Analog capture card - Is it true what tech support told me?

wonhead3 · Post by **wonhead3** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:10 pm

I switched to VS8 from the latest version of Pinnacle studio A/V which came with a DV/AV capture card. The card worked fine with the Pinnacle product, but does not work with VS8, or VS9 which I've upgraded to recently. Actually, the DV portion works fine, but the composite and S-Video do not. I installed the Pinnacle software again temporarily to see that there is nothing wrong with the card, and it's fine. The reason I don't use that product anymore is because of OOS problems that could not be solved over many months and two versions, many patches, etc..

ULEAD support said analog capture cards are specific to the product and would only work with their software. When I asked, "OK, so which card works with VS9", he said the software was not meant for analog capture", that I should, "use another tool for that". When I said, "Why is there a Capture step then", he said, "That's only for when we bundle the software with other tools for capturing". I hung up the phone very very perplexed. Is that correct information? If not, has anyone had the same issue and got it working? I saw options that you can change, but the option button is grayed out until the software recognizes a source -so the only time the options button is active is when I've got my camcorder connected through the DV port. When I plug by vcr in to either of the analog ports, I get the "no source" message and the options button is grayed out. I've got the vcr on and everything! Like I said, It works fine with the other software so I know the card works.

If the information I got from tech is correct, here's my question, is there a card out there that many people are using with VS9 successfully? Even a USB solution would be fine, provided the quality is as good. I looked at one before buying the Pinnacle software and card, but the box listed a much lower resolution. I think it was Dazzle. Any help would be appreciated.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:06 pm

I use an ATI all-in-wonder pro (pci card) and VS6/7/8/9 access it
no problem.
As far as I know there are many analog devices that work with VS.
Your device should show up as an available capturing device in the same
box as the dv camcorder.
The plugin to use for analog capture would be the Ulead Mpeg capture.

You may have a proprietary card though.
Can't you capture dvd compliant in pinnacle 7 then import into VS?
Was the Pinnacle software causing a sound/sync issue?

MD

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:46 pm

I have a Hauppage PVR 350 PCI card which has svideo and composite inputs in addition to the normal coaxial inputs.
I have connected a VCR, a DVD player and also a "Freeview box" to the card via the svideo connection.

Ulead VS9 does see footage from these sources and is able to capture.
However, I prefer to capture anything from those sources with
WinTV 2000 (bundled with the TV card) and later edit the capture with VS9.

I connect my Camcorder via a firewire so record from te camcorder with VS9 directly.

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 5:58 pm

UVS will capture from any device that implements the DirectShow capture interface. Microsoft created this to avoid exactly the problem that you are experiencing, namely the need for video editing / capture programs to create specific drivers to support each individual capture device.

Designing a standard way for an application to talk to capture devices greatly simplifies life for users, software developers, and device manufacturers. If a device manufacturer decides to ignore these well established standards, users such as yourself will suffer. In the long run, a company that doesn't understand the marketplace and doesn't produce a competitive product will go out of business.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:35 pm

I believe they are telling you the truth. Video Capture drivers don't seem to be as standardized as more common computer peripherals (printers, etc.)

So, if you can't get it to work, use the software that came with it for capture. Once you have a digital file, you can use any program you like for editing and DVD authoring.

Most of the cards on Ulead's non-compatibility list are Pinnacle. My Hauppauge card is not on the list, but I was not able to get it to work with Video Studio. Like sjj1805, I use the capture software that came with the card.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:34 pm

DVDdoug.

To get the hauppage card to work you have to go the ulead update site and get a "fix".

Then, interestingly, the TV channel numbers on Video Studio are all different. Where I live ITV is on ch43 (and is 43 on WinTV 2000)
However when using Video Studio the channel number is completely different, same with the other channels BBC etc.

paulwho · Post by **paulwho** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 12:59 am

Hi there, I just posted a problem I'm having with VS8 SE capturing.
As you also have a WinFast TV2000 XP Expert Capture Card.
Why would I be having these problems when ever I try to use Video Studio 8 capture function ?
Paulwho..

