Which video capture card

[VinMan]

Hello

Ok I want to convert my hi8 tapes to dvd (Editing them Via VS10+)
and want to know which is the best video capture card to buy (Internal PCI) or external not to worried about cost as long as it dont go over £300
Would preffer a card that works in realtime.

I all ready have the Matrox Marvel G450 eTV - but for some reason this has never worked (even the tv software does not work/ Have installed all the latest drivers)


cheers

[TDK1044]

I have used the ATI All In Wonder series with great success with various versions of Video Studio. Excellent cards, and the Catalyst Drivers are very good. My new computer came with a pre installed ATI card which is not a capture card. I therefore purchased the ADS DVD Xpress DX2 external USB2.0 capture device. Superb box of tricks that does all the MPEG encoding within the box and therefore takes a lot of the load off the computer. I have transferred footage at the NTSC DVD MPEG2 setting 720 X 480 with great results and perfect audio sync. Using this device, it's best to capture using the device's 'cap wiz' software and then import the files into VS.

[michaeltee]

I've been getting excellent analog and digital DV results capturing directly through VS10+ with the ADS A/V PYRO Link (Model API-555). This is an external device that connects through a standard IEEE-1394 Firewire port. No driver installation is needed as they are included in Windows XP. Unfortunately it is only available packaged with Adobe Premiere Elements 2 so you're paying for software that you might not use. Still, I thought the device was worth it, paying about $160 delivered from B&H. I'm not sure about the going rate in the UK. In any case, here's a link:

http://www.adstech.com/products/API-555 ... id=API-555

Normally I would have no reservations recommending a Hauppagauge device however some of them (such as my WinTV PVR USB2) don't seem to be compatible for direct capture through VS10. Of course you can easily capture analog video through the WinTV 2000 UI and import to VS10.

[GuyL]

I have used several ATI All-In-Wonder cards to capture analog video for several versions of Video Studio. I have never had any issues and they play very nice together.

[VinMan]

Hello and thanks for the response

Ok I have opted to go for a ATI all-in-wonder card

Can anyone advice on this card All-in-Wonder® X800 XT

Will this work with VS10+ I think I’m right in thinking it captures in real time.

Cheers

[GuyL]

Hello and thanks for the response

Ok I have opted to go for a ATI all-in-wonder card

Can anyone advice on this card All-in-Wonder® X800 XT

Will this work with VS10+ I think I’m right in thinking it captures in real time.

Cheers

Yes, this is the card I own and use with VS10. Yes, it captures in real time and supports both MPEG and AVI capture.

[DiscCoasterPro]

I'd like to ask a few questions if I may regarding capture choices as suggested here in the thread.

I'm under the assumption that DV/AVI is the best format to edit.

I'm also under the assumption that capturing with these cards, you are actually capturing to mpeg and requiring ULEAD to transcode on the fly through its software to the AVI format so you can better edit.

If what I believe is true, is true, why would anyone opt for a capture device that does anything but capture (through hardware) without transcoding to DV/AVI ? It really is beyond me. I know the Pyro link suggested does this as does the Canopus 110 300.

I must be missing something. I always felt that encoding to mpeg should be the very last thing you do, not the first, and last? Does the supported AVI function of this card equate with the Pyro and Canopus firewire units?

thanks

[GuyL]

I'd like to ask a few questions if I may regarding capture choices as suggested here in the thread.

I'm under the assumption that DV/AVI is the best format to edit.

I'm also under the assumption that capturing with these cards, you are actually capturing to mpeg and requiring ULEAD to transcode on the fly through its software to the AVI format so you can better edit.

If what I believe is true, is true, why would anyone opt for a capture device that does anything but capture (through hardware) without transcoding to DV/AVI ? It really is beyond me. I know the Pyro link suggested does this as does the Canopus 110 300.

I must be missing something. I always felt that encoding to mpeg should be the very last thing you do, not the first, and last? Does the supported AVI function of this card equate with the Pyro and Canopus firewire units?

thanks

It depends on your needs. With my ATI card I can use ATI's Multimedia Software to capture or I can capture within Video Studio. The All In Wonder is not just a capture device. It can replace your video card or can be a second card depending on which you buy.

It has TV software that can turn your PC into a TV equivalent to today's PVR/DVR. I can preset schedule times to record programs, etc. It has a remote that allows me to use it just like a TV. It has DVD software that can also be controlled by the remote. It has software called Easyshare that allows me to share the TV features across my LAN. The software also has library functions and CD/Video CD player capabilities. My card also has an FM Tuner that I use daily while working from my home office.

So, my All-In-Wonder card provides me with similar functionality to a MCE machine and can be a full multimedia server. It isn't just a capture card - far from it.

