Capturing from S-VHS VCR

[nocam1334]

Hi everyone.

I would like to capture some TV shows to my computer that I've recorded on my JVC HR-S3911U S-VHS VCR. I am considering capturing and then converting to CVD's or VCD's. I've learned a lot about encoding from this site, but I've never done any capturing, and don't know much about it. I'm looking for help on what type of capture card to get, software, and anything else related to capturing. I have looked at the tools section and iuVCR looks like a good possibility for software. I read the capture cards features and comments and I am still very confused on what capture card I want. Once I get the video captured, I think I have learned enough here to do the encoding. If anyone has any advice or links with more information on capturing I would appreciate any help. Here is some info on my computer if anyone needs to know:

Dell Dimension 8100 1.5GHz
Windows 2000
20GB hard drive
30GB drive (for storage)
384 MB PC600 RDRAM

Thanks,
nocam

[Dave B]

Depending on your budget you may like to look at cheap TV Cards ~$50(e.g. Hauppauge WinTv, Pinnacle PCTV), more expensive budget MPEG encoder cards ~$200 (Hauppauge WinTV PVR, Dazzle DVC) or cards with all the above and basic hardware editing facilities ~$400+ (Dazzle DV500, Matrox RT2500).

As a newbie, I would suggest that you start off with a TV Card and follow the guide linked below to capture your video. Get a card with the BT878 or 879 chipset (both the WinTV and PCTV Rave cards do) and download the custom drivers from btwincap.sourceforge.com.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/mjpeg.htm

[nocam1334]

Dave B,

Thanks for the reply. I don't have a lot of money to spend, so I am definetly going for a cheap card, so I will follow your advice and get a TV card (probably WinTV or PCTV Rave). That was my main concern, because I don't know much about capture cards. I though TV cards were only good for watching TV. Didn't realize you could also capture with them. I see you can capture with VirtualDub. Since that is free, I'll try that instead of iuVCR. I'm curious, what is the advantage of the BT878 and 879 chipsets?