Analog Video Capture

I'm new to this board and I'm looking for advice on analog video capture devices. I have a Dell Dimension 4700 with a 3.2 processor, 512 MBRam with the basic video card and the IEEE 1394 card. I've done a tone of research on USB and Firewire devices but all seem to have issues. Basically I'm looking to transfer parts of 10+ VHS tapes to DVD. I would like something that has good quality but not spend over $150 (just had a baby and looking to save money). Thanks for your advice in advance.

 

Start reading here: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/169029

 

rebootjim

If you were starting from scratch. How would you go? Card,software...I'm looking at hauppauge pvr350. It would come with ulead movie maker. The trial I have is buggy and poor reviews on download.com.No luck with trial of windvr3 either. But I've read you have recommended them.Windvd creator2 silver has worked with my pvr 150 but only capture in mpeg,would it give the option to capture in mpeg2 when I change? I would take any advice you give. Sorry bkstyl but hopefully some good advice can come.

 

The 350 is a great card! (I wish I'd splurged for it instead of the 250).
It does exactly what I want, and does it well, once you set up the capture quality you want.
If I were trying to cap 100 VHS tapes, I'd get a TBC, but still keep the 250/350 to do TV caps.
The "LE" version of Ulead that comes with it, is decent...not great, not bad.
There are much better ways, if you're interested in really professional dvd's.
There are also some all-in-one apps, that are very similar to Ulead, but won't capture.
I use GB-PVR for TV viewing, scheduling, and capture, although WinTV2000 (comes with the card) is OK...
I ONLY use Cuttermaran (or the editor that comes with the 250/350, called Nanoedit) to do simple cuts.
I use Vegas Movie Studio 4 to do complicated editing, with fades, transisions and such.
Then I author everything in DVDLab Pro.
If you want some simpler solutions, I can't really recommend anything but the Ulead that comes with the card, because it does as advertised, and it's basically free

 

Glad to see your up

What do you have to pay for Vegas? It sounds like the real deal I don't mind spending for stability and quality I respect your knowlege and just thought what you would go with if starting from scratch

 

I'm a software tester, so I get stuff at less than wholesale from my company. I have no idea what Vegas 4 is actually worth, sorry.
If you find Vegas 5 just too much to comprehend, Vegas 4 movie is an excellent choice.
Rock solid stable, and fairly easy to get a handle on. Definitely superb quality, because it's built by Sony. 'Nuff said.
I even think there's a demo you can download at http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step2.asp?DID=531
I'm not sure if it's got any restrictions, other than 30 days. (the manual's are free).
If you get the package with DVD Architect, they throw in the AC3 encoder!
Other than DVDLab pro, DVD Architect would be my second choice.

 

I want tough but high quality. Or I should say I don't mind tough. I'll try the demo. Do you have guides? I don't know what that intells but I'm sure alot of people here would tune in.

 

Guides...the Sony manual is a sort of guide for Vegas 4. It's intuitive, and easy to learn anyhow.
DVDLab guide (by yours truly): http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=220092
When you want to get seriously fancy with switched menus, motion menus, and D-FX, I have other guides for that stuff.

 

RebootJim, Thanks for the link to the thread above.

Of the interface types you listed I can rule out TBC and PVR DVD Recorder because of price alone. Hardware card is something that needs installed internal on the PC? If so that could void my warrenty so it will be ruled out too. "Soft" card may also be a warrenty issue, not sure what a soft card is. Of the 4/5 interface types I was able to rule out 3 or 4 of them, depends on the soft card/warrenty issue. This leaves USB or Firewire devices as my only options. Sorry for all the questions but I just want to make sure I make a smart choice. Please keep in mind while reading my questions that I am new at this and I don't have any hands on knowledge of how this works.

1. With the info I provided above does my pc have enough power to capture from a USB device? If you need additional info on my pc I can provide that. PC is only 3 months old, P4, 3.2 gig.

2. Is there a difference between a USB capture device and a Firewire capture device? Which will provide a better quality capture?

