ADS Technologies Firewire cards

[Iland]

Dear friends ,

I'd like to know your opinions regarding two Firewire cards .

I own a Sony DCR-PC115E miniDV camera and I'd like to buy one of the next two cards for Furewire transfer :

- ADS Tech. PYRO 1394DV Card FireWire - cost $50
- ADS Tech PYRO BasicDV Card FireWire - cost $35

The first card includes the possibility of capturing DVD-ready MPEG-2 video straight from the DV camcorder .

The second card doesn't have this feature .

1.Is the possibility of capturing DVD-ready MPEG-2 usefull ?

2.There are other good Firewire cards at this price range ?I'm looking for a firewire card only and not for a software kit , since I'm owning Adobe Premiere 6.5 already .

3.What is the minimal PC hardware configuration needed in order to work with these cards ?

Please advice !

Tnx in advance !
Ilan

[Iland]

Anyone ...
Any clue ???

[tlegion]

The difference in boards appears to be the bundled software. If your system can keep up and you are satisfied with the encoding quality, that's one thing. If your system can't keep up, or the encoding software spasms, or you don't like the quality, then you have to capture all over again.

Since I can't afford a 'real' real-time encoding sub-system (hardware and software), I capture AVI's and encode while I'm doing something else (like sleeping). The quality is not as good as 'high-end' but it looks ok on televisions. If I find that I had the settings wrong, I can always re-encode.

The downside is that this takes up lots of disk space, but hard disks are cheap and removable trays with firewire enclosures take care of that.

Frankly, I have never been impressed with Ulead's encoders.

[cuervo]

If you're only interested in capturing and compressing into MPEG2, that's one thing. OTOH, if you ever edit your captured video, you can forget about capturing it in MPEG2. The nature of MPEG2 does not lend itself to easy or efficient NLEditing.

[fingernailX]

Cuervo-

I'm not trying to be picky but just want to clarify your point. I capture in mpeg2 all the time and edit like a fiend. I just capture high bit rate I-frame only. I do this because I can capture deinterlaced rather than interlaced like dv avis. Each frame is a key frame and I have the same edit accuracy as any other all key frame capture. Also I use Xmpeg to go to Divx and it is blazing fast because it stays in the YUV colorspace with no conversions to RGB. But you are right, that if you try to edit DVD or VCD Mpeg 2 or 1 and you have a 15 GOP the only edit points are 1 in 15 frames which is more than a half second on 24 fps DVD video which sux.

[cuervo]

Fingernailz...

hmmmm...interesting. And what are your file sizes? If your file size is comparable to AVI, then why even go the MPEG route in the first place?

[fingernailX]

I capture 15 MBPS versus DV 25 MBPS so I'm saving some space but thats not why I do it. I most often capture tv shows such as Friends or That 70's Show from my tuner - AIW 128 Pro and trim out the commercials. I want it deinterlaced because I play back to big (21") computer screens and a lcd projector. I use Xmpeg to reencode to Divx 5.02 which is fast, faster than realtime on a P4 2 ghz. Only MPEG (1or2)to Divx (Mpeg 4 ) is kept in the YUV colorspace this way and thus faster. I shoot for 1400 kbps to 1600 kbps and 128 kbps mp3 audio. I get 1 hr on 1 700mb cd which is perfect for me. The quality is way better than VHS or SVHS and as good as non HDTV broadcast is going to get. I also back up VHS tapes this way. I have made DVDs this way and they are fine but capturing dv and software deinterlacing and reencoding with TMPGenc or CCE is still probably superior although it takes longer. The Matrox 2500 captures Mpeg2 I frame and Pinnacle has a higher end board that captures and edits I frame mpeg as well.

[cuervo]

Thanx