Noob Q: Video capture + compression options

I read through some of the threads, and got only partial answers. Anyway my question is as captioned.

Background: Own Sony HC40E cam. I can capture via USB streaming, for those who want to know how i set up see last part of this thread.

Problem: I do not have a powerful computer (1Ghz AMD, 512MB RAM, 120G HD (for video files, boot HD seperate, USB only). I can capture using Vegas but avi file is massive, and I have to use another program to compress it to say MPEG or MPEG II which is time consuming. I do not get dropped frames, if I only run Vegas so my computer is almost full load when capturing. I do not have firewire. Also, I seem to be hitting a 4G limit for my avi files, which means a whole video tape needs to be captured using at least six individual segments.

Which option is best for me if I want to capture/compress at same time.
1. Continue without change
2. Invest in firewire, and compress afterwards.
3. Invest in a capture card which does real time capture and compression (which one??)
4. Number 2 and number 3
5. Buy a faster computer (not really an option)
6. Something else

For those wondering how I set up USB capture here are the details.
1. Installed drivers from the disk which can with the camera.
2. Set camera to "USB stream mode"
3. Plug Camera to computer via USB cable.
4. Set camera to play edit mode.
5. Sony Vegas : capture -> external
6. Press play on cam
7. Record on Sony Vegas

 

Here my recommendations:
1. Invest in a Firewire card. You will get the best achievable quality. You will anyway end up with about 13GB/hour, but with a 120GB HD you have sufficient storage capacity for almost 10 hours of video.
2. Use a simple capturing program that does not take much resources on your PC while capturing (e.g. WinDV).
3. Compres to another format off line depending on your final destination (MPEG-2 for DVD, e.g. DivX for viewing on PC). By doing this off line you can apply the maximum quality settings which you cannot reach doing it real time during capturing. It will certainly take time, but you can run this process over night.
4. If you hit a 4 GB limit, you probably have a FAT formatted hard drive. If this is the case, you should reformat to NTFS. (I assume that you are not working on Windows 98, because it can not handle NTFS).

 

About the 4GB limit
could it be AVI , because the capture program is saving as avi

 

No.
Apart from the hard drive formatting, it may also be the capturing program that will cut it off at 4GB. Check the manual if there is a limitation (or maybe even a setting).

 

I dont think the 4G limit is with the software as I use the same. As TPFKAS has said, this is more likely the limit on the file system used on your HD at the moment. You can right click on the drive partition and check which file system is in use. Or, you can use the disk management console and find this info out.

 

****First of all thanks every one for helping out.

I have bought a Firewire card and cabel and extremely pleased with the results.
About the 4G problem, I found out it was my mistake, it was an old encoder software which could not handle files bigger than 4G. I use Vegas now without this problem.

Here are the advantages I found with using Firewire instead of USB Stream.

1. Higher resolution (I could only get 320x200 with USB), not I have fill DV res without dropped frames.
2. Sony Vegas can read the timestamps on my HC40E so I can now match the screen display with the position on the tape.
3. Vegas will automatically cut the clips for where I started and stopped recording on the tape because it can read the information. I mean say if I was recording then stopped then started again, Vegas can recognize where I stopped, and seperate it into two clips. (I join join it back together when I render).
4. Much more smoother video, probably due to higher bandwidth.

I am glad I used Firewire, and the improvements are well worth the minor cost.

Thanks every one

 

That worked for me, too. Thank you very much.