HELP (please) with AVERTV capture card settings

[christine]

OK, the good news is that the AVERTV card didn't trash my computer like the WINTV card did. It was easy to install, even though the instructions were crapl

Now my problem is what settings to use to capture tv programs. My goal is to convert them to either vcds or svcds using VCD Easy or some other program (any suggestions?).


This is my first time using a capture card, and I am really in the dark about this.

--christine

[Custom_VCD]

Even though Im getting rid of my AverTV card, I loved it, runs every time perfectly and has great features. I recomend for you to download PowerVCR or buy it, download the newest copy of Virtual Dub with the BTW Drivers they are tweaked. This card works best without the AVer drivers in my opnion. Hope this helps.

[Dave B]

You will probably need to get the btwincap drivers as suggested above and install them on your system. These will allow you to use VirtualDub and AVI_IO capture applications.

You only have a 30Gig harddrive so you won't be able to capture more than a few minutes of uncompressed or HuffyUV video. I suggest that you compress your captures realtime with PicVideo MJPEG (http://www.picvideo.com). The MJPEG codec is a good compromise between quality and filesize.

If you are making a VCD you should capture at 352x480 (if NTSC) and resize later. If you are making an SVCD you should capture direct to 480x480 (if NTSC).

Follow the guide below for more detailed instructions.
http://www.vcdhelp.com/mjpeg.htm

[jeg_jason]

I have an AverTV Studio card and use the native software package and tmpgenc (freeware) to create VCD and SVCD clips. First, please update your computer profile so members can see exactly what capture card and other hardware/software you have in the future. For VCD creation on the fly, I use the VCD format in the VCR program to record and then VCDeasy (freeware) to burn. For SVCD creation on the fly, I use custom settings of 640x480 at the desired bitrate then downsize to 480x480 using tmpgenc to SVCD format before burning with VCDeasy. Please keep in mind this is a fast, simple way. For better quality you probably should record at bitrates higher than what you need and reencode down the bitrate using tmpgenc. For the highest quality you should probably buy a much bigger hard drive (know the limits of Windows ME -hard drive size/maximum file size- before buying!) like 100-120GB to add to your system, capture to avi using appropriate software, encode to mpeg1 or mpeg2, and then burn your VCD or SVCD. This takes a lot of time but yields excellent results if the original source is very good. For example capture from digital satellite or digital cable will look much better than analog cable will.

If you are not into authoring which I am too lazy to do all the time immediately, get an Apex DVD player for cheap (make sure it has VCD capability first though.) These DVD players and a few others can read raw mpeg clips of various sizes and bitrates from a CD-R or CD-RW disk. This is a good way to see how a clip looks on a CD-RW before authoring. I hope this information allows you to reach your goal. Please read the guides and suggestions on this website for other questions and check the compatibility of the DVD player(s) you wish to view your clips on first to make sure that they support VCD and SVCD. I would try to use my way first before messing with drivers or purchasing additional software. I have used all kinds of drivers and programs but stuck with the most recent ones downloaded from avermedia.com in the end.

On a sidenote, seriously consider attaching a VCR to the capture card so you can take your favorite shows off VHS tapes which lose quality with each viewing and over time and convert them to VCDs. It is also handy if you are super careful like me to use a VCR as a back-up to the computer when recording (just in case it crashes .) You will need an RCA cable (for video) and a 1/8th (3.5mm) mini stereo to two RCA adapter (for sound) to attach your VCR. These cables can be purchased at Walmart, BestBuy, Circuit City, and Radioshack for less than $10. You may also need RCA Y-adapters if you already have the VCR hooked up to something else to split the video and audio output so you can output to two different pieces of equipment without constantly switching cables. If you have a source with S-video output use that instead of RCA for better quality.

I know this is a lot to take-in but be patient, explore your card thoroughly, and read newbie, capture, author, and convert guides on this site. It took me a couple of months to get squared away. Best of luck.

jeg_jason

[PlaiBoi]

I just ordered an AverTV Stereo and was wondering, whats wrong with just using the AverMedia supplied software and drivers? Do the hacked drivers and capturing with VDub really increase quality and efficiency alot? Or would capturing straight to mpeg-1 vcd with the supplied software be better?

[Fozzee]

hi
I have an AverTv Studio Card.
My advice would be to get PowerVCR2 (quailty is better than its own software)
Then capture a "custom" profile.
I use DVD Pal then set the bitrate to 7500 and the quality to 3.
I use video smoothing too.
I then encode using TMPEnc to VCD.
Don't capture direct to VCD you'll get poor results.

Fozzee