Looking for a capture card suggestion

[Volante]

I've gone through the list of capture cards, but still not sure what kind I should get. Basically, what I want to do is copy VHS to VCD. I would prefer a PCI card, but USB might work just as well. (I have little experience with USB items) Time is not really a factor either, so a tuner card might work just as well. Cost is a factor though; i'm hoping to spend no more than $70 on this.

One thing I've noticed is that many of the new cards out (one friend of mine suggested a Pinnacle LINX, for example) say they require Win98SE; I only have 98. Is there that much difference between the two that something wouldn't work with 98 but would with 98SE?

Here's what I've got.
Asus A7V, VIA chipset
512 MB ram
800 Athlon AMD
ATI Radeon 7500 (not AIW)
Win 98
Hard drive speed is at least 8MB/s

--Jer

[fmctm1sw]

I have a hauppauge wintv radio card ($60 ebay). I didn't get a remote but all I use it for is cappig satellite tv, vhs tapes, etc. It works fine for me. One thing I can recommend is to buy one from somewhere you can return it. Then, if it doesn't work, no big deal.

[rsuave5]

i use ati tv wonder ve (50 bux) it works pretty good capturing with avi_io (tools) from vcr its as good as the original from tv just decent. never use there software! dload newest drivers and read read read

[loveturtleozark]

no not much difference in 98 and 98SE just download all the updates or use win ME(which seems to handle memory usage better I think
go to www.videoguys.com and look there for a card that matches your budget I suggest a dedicated card not an all in wonder if you can afford it
then try to find the card for cheaper on pricewatch
read their video capture card comparisons they know what they are talking about
also you might want to go to http://www.tweakhardware.com/
and turn your motherboards promise ide controller into a RAID controller with 2 drives

[vhelp]

volante,

Here is a list of some cards for $70 and under:
* $39 - - - PCPVR (i/o magic, pci) (RCA / S-Video)
* $59-$79 - ATW (tv wonder, pci) (RCA / S-Video)
* $49-$59 - ATWVE () (RCA only, pci)
* $69-$79 - ATIRFP (rage fur pro, AGP) (RCA only)
* $49-$69 - WTVGO (all models, pci) (RCA only)

For AVI captures, forget about USB
But, if you are thinking of time (less that is) then, a hardware MPEG1/2
card would work in USB cases, ie WTVPVR USB ($199 or less though)
I use Windows 98 w/ all the above cards and then some.

I capture lots of VHS (store bought movies) cause they're cheaper than the
DVDs - $5.99 give or take.

I'm currently working on improving:
* less frame drops (WTVGO give me ZERO frame drops)
* capture quality - this is what I'm REALLY working hard on, and almost
have the quality right down to the level of quality when viewing on your
TV set!! THIS is what I have ben working for quite some time. You know
when you view a good store bought VHS movie on your TV set, how the qulity
looks so good, BUT when/after you capture it via capture card, it
doesn't quite look the same, like it's somewhat wavy and distorted. Well,
anyways, I think I got the quality to match the TV quality - or close to
it. ...and, all without a TBC !! he, he...
* finally, encoding quality - given the above, there's no stoppen my
excitment, he, he...

In my expeirence, the WTVGO card out-performed all other cards in:
* frame drops - NONE at 352x480 (am testing 720x480 though)
* capture quality - color seems to be the best, but the DC10+ is hard to
distiguish at time vs. from the WTVGO captures - well, once i finalize my
NEW capture improvement (above) .. .. ..

Note, that especially for VHS sources, these cards may or may not produce
Line Noise and too some level or degree, as not every PC system are
equal in design. Don't get this confused w/ Interlace Lines during your
captures above x240 ie 352x480 will give you Interlaced Line in your captures.

Look for my sample (below is a link) and also, my upcomming sample clip
based on my NEW capture quality improvement (works on my system only) at
link below.
* This weekend, I'll be doing the VHS movie of Monsters, Inc. to CVD.
I've ben waiting for this movie to hit the shelves for months.

-vhelp
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For Standard and other VCD/SVCD samples, you can jump over to this FORUM's link
here: VHELP's Samples... - last updated: 09.15.02