Ulead VS9 does see footage from these sources and is able to capture.
However, I prefer to capture anything from those sources with
WinTV 2000 (bundled with the TV card) and later edit the capture with VS9.

I connect my Camcorder via a firewire so record from te camcorder with VS9 directly.[/quote]

wonhead3 · Post by **wonhead3** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:05 pm

Thank you for all of the replies.

Thanks DVDDoug for the link to the list of incompatable cards on Ulead's site. Indeed, the list is small, but it does include my card, Pinnacle AV/DV Deluxe. Rats!

To answer a question, yes the problem with my using the Pinnacle software is OOS problems.

I hate to keep spending more and more, but the idea of a card that also has TV reception included sounds interresting. It looks like the Hauppauge cards come with Ulead software. Are these cards pretty popular with VS users? Looks like there's WinTV-PVR-150, 250, 350, 500. The first two appear to run $100 & $150 respectively.

Is the $100 one adequate? I just want to be able to capture analog video from my vcr. Will it capture to .avi and in the same standard (full) quality as my current card. I've had experience with a Dazzle USB solution that captured AVI files but at a low quaility. The product desriptions on the web site don't really even mention .avi so that's why I'm asking.

Thanks again for the replies.

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:46 pm

Without knowing for sure, I daubt that the $100.- variety has a hardware decoder on the card, meaning your PC has to do the number crunching for the conversion analog-digital, have not heard of anyone doing that sucessfully, full frame at good quality. Connection via USB would be another bottleneck since even the high speed variety USB 2 cannot sustain transfer rates high enough.
Look at a PCI card with hardware encoder, or, if you have a DV camcorder with AV through function, most newer ones do, connect your analog source through the DV camcorder, using your analog or SVHS cable to the camera and firewire connection to the PC.

wonhead3 · Post by **wonhead3** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:42 pm

Incase anyone else is looking at the cards I mentioned, I found a product comparison on the Hauppauge website:

Under the category "MPEG-2 Encoder (hardware)" All the cards, and the usb solution say, "Hardware - up to 12Mbits/sec". So I'm guessing even the cheaper one would suffice. However, under the category "raw avi capture" the column is blank for all the products.

I guess maybe they are made primarily for TV capture, because I've always had the idea that .avi is the best for editing.

Is that the norm for cards that include TV capture & analog captue - mpeg rather only capture?

I guess I could buy a new camcorder with analog pass-through, but I don't really need a new camcorder.

So if I forget about TV capture and just want an analog capture device (full quality) that I know will work with VS9, which should it be? I know I asked before, and this will be the last time, I promise. I'd just like to hear from even two or three people that use the same card and have no problems using it with VS9 - The cheaper the better, barring any reduction in the quality of the actual picture.

tyamada · Post by **tyamada** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:05 pm

You might want to look into the ATI All in Wonder cards they have capture capability that Video Studio supports in numerous formats. I have used them for years with Video Studio and have had great success with them, the only draw back is your computer has to have a lot of horse power and a lot of ram (3.0 Gig processor and 1 Gig Memory).

I use a Hauppauge PVR 250 MPEG card and am very happy with the results. I just have to be careful on how I edit my video clips or my output gets corrupted. I have found work arounds for the problems I have encountered, but that is another story.

jchunter · Post by **jchunter** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:21 pm

I use an ADS Instant DVD2 box for capturing analog video. It has worked quite well with VS9. I typically capture directly to MPEG2 and the computer loafs along hardly busy while the dedicated processor in the box does all the work.
John

bjerz · Post by **bjerz** » Sat Aug 13, 2005 12:18 am

I also use an ATI all in wonder with VS9 and have done many hours of camcorder analog and vhs conversions with no problems and pretty decent quality. As mentioned though, check the cards computer specs to ensure your computer can handle it.

P.S. Im an X pinnacle user for the same oos problems your talking about and have had no problems with VS9..... Love It