Hi,
I have recently discovered that I had been capturing Analogue video at 80% quality and that if I move the slider to 100% quality that I drop frames when capturing 720x576 MPEG2 video at 8000 CBR.
I have a 2.0GHz P4 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 7200 RPM disk drives.
So what is recommended to be able to capture video at DVD quality MPEG2 ?
And while I am at it, what capture card do people recommend for Windows 2000. I am personally in favour of the DViCo HDTV card with Analogue capture because of its 10 bit capture device. I have a WinFast XP2000 but it only uses 8 bit capture. I believe the WinFast DV2000 uses the 10 bit capture chip.
And for CPU speed, I saw someone recommend that >2.8GHz P4.
I would be interested in recommendations on AMD and Intel CPU types.[/quote]
Recommended CPU speed for Analogue Video to MPEG2 capture
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I will only address the capture question -- though would note that I have the DV2000 capture card and find it excellent.
But re the capture, you cannot capture better quality than the original quality of the source. In this case, it is analogue, and so it cannot be any better than good quality VHS. That is some way from good quality DVD... Capturing at 8000 bps therefore is a waste of resources and, if as I expect you are, capturing direct to mpeg-2, this will place considerable strain on your computer resources at the same time (hence dropped frames etc). Most people agree that capturing at 4000 bps will give you the maximum quality you can expect, though I tend to use 6000 bps as space is not really a consideration. Be aware that most capture devices capture from analogue sources using Upper Field First, though the DV2000 and some other devices capture lower field first.
You also have to take into account how you are connecting your analogue device to the capture device. If your analogue device has an S-video connection, use that as it will provide a much better quality of video transfer, though remember that S-video does not transmit audio, so you need an audio connection as well. If you only have composite RCA connections, then expect a fall in quality from that alone.
Your best bet is to either buy a capture device like one of the Canopus series which uses both firewire to the computer and is hardwired to capture to DV format, which will always give you the best quality that is possible when capturing from an analogue source. But be aware that such devices are expensive. Failing that, if your digitial video camera has pass-through, then use that as your capture device from your analogue source.
But re the capture, you cannot capture better quality than the original quality of the source. In this case, it is analogue, and so it cannot be any better than good quality VHS. That is some way from good quality DVD... Capturing at 8000 bps therefore is a waste of resources and, if as I expect you are, capturing direct to mpeg-2, this will place considerable strain on your computer resources at the same time (hence dropped frames etc). Most people agree that capturing at 4000 bps will give you the maximum quality you can expect, though I tend to use 6000 bps as space is not really a consideration. Be aware that most capture devices capture from analogue sources using Upper Field First, though the DV2000 and some other devices capture lower field first.
You also have to take into account how you are connecting your analogue device to the capture device. If your analogue device has an S-video connection, use that as it will provide a much better quality of video transfer, though remember that S-video does not transmit audio, so you need an audio connection as well. If you only have composite RCA connections, then expect a fall in quality from that alone.
Your best bet is to either buy a capture device like one of the Canopus series which uses both firewire to the computer and is hardwired to capture to DV format, which will always give you the best quality that is possible when capturing from an analogue source. But be aware that such devices are expensive. Failing that, if your digitial video camera has pass-through, then use that as your capture device from your analogue source.
Ken Berry
Right! Capturing to MPEG is a bad idea, unless -
1. You have a capture device with a hardware MPEG encoder that does not rely on your computer's CPU.
2. You do not intend to edit. Any editing other than cutting and splicing requires the video to be decoded and re-coded. MPEG is a lossy format, and a 2nd encode will degrade the video. (And, you might end-up with the dreaded "lip-sync" problem if you edit MPEGs.
)
Also, if you encode after the video is digitized on your hard drive the encoder can take it's time and perform higher-quality 2-pass encoding. And if the encoding process gets temporarly interrupted or slowed-down, no frames will be dropped. It will just take a little longer.
1. You have a capture device with a hardware MPEG encoder that does not rely on your computer's CPU.
2. You do not intend to edit. Any editing other than cutting and splicing requires the video to be decoded and re-coded. MPEG is a lossy format, and a 2nd encode will degrade the video. (And, you might end-up with the dreaded "lip-sync" problem if you edit MPEGs.
)Also, if you encode after the video is digitized on your hard drive the encoder can take it's time and perform higher-quality 2-pass encoding. And if the encoding process gets temporarly interrupted or slowed-down, no frames will be dropped. It will just take a little longer.
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notanotherforum
DVDDoug wrote: Any editing other than cutting and splicing requires the video to be decoded and re-coded.
Hi. I have a cheap tv tuner WITHOUT hardware MPEG encoder. I'm capturing TV in mpeg 2 (Leadtek optimal). All I need to do is very basic splicing. So, how can I do this without 'decoding and re-coding' (i.e what's the process in VideoStudio)?
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heinz-oz
It's totally irrelevant which NLE you use. if you edit mpeg files, or any other format for that matter, it needs to be re-coded (rendered). If you start with relatively low compression DV AVI, you can edit to your hearts content without loss of quality. Only yor final render will go to mpeg for DVD. If you start with highly compressed mpeg (lossy) and recompress again (lossy x 2), guess what you get?.notanotherforum wrote:DVDDoug wrote: Any editing other than cutting and splicing requires the video to be decoded and re-coded.
Hi. I have a cheap tv tuner WITHOUT hardware MPEG encoder. I'm capturing TV in mpeg 2 (Leadtek optimal). All I need to do is very basic splicing. So, how can I do this without 'decoding and re-coding' (i.e what's the process in VideoStudio)?
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GeorgeK
Re: Minimum PC for Direct MPEG2 Capture
Thanks for your comments, but can anyone recommend (say from experience) what hardware can actually capture 720x576, 8000CBR, 100% quality slider video (or equilivant for NTSC) ?
I have noticed that I am not the only person who is interested in such a question, refer to posting...
So back to the original question, what hardware (ie CPU speed) is required to capture Video at 720x576 8000CBR with the quality slider at 100% ?
If you have hardware that can do this please let me know.
PS: I only found the 100% quality slider when I turned off the check box for "allow access to Capture devices settings" in Capture Tab of Files preferences. Also note, that if I capture at 80% quality, I really cannot tell much difference on my current TV anyway.
I have noticed that I am not the only person who is interested in such a question, refer to posting...
I do have a JVC DVL 820 DV Camera which has a S-Video input, and allows me to capture video from my old Hi8 Camera straight to the computer as DV format AVI files. This is my prefered option, however I would like to know what CPU speed is required to capture video at 100% quality via the slider. I also tried Pinicale Video Studio 9 and it just told me that my hardware was not fast enough and would not even attempt a capture.Minimum PC for Direct MPEG2 Capture
So back to the original question, what hardware (ie CPU speed) