Is This A Good Deal? Capture Setup For Sale via DigitalFaq

[Alwyn]

or capturing video via usb.

Have you actually tried it, or are you basing your judgement on flashy websites promoing specific gear? You do realise that that Avermedia guide captures straight to MP4. And old mate also does a review on an Avermedia USB capture stick, so USB can't be all that bad eh?

[lordsmurf]

how about something like this:
https://vhsconverters.com/vhs-to-digital-with-a-pcie-capture-card/
i just can't fathom spending 750 bucks on such an old computer, or using an old, outdated, aiw card on any old computer, or capturing video via usb.
it just seems so wrong and frankly the demeanor of those promoting those solutions doesn't really inspire confidence.

Now you're just posting random links (and to POS spam blogs), and revealing to others that you have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know what you don't know.

You're just ranting/crying about spending money.

- Quality costs money.
- Quality isn't always the new fancy whizbang whatever, but rather the tried-and-true.

I often wish people would just STFU when they have no clue. That's why governance/politics is in such a sorry state these days. When I don't know something, I keep my yap shut, it's not hard to do!

[dellsam34]

Yeah, how old that webpage is? I bet the driver for that card works only on Win7 and earlier if you are able to find it.

[lollo]

it just seems so wrong and frankly the demeanor of those promoting those solutions doesn't really inspire confidence.

The two of us who recommended the USB approach in this thread (myself and dellsam34) have dedicated youtube channels showing their results. Actually most of the dellsam34's captures are using SDI approach, but you can trust his expertise.
Be confident with suggestions from videohelp users! (me and lordsmurf disagree on some specific aspects, but not on the general approach for VHS captures, and anybody will always read the same "general" indications from all of us)

Now you're just posting random links (and to POS spam blogs), and revealing to others that you have no idea what you're talking about.

It was clear since the beginning.

Yeah, how old that webpage is? I bet the driver for that card works only on Win7 and earlier if you are able to find it.

He knows nothing, or he's just trolling.

[frank_footer]

Now you're just posting random links (and to POS spam blogs), and revealing to others that you have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know what you don't know.

i know that i would never advise someone to spend $750 on such an old computer and i would never advise anyone to buy such an old card.

let's say for the sake of argument that the ati all-in-wonders were the greatest capture cards ever created.

the reality is the card is no longer new, not even close.

it is 20 years old, at least, and we know it's been used for at least 25 captures and no one knows how many years of continuous use that card received before the builder of that system bought it.

everything has what is known as a mean time to failure, or sometimes mean time before failure, there is no way of knowing how much wear and tear that card, or the rest of the components have and we do not have a sample to judge the quality of the capture.

more importantly i find it hard to believe that ati perfected video capture 20 years ago and that in 2024 no one manufactures a card that is at least as good, if not better, than can be put into a modern computer.

to me you, and that lol guy, seem like the type of people that expect everyone to just take your word as the final say and heaven forbid anyone offers a counterpoint.

i don't think you are doing anyone reading this thread any favors acting like it's an undeniable truth that aiw cards were and are the best and no further consideration is warranted.

[frank_footer]

The two of us who recommended the USB approach in this thread (myself and dellsam34) have dedicated youtube channels showing their results. Actually most of the dellsam34's captures are using SDI approach, but you can trust his expertise.
Be confident with suggestions from videohelp users! (me and lordsmurf disagree on some specific aspects, but not on the general approach for VHS captures, and anybody will always read the same "general" indications from all of us)

sorry, but i have this moronic habit known as thinking for myself.

just because someone shouts that his way is the one true path does not mean that i take it sacrosanct and the more they get angered when someone questions their approach the more i know i am right not to accept what they say.

He knows nothing, or he's just trolling.

the only trolls here are you and the smurf guy that hold yourselves up like some kind of omniscient oracle.

i also see no reason to "trust" your expertise, for one very big reason, bragging about a youtube channel, when youtube is known to recompress everything you upload as proof that your way is the best, shows either a willingness to deceive or a basic lack of video knowledge.

feel free to post an uncompressed capture sample here using one of the usb devices you are so fond of and a sample of a capture done using what you consider an inferior device, using the same vcr, software, etc.

in other words just isolate the capture device and do not use any compression, not even lossless, i do not want there to be any wiggle room when you fail to prove your claims.

please show us what an expert your are.

my prediction?

you will refuse with an insult.

