Best external capture box for analog in, USB out?

[stevenm]

Sorry if this has been asked a million times before but...

I am looking for a video capture box to capture composite and S-Video to files via USB. Everything I have seen out there has "mixed" reviews at best. The last time I did any transfers from tape was a couple of years ago, I used a Sony DVMC-DA2 box to convert via firewire. My new PCs only have USB, so... Any ideas for something that works well? Thanks!

BTW I am not looking to burn DVDs. My final product will likely be mp4 files that I will play from an NAS drive to my TV or PC. I understand that I will need to convert from whatever the box produces to mp4.

Steve

[usually_quiet]

If your existing capture device is in good shape, and you want to continue using it, there may be a way to do that. If your new PCs are desktop models and any have a vacant PCI or PCI-e expansion slot you could install an add-on card give one of them a firewire port. Prices range from about $12 to $30. If you have a laptop with an expresscard slot, then there are firewire add-on cards for those too.

[stevenm]

I wish I could do that! I have an HP dv7t 6100 laptop with no expresscard slot.

[jman98]

Yeah, I'd love to see the actual numbers, but off the top of my head I'd bet that 90% of new PC sales are laptops. Maybe at this point any time some new poster says they have a new PC we should just assume it's a laptop and thus can't be upgraded with add on cards.

Anyway your choices are limited, but perhaps one of the Hauppauge HD PVR models would meet your needs. One bit of warning - those who have used them to record directly to MP4 containers sometimes have reported audio sync issues, so if that happens then record to TS containers and just remux that into an MP4 container and you should be fine.

If the word "container" confuses you, just substitute "file" for it in what I said above.

[usually_quiet]

I wish I could do that! I have an HP dv7t 6100 laptop with no expresscard slot.

You wrote "PCs" so I thought you might own more than just the one HP laptop. Too bad. There isn't any device or adapter available for capturing a DV signal via a USB interface on a PC.

If capturing to a lossless codec, correcting defects with Virtualdub or Avisynth, editing and finally re-encoding to H.264 interests you, then the Hauppauge USB-Live-2 Video Capture is one of the better current options for digitizing analog signals.

If you don't care to do any processing on you captures. The Hauppauge HD PVR 1212 and new Hauppauge HD PVR 2 1512 capture directly to H.264 using hardware encoding.

The Hauppauge HD PVR 1212 can capture using composite, component or S-video. The Hauppauge HD PVR 2 1512 does not have an S-video connection available, but it allows recording composite video. For the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 1512, you would connect the yellow cable from your source device to the blue connector on the Hauppauge Component AV cable, then connect the red and white audio cables from your source device to the red and white connectors on the Hauppauge AV Component cable. Then, in Showbiz or Hauppauge Capture, select Composite under Video input and Line In under Audio input. I don't know if either Hauppauge HD PVR model is a good capture device for all tape sources or not.

Some analog tapes may need additional devices between the source and capture device to stabilize the signal. There have indeed been reports that .mp4 files from the Hauppauge HD PVR's are defective, so you do need to capture to .ts and re-mux to .mp4

[Richard_G]

I wish I could do that! I have an HP dv7t 6100 laptop with no expresscard slot.

This may seem a silly question but surely if you knew you would be using it for this purpose, why didn't you check that it could do it before buying it. I need line level audio in not just mic in, and a horizontal screen resolution better than the 768 pixels which is the norm with most laptops, so I checked the specs and discounted any that didn't have what I wanted.

[jman98]

This may seem a silly question but surely if you knew you would be using it for this purpose, why didn't you check that it could do it before buying it. I need line level audio in not just mic in, and a horizontal screen resolution better than the 768 pixels which is the norm with most laptops, so I checked the specs and discounted any that didn't have what I wanted.

This is how the vast majority of human beings think - "Laptops are absolutely perfect and only suckers pay less money for towers when a laptop can do EVERYTHING on earth and has no limitations of any kind AND it's portable."

If you don't understand the hard truth of that, then you don't have enough friends who aren't techies. I wish people would think before they buy, but I might as well believe in leprechauns as expect that to happen.

[stevenm]

usually_quiet, Richard and gman,

No I did not know I would need to capture more analog video.
Yes I do understand the advantages of a desktop, having built my own back in the day.
Yes I own more than one laptop, they are all the same.

I run graphics at meetings for a living (translation: powerpoint guy) and as such carry my gear to locations near and far. Once upon a time this meant lugging a few hundred pounds of ATA cases filled with towers and monitors, but no more. I have no ongoing need for a desktop, despite it's greater flexibility.

So back to the topic, as I am happy with capturing then converting to mp4 in two steps, I will try the Hauppauge USB-Live-2 Video.

Thanks for all your input to date.

Steve