Again, thanks for the advice.

 

Doesn't matter how fast your computer is, USB 2.0 can only transfer so much data at one time. Having a second hard drive, strictly for capture, would help, but even then, USB is for lower bitrate/resolution captures only. There are some people that will argue this point, but it's my opinion. Never buy a USB capture device, they just don't have the databus speed needed.
Firewire is an excellent choice, but more expensive generally, and you get no TV tuner, unless you use a VCR as a passthrough.
Quality using firewire is as good as (or better than) a hardware cap card. Do some research on firewire cap devices though. A good one will cost you more than a really good hardware card. Most firewire devices are the TBC things I mention above. The majority only capture to DV-AVI, and the captured files will have to be encoded to mpeg-2 for DVD, then authored, so you'll spend far more time, than using a hardware mpeg-2 card.
Please double check on warranty issues. A hardware card is a wiser investment, and you'll be much happier in the long run, that you spent a little more money on it, instead of other options. Yes, you will have to open the computer to install it, but it's a very simple thing to do.

 

Rebootjim,

Again, Thanks for the advice.

I will check with Dell on the warrenty issues. If Dell allows me to install hardware cards without voiding my warrenty which hardware card would you say is good. I see where you mention the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 PCI in other post. Is this something I should look at? After you explained it and after reading your other post it would make sense to get a hardware card instead of a external USB or Firewire device. Thanks for your help. I will let you know what Dell says.

 

Hauppauge are the world's leader in hardware mpeg-2 encoding cards. They're simply the best, and there's a huge amount of 3rd party support for them. Drivers, TV applications, capturing applications, schedulers, filters for video and audio, tweakers, etc. There are even some excellent TV/Capture/Scheduler (all in one) apps.
I ues GB-PVR. It's free, and does more than some of the expensive pay apps do (showshifter, beyondTV, etc).
Take a look around at http://www.shspvr.com a site dedicated to Hauppauge cards (check the forums). Also browse around the forums at www.tv-cards.com

 

Just got off the phone with Dell and they said I can add Win-Tv card without voiding my warrenty. Now I guess the search is on to find one that will meet my needs. I will probably get a Hauppauge but not sure which one. If I would get the 150 or 250 MEC version do I need to have windows media experience package for it to work on my PC?

thanks for your help.

 

Don't get the MCE version, unless you already own Windows XP MCE (I doubt it) as that version will not work on a standard XP install (Pro or Home).
Going price for the PVR-250 is about $150, but do a search at http://www.pricewatch.com and you'll find them cheaper.
They're about $110 in Canada on sale.
There's even two on ebay right now, one is $2 no reserve!
Please check here: http://www.shspvr.com in the forum, for everyones opinions on the 150. You probably don't want it

 

Okay I won't get the MCE and I will check the 150 on that link. I will probably get the 250. I will check e-bay and do other price comparisons before I buy. Thanks, you've been a big help. You saved me from going in the wrong direction.

 

Currently I have a Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (I have to double check this but I did not upgrade because the Dell tech told me I didn't need it), will I need to upgrade to VGA or something else? I saw a few places that listed the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 as needing a VGA but the Hauppauge site doesn't say that is required. If I do need to upgrade would it be better to get a ATI all in wonder?

 

Your current Intel is just fine. You do NOT need to upgrade and spend more on a video card. The Intel you are using, is quite capable of doing 16 million colours at a resolution of at least 1024x768, probably more, and it IS VGA...actually SVGA, which is faster, and higher quality than the old VGA standard. Video output has (almost) nothing to do with capturing.

 

Is there any major difference between the Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP Expert TV Tuner and the PVR-250?

 

They are miles apart.
The Winfast is a soft card, it relies totally on your CPU to encode the video stream as it comes in.
The PVR-250 does not.

 

rebootjim,

Here is another one I wanted to get you opinion on:

AverMedia Ultra TV Media Center PCI 500

This comes with TBC and has a hardware encoder for $60-$90.