Which capture card

[robertzanzerkia]

Hi,
I have analog camcorder with Svideo output from which I want to capture video and edit/clean to burn to SVCD or later DVD burner.

Based on my system info (I am in the process of building it).
Which capture card should I get ?
(I liked ATI ALL IN WONDER 128 PRO, hw MPEG, AGP 4x card, this will kill two birds ,get me capture card and AGP vid. card).
Any opinion on the above card ?
What format file will it create ?
Can that file be edited using other software (i.e Pinnacle ?)

My order of priority.
1) Best quality captures (video and sound)
2) Ability to edit with other software (Pinnacle, Ulead etc.)
3) Price
4) Able to get AGP video as well.

Locally I saw Pinnacle Studio DV V7 for $20 after rebates.
It's worth software alone for $20.00
So If I can capture using AIW and edit using above sw. I will be all set.
Any experience with above setup ?

thank you,
Robert

[yamato72]

robertzanzerkia, you're on the right track. Make sure you're willing to capture with mmc or VDub, because Pinnacle Studio does not play nice with most hardware. You may have difficulty opening your AVIs in studio, as well, as it's very picky. I tried opening caps done with VirtualDub and huffyuy compression and could not open them in Studio for editing (I bought a Studio AV just for the software and returned it in disgust).

Studio is a powerful program but will drive you nuts if you try to use it outside of the "envelope." Currently I'm in a 30-day trial of ULead VideoStudio and it opens my VDub caps pretty well. The $100 price if I decide to keep it, though, is steep.


For hardware, after trying both a Pinnacle Studio Deluxe ($189) and a Studio AV ($29), I bought a simple Pinnacle PCTV capture card for $59 and love it. The Conexant bt8x8 chipset (with generic drivers) is the key, I think, if you want to cap analog video and have a lot of flexibility. I don't have an AIW so I'm not sure if it has it.

My advice: keep looking, and don't get a Studio product unless you intend to cap only with Studio hardware.

Hope this helps.

[Donovan]

Pinnacle Studio will only allow analog capture from their own capture cards, eg. the AVDV card with Studio Deluxe. Also, you will not be able to capture analog from a Pinnacle card to a 2nd/3rd party application, eg. VideoStudio - something to do with the Pinnacle drivers not being WDM...

For DV though, I believe the products are cross-application compatible.

I have not tried editing AVI's captured using other applications (don't have the hardware yet). I am looking for a cheap TV capture card though and will test the captured AVI (using VDub) in Studio - don't expect too much luck though.

[BuckWheat249]

Human nature says I gotta sell you on whatever I got in order to validate myself as a human being.

However, I bought a ATI 7500 AIW off the web for $122 and I've been extremelly happy with the results.

I'm converting my Hi8 tapes to VCD and some TV capture. ATI also has some cool TV watching features...

[jfl330]

Just for a couple of more 2 cents, I bought the Studio AV7 (with included DC10 Capture card) and have been very happily capturing both 8 mm analog and Hi8 analog from Sony camcorder via SVHS cable(and of course rca audio cable).

I find the Studio software useless after the capture. In my opinion, the mpeg2 (svcd) ouptut from the studio software is inferior to the below.

The capture portion is flawless.

I then use some or all of the following to encode svcd's:

TMPGEnc
Vfapi
Nero
CCE SP

I am using an Athlon XP2100 with 512 M ram, 200G of hard drives and am a very happy camper.

[robertzanzerkia]

Hi all,
Thanks for the tips.
I like the Pinnacle software for editing.
I also don't mind using TMPGEnc and NERO (and other software to convert/burn).
Can someone explain me steps using following ?
I am concern what format files are created and do I have to do extra
conversions ?
1) Let's say I capture Pinnacle AV hw what format file it will create ?
Does it do hw conversion to MPG1 or 2 ?
2) Using the Studio 7 then I can cut/edit titles etc. What format file will this create ?
3) Then what do I do to get to VCD/SVCD ? (in future I am thinking of DVD writer).

What to do if I buy AIW 7500.
What format it captures in ?
(I like this card because it does hw conversion to MPG).
What's not clear is what software is available to edit/title/transition etc.
Also what format file will it create so that I can use other software to author the VCD ?

thanks,
Robert

[ronbo613]

Hello-I have the AIW Raedon7500, I like it. It captures a number of formats; AVI, MPEG. Mine came with Ulead Video Studio 5, kind of klunky to use, but has decent editing, titling and effects. It renders to a number of formats. I also use Premiere 6.0, usually for longer projects. The Ulead VS5 is good for quick clips, web stuff and VCDs.
ATI has come a long way with their drivers, I haven't had any problems with the card since I installed it about six months ago. It also has cool TV features and runs my Combat Flight Simulator 2 at a good frame rate.
I also use a firewire card to capture DV. Ron B

[twinegar]

I have been using a ATI All In Wonder 8500DV for several months and it works fine. Paid $350.00 for it right after ATI released it retail. I just purchased my second 8500DV "New In Box" at eBay for $150.00 for one of my other computers. I use VirtualDub(HUFFYuv) - TMPGEnc - SpruceUp to produce my DVD's. Little to No frame loss.

Computer #1
Compaq Presario 8000
2 ghz
768 Ram
Pioneer A03

Computer #2
Compaq Presario 7998
1 ghz
512 Ram
Pioneer A03