[TDK1044]

I'm sure the point you make could turn into a highly technical discussion. I have read threads on this forum suggesting that you should never edit with MPEG2 because of quality loss issues. This has not been my experience at all. I have always used the ATI All In Wonder cards with Video Studio to load MPEG2 DVD compliant video. I have then edited and rendered my projects with no issues, other than the brief loss of sync chaos caused by earlier versions of 'smart render'. I have compared my resulting burnt DVD MPEG2 footage at the end of my project to some original shots from my DV camera prior to capture, and although some loss of quality is evident, the loss of quality is really very small. As an experiment, I played a clip from my DV camera and then the same clip from a DVD made within VS10 to a group of 4 people. 3 of them saw no difference, and one accurately saw what he called "minor quality loss" on the DVD version. These were not professional video engineers, they were just normal folks, and if I had created a split screen between the two clips, the difference would have been more prenounced, but capturing, editing, rendering and burning using MPEG2 is not a problem for most users of this software.

[GuyL]

I use to capture in MPEG2 and edit in MPEG2 a few years ago. I did this because I had limited hard disk capacity. I had very successful projects and I had projects that were very frustrating. These projects had to be started over from scratch in most instances.

When I could afford to acquire the disk space (large separate drive) required I switched to AVI capture using the huffyuv codec. This results in huge file sizes that require a fairly powerful rig during the editing process. I now have no fear doing any editing at all and I have never experienced any of the problems I sometimes had editing MPEG.

I'm not saying don't edit MPEG but my experience has been that AVI editing is flawless and problem free and this is what I desire. I still capture in MPEG frequently; when I do not plan to edit. That is my preference and I only recommend it to those who have experienced problems editing in MPEG. I can only assume more of these issues will come up in VS10 if multiple MPEG files with transitions and audio in the many overlay tracks provided are used. These seemed to be where most of my MPEG issues came up in the past.

[DiscCoasterPro]

Thanks guys! Very interesting results. I had a very old, what I called "Mickey Mouse" external USB video capture device / TV tuner that I purchased when I first started playing with video and editing.

Mostly on my own through that initial learning curve, I was about to commit suicide trying to sync audio and video in my captures. After weeks of reading and trying to understand what the heck was going on, I came away with my above impressions. I decided to purchase the Canopus 300 and, although no longer have my TV tuner, I have had flawless results.

I admit never trying the many other capture card options because I was shell shocked from my first experience. Your input is interesting and should the opportunity to pick up one of these devices cheaply to experiment with, I think I may.

I do believe that the ULEAD program does a better than average job with mpegs.

[DVDDoug]

I'm also under the assumption that capturing with these cards, you are actually capturing to mpeg and requiring ULEAD to transcode on the fly through its software to the AVI format so you can better edit.

This is not usually the case. Some capture cards/devices have hardware MPEG encoders, and some do not. What you describe requires a hardware MPEG encoder.

If you use a Digital Video Camera as your analog capture device, you are getting DV directly out of the camera. If you capture to MPEG, your computer's CPU has to perform the MPEG compresson on the fly.

On the other hand, Digital Broadcast Video is MPEG already. So, if you have a capture card that captures digital video, it's already MPEG encoded (in a non-DVD compliant format).


Lot's of people edit MPEGs without getting "lip-sync" problems. But, almost everybody who reports sync problems is editing MPEGs!

[alanball]

Hi all, could I ask a question of GuyL please.

I posted on the board a little while back when I was having problem's capturing Analogue through my Canon DVD cam and getting 4 black and white frames every few minutes when captured to AVI. I have since discovered that it is a fault in the Canon Cam as I captured through a friends Sony cam with no problems.

So I am now thinking of buying a capture card. I was interested in what you said GuyL about the ATI All-in Wonder cards

........“It depends on your needs. With my ATI card I can use ATI's Multimedia Software to capture or I can capture within Video Studio. The All In Wonder is not just a capture device. It can replace your video card or can be a second card depending on which you buy."........

As I have a video card in my computer, I only need a capture card. I have looked at the AIT site but could not make out which card is suitable just for capture. If you are familiar with these cards GuyL and if you have time, perhaps you could suggest a suitable card that I could look at.

I am travelling to Hong Kong in August and thought I could pick one up at a reasonable price.

I have seen a card here in New Zealand, the “AverMedia EZMaker Gold” which is just under NZ$100 and was wondering if anyone as used, or heard of this card.

Regards

[GuyL]

If you already have a video card that you wish not to replace, then I would recommend the TV Tuner Cards. You may wish to double check but these cards may only capture in MPEG - I can't remember. And, I believe they work best when your primary card is ATI Radeon based too. The tuner cards are not as feature rich as the all-in-wonder series.

[alanball]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the reply. I think it's best if I keep to the AIW version as I have a lot of editing to do once captured. I was reading an article on http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/intro.htm on video capture, (a very informative site) and they recommended the ATI AIW card as the best to go for, the “AverMedia” was a nono. They also had a guide for using the AIW www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/atiavi/atiavi.htm

thanks Guy
regards