner. See more on ATSC 2 here
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/340097-Discuss-advanced-ATSC-broadcasting