Hello, I have been transferring VHS to DVD on my computer and I have been saving up for an upgrade. What would be the most recommended device I should purchase to improve the quality and speed of the VHS to DVD process. Current PC specs: Pentium 4, 2.4Ghz 768 MB RAM 250GB + 320GB Hard Drives Leadtek Capture + TV Tuner Current Method: Capture VHS using Virtual VCR (huffyuv codec) Encoding Video using TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress (Using Filters) [Time consuming] Author using DVD Lab Pro I also use a Video Stablizer device (friend recommended) Is my current method a good method? or is there a faster/easier way available now? Also, what hardware device greatly affects the output video quality? The Capture card? Graphics Card? A friend recommended me to purchase a new Capture card; suggested Pinnacle. I would like other people's perspective on this matter. I would really appreciate any suggestions or recommendations. Thanking in advance, latinl3oi
To speed the process up and make it easier I would suggest a capture device that captures straight to mpeg2. Then your only steps are capture and author. There are lots of good mpeg2 capture devices out there, ATI and Hauppauge are two commonly used ones. The quality of the capture card greatly affects the quality of the captured video. Some capture cards (Hauppauge) ignore Macrovision and don't require a video stabilizer. Other cards (ATI) would require a stabilizer if you're capturing a protected tape.
Thank You for your suggestion moonrocks, I've browsed the net for good capture cards, and I've rounded it down to 2: HauppaugeTV PVR 350-PCI Video Capture Card = ~ $399.00 Pinnacle Studio V10 plus 700 PCI = ~ $359.00 If anyone has used any of these capture cards or still use them, could you give a recommendation between them? Or if you recommend a better capture card, could you please post it? I am willing to spend up to around $400. Also, whats the difference between 350 PCI and 700 PCI? Cheers, latinl3oi
I use the Hauppauge PVR-150. It's a great card quality card for less than $100. If you want the features (TV out) of the 350 then go for it. But, if all you are wanting to do is transfer your VHS tapes to DVD, and money is an issue, you won't be sacrificing any mpeg2 encoding quality by getting the 150. All of the Hauppauge cards are great so you really won't go wrong with whatever model you end up with. Just match up the features of the card to what you intend to do with it, and no sense paying for features that you're never gonna use. I don't have any personal experience with Pinnacle products but I wouldn't be relying upon them for a capture device. It looks as if the Pinnacle Studio V10 plus 700 PCI is just Pinnacle's editing/authoring suite with a PCI card thrown in. All you need in one package, easy to use, but you'd be taking a huge risk in terms of quality. Remember, Pinnacle gave us the "Dazzle", one of the worst capture devices ever. For analog capture, stick to product lines that have a proven track record for good quality, ATI, Hauppage, Canopus. Once you've got your mpeg2 file captured then you can look for the software you want to use to edit and author. So, between the two choices you're looking at right now I'd recommend the Hauppauge card.
Videohelp.com has lots of opinions from users. http://www.videohelp.com/capturecar...Any&price=&orderby=Name&hits=50&Search=Search