[Sharc]

everything has what is known as a mean time to failure, or sometimes mean time before failure, there is no way of knowing how much wear and tear that card, or the rest of the components have and we do not have a sample to judge the quality of the capture.

On a sidenote: Mean time to failure has nothing to do with life expectancy or end of life of a device. Excessive wear and tear however do, yes.

[lollo]

my prediction?

you will refuse with an insult.

Correct, you are an idiot!

[lordsmurf]

let's say for the sake of argument that the ati all-in-wonders were the greatest capture cards ever created.
the reality is the card is no longer new, not even close.

Again, you apparently don't know what you don't know.

What you're really griping about is build quality, though you don't even realize it. You falsely think "age = wear". But let's go with it anyway...

ATI Technologies was a Canadian company that made high-end quality products, much like Nvidia does today. In fact, Nvidia and ATI were head-to-head competitors (until AMD bought out ATI, and then crapped all over it, allowing Nvidia to exist essentially unrivaled ever since). ATI used quality manufacturers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC).

So you cannot compare some bottom-barrel POS, as made in the cheapest facility in China, to an ATI card. Just just can't. (Well, you can, but you'd be an idiot.) That's identical to claiming some cheap POS can rival any Nvidia card.

how much wear and tear that card

Here's a fact for you: "wear and tear" (ie, using it as intended) has almost zero effect compared to use conditions and storage conditions. It's about abuse, not use. You could have babied that card, never used it at all. But if you store it in an outbuilding, infested by bugs, in Arizona/Texas type heat, it's screwed. Or you could have run the card 24/7 for a decade, but in strict temperature controlled archival conditions, and it's still fine.

So where you buy gear, and who you buy it from, matters! If you buy it from some recycler/reseller numbnuts on Facebook or eBay, you're almost assured to be given some old broken crap. (The "new" cards from China, sold on Amazon/eBay/Temu/etc, were always crap.)

more importantly i find it hard to believe that ati perfected video capture 20 years ago and that in 2024 no one manufactures a card that is at least as good, if not better, than can be put into a modern computer.

Video conversion is a legacy task, using legacy hardware. The here/now is about HD video for Youtube (GoPro, Insta360, whatever), not quality VHS conversion gear as needed 20 years ago. What you say is as dumb as saying "I find it hard to believe that nobody builds a better phone booth in 2024!!!" (insert mad face). There's no incentives to provide quality gear, because the market for it is small. So all you get is cheap garbage from China.

to me you, and that lol guy, seem like the type of people that expect everyone to just take your word as the final say and heaven forbid anyone offers a counterpoint.

The problem is that your counterpoints are clueless.

Now, you may find us responding to you harshly here, but here's the reason why: After we explained what's what to you, you doubled down with more BS, more griping. You clearly -- very, very clearly -- know less that literally anybody else that participated in this thread. When you're "ganged up on", sometimes you're the ass, not the other way around.

[frank_footer]

everything has what is known as a mean time to failure, or sometimes mean time before failure, there is no way of knowing how much wear and tear that card, or the rest of the components have and we do not have a sample to judge the quality of the capture.

On a sidenote: Mean time to failure has nothing to do with life expectancy or end of life of a device. Excessive wear and tear however do, yes.

https://www.atlassian.com/incident-management/kpis/mttf

Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) measures the average time a product or system works before experiencing a failure.

you were saying?

[frank_footer]

my prediction?

you will refuse with an insult.

Correct, you are an idiot!

very shocking development.

you are a blowhard, a poser, someone who wishes he was an expert, knows deep down inside that he isn't and gets angry when confronted about his ridiculous claims.

i hope anyone googling his way to this thread sees you for what you are and carefully reviews any advice you give.

[lollo]

you are a blowhard, a poser, someone who wishes he was an expert, knows deep down inside that he isn't and gets angry when confronted about his ridiculous claims.

Sure.

i hope anyone googling his way to this thread sees you for what you are and carefully reviews any advice you give.

I’m sorry for you, but your wish is not going to happen!

[frank_footer]

So you cannot compare some bottom-barrel POS, as made in the cheapest facility in China, to an ATI card. Just just can't. (Well, you can, but you'd be an idiot.) That's identical to claiming some cheap POS can rival any Nvidia card.

you remind me of the saying about giving someone enough rope to hang himself.

your claims are based on the fact that you seem to think everything is made in low end factories in china but ati's cards where made in higher tier factories in china, is that about the long and short of it?

do you consider all capture cards made by anyone in 2024 to be "some bottom-barrel POS, as made in the cheapest facility in China"?

are aiw better than any capture card made by black magic?

how about any capture card made by canopus? <-- i know they are not making cards anymore.

how about anything made by aja?

since i need a good laugh, what do you consider to be the best software for video capture?

if you are true to form i'm guessing you will probably say virtual dub, am i right?

