Best Lossless USB SD Capture Card?

[BlueTech]

I have some old VHS tapes I wanted to capture and convert. I haven't really messed with capturing in almost 10 years and not sure what's good these days for simple SD capture. I would prefer something that is USB and Composite/S-Video and allows the use of lossless codecs, and preferably not terribly expensive. I'm on Windows 10 if that makes a difference.

[DB83]

I can not write about Win10 since, AFAIK, it is not a capture-friendly OS but.......


Subject to your definition of 'terribly expensive' I would consider a Hauppauge USB-Live2.


And do also bear in mind that capturing from VHS could well involve a TBC so you have instantly/potentially exceeded your budget.

[hech54]

I love my Hauppauge USB-Live2. Haven't needed to use it for a while but love it.

[Alwyn]

could well involve a TBC so you have instantly/potentially exceeded your budget.

Quite a few ES-15s going for "not terribly expensive" prices on Ebay...

[lollo]

Hauppauge USB-Live2 and AmarecTV

[BlueTech]

I forgot all about this thread. Thanks for the tips guys, and I actually did end up getting the Hauppauge USB-Live2 but I wasn't entirely satisfied with it, though it's still a pretty good card overall. But I had problems with the proc amp settings always resetting every time I tried to capture and I think it had some kind of AGC that I wasn't pleased with. Also Virtualdub seems to completely hate this card, it always has audio sync issues for me, though AmaRec had perfect sync, but the proc amp and AGC problems were still persistent.

So I ended up returning it, and instead got the GV-USB2 from I-O after reading good reviews and videos about it. This card is amazing! The proc amp works as it should and doesn't reset all the time, and the quality is very good. I'm not sure if it has any AGC but I haven't noticed anything at least not like I did with the Hauppauge. Both Virtualdub and AmaRec work well with it.

Now I just need to hunt for the best VCR that won't break my budget.

[Knightmessenger]

I've seen a lot of analog to usb capture devices that basically supply their own cables.
so there's GV-USB2 or the Hauppauge or elgato
https://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y

But this means I just plug it directly into my camcorder or vcr, even though I have shielded s-video cables.
Something like the Dazzle compared in this video, you do supply your own cables and plug them into the capture device.
https://youtu.be/ifJhej-xP6o

Is one way generally better? I like my own cables but the Hauppauge or GV both have much shorter (but less insulated) cables so in theory the signal has less distance to travel from the playback to digital converter.

And another thing. There are capture cards that you can install inside the back of your computer. (such as black magic) Yet none I have seen come with RCA audio, composite and S-video inputs, all on the same card. Why is that?

Additionally, I remember people saying that the videos uploaded on youtube about analog capture (such as Technology Connections) weren't the best advice for getting max quality. Has anyone thought of doing a My Life In Gaming like video that went over the specs as to what is considered the best way to losslessly capture, by experts here?
It's just frustrated me that there are a lot of products out there for this service, but there doesn't seem a lot of marketing or reviews geared toward high end users.

TLR - I'm also searching for an analog to digital capture device. I want it capable of capturing lossless and uncompressed video and recommendations for which device is best at ease of use, not dropping frames, not putting audio out of synch, not crushing blacks/clipping whites, built in software ok but must not be mandatory, compatibility with video editing software and any other quality aspects, would be greatly appreciated.

[dellsam34]

Youtube is generally not the best platform for gauging video quality. Second, low resolution clean digital source like video games are not the best source to test a capture system, on top of that switching between the two videos is not a comparison, split screen is the right way. So yes I didn't notice any differences in that comparison, both look equally bad.

[Alwyn]

There are capture cards that you can install inside the back of your computer. (such as black magic) Yet none I have seen come with RCA audio, composite and S-video inputs, all on the same card. Why is that?

Here's a PCI-e capture card with the input sockets built-in:

https://www.avermedia.com/professional/product/ce310b/overview

Here's another, this one uses a breakout cable for Composite and S-Video (and RAC audio). The breakout cable into the S-Video-looking socket.

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/startech-pcie-video-capture-card-hdmi-vga-dvi-and-component-ac12442

[Alwyn]

But this means I just plug it directly into my camcorder or vcr, even though I have shielded s-video cables.

No, the incoming connections on all the USB sticks I have seen and used are sockets (female), so you still need to connect the stick and the camcorder/console with male-male cables.

[Knightmessenger]

No, the incoming connections on all the USB sticks I have seen and used are sockets (female), so you still need to connect the stick and the camcorder/console with male-male cables.

I understand that youtube video may not have been the best reference but I was really curious about which style of capture device is a better design. I thought the ones with the cables sticking out (like elgato) could go straight into my camera and I didn't need to use my cables.
If that's not the case, then shouldn't I want a capture device where I plug the cables directly into a female socket. Like this? I have one already with a similar physical appearance by Pyro AV but it outputs a DV video, not uncompressed.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pinnacle-Dazzle-DVD-Recorder-HD-Functions-Video-Recording-U...rnal/144735340

Would this be better than the elgato or haupagge because it doesn't add any more cable length? Is there one like this that utilizes USB 3, doesn't require proprietary software and can output an uncompressed video signal?

Is the PCI card with the input sockets built in the better option? I notice it says 720x480 video signal, isn't it more accurate to do 640x480? Do I want it to have a comb filter automatically apply to any composite input (I assume it wouldn't apply the Y/C separation when I use s-video) or would it be better to do that using software?
https://www.avermedia.com/professional/product/ce310b/overview

Do either of these let you capture within the editing software you are using? When I had the DV capture box, I could use it directly from Sony Vegas. An older PCI card I could never get to work right only worked if I used a free software like virtual dub. But that didn't work right (video frames were not centered) and another I tried using (dscaler) actually crashed my system.