[frank_footer]

you are a blowhard, a poser, someone who wishes he was an expert, knows deep down inside that he isn't and gets angry when confronted about his ridiculous claims.

Sure.

i hope anyone googling his way to this thread sees you for what you are and carefully reviews any advice you give.

I’m sorry for you, but your wish is not going to happen!

don't tell me you really believe that people take you seriously.

the way you come off, and the smurf person as well, i find it hard to believe that anyone would follow any recommendation made by either one of you.

now that i think about it, i don't think you have stated where you stand on this $750 computer.

do you think it's a wise investment?

[lollo]

now that i think about it, i don't think you have stated where you stand on this $750 computer.

do you think it's a wise investment?

Not that I care about your continuos non sense, but post #3 is still there

[lollo]

ATI used quality manufacturers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC).

In Atmel (fab 5, Colorado Springs) we manufactured as third source one of their product once. Their requirement for quality assesments was outstanding.

So you cannot compare some bottom-barrel POS, as made in the cheapest facility in China, to an ATI card. Just just can't. (Well, you can, but you'd be an idiot.) That's identical to claiming some cheap POS can rival any Nvidia card.

Well, garbage-in garbage-out, so silicon manufacturing is only one (final) part of the equation. And having marginally worked with european companies like Hauppauge for analog design, the quality of (some of) the products is not in question. (BTW, there are excellent facilites with state of the art technologies (some) in China, since decades).

But all this is another story, sorry for the off topic...

[dellsam34]

frank_footer, a lot of members here including lollo do post lossless capture samples from time to time, all you have to do is search for them instead of assuming they don't exist.

On the newer cards subject, yes there is no good capture cards being made in 2024, 2023 or in the last 10 years for that matters with few exceptions of USB and SDI options, Companies such as BlackMagic, Aja and the likes have moved on and SD video is obsolete to them, They may have SD option enabled as a convenience but for stable video sources like CCTV cameras, DVD, digital SD camera, retro video games. Lousy sources like VHS and analog camcorders will trip those video capture cards and may not work properly without a proper signal stabilisation such as a VCR with built in TBC or an external signal stabilizer. I don't know about AIW cards since I've never used them but I do know that legacy capture cards in general did it better, They cope very well with consumer video tapes because they were made in an era where SD video was still a thing. Pretty much any non brand name USB stick made today regardless its price is junk including the overpriced Elgato and Clearclick.

The whole idea of having a legacy OS with a legacy card is mainly driver availability or driver issues, Whether you and I agree on a price of such system has nothing to do with what I said above.

[Sharc]

everything has what is known as a mean time to failure, or sometimes mean time before failure, there is no way of knowing how much wear and tear that card, or the rest of the components have and we do not have a sample to judge the quality of the capture.

On a sidenote: Mean time to failure has nothing to do with life expectancy or end of life of a device. Excessive wear and tear however do, yes.

https://www.atlassian.com/incident-management/kpis/mttf

Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) measures the average time a product or system works before experiencing a failure.

you were saying?

MTBF or MTTF are statistical figures which have nothing to do with useful life time of a device. MTBF (or MTTF) is related to random failures during normal operation of the device within its life cycle.
A new device coming out of production may have a higher failure rate (means lower MTBF) due to "infancy failures". An old device approaching its end of life has again an increasing failure rate. In between (new - old/end of life) the failure rate and hence the MTBF (or MTTF) is constant and independent of where on the timeline of its lifecycle the device actually is (newer or older).
Example: A candle may have an expected operation time (useful life time) of say 30 minutes. So when it is lit it will burn for 30 minutes before it is down (end of life). The MTBF (or MTTF) of that same candle (assuming a reasonable production quality) is however extremely high, say 100s ....1000s .... years or whatever, as a failure due to a random defect of the candle wick or of the wax is very very unlikely, hence the failure rate is very low, means the MTBF (or MTTF) are extremely high and independent of whether the candle has been in operation for say 3 minutes, or almost burned down after say 27 minutes.

Hence quoting MTBF (or MTTF) in the context of legacy capture cards is meaningless, especially as one may assume that these figures were even better for the legacy quality brands than for some more recent and possibly lower quality noname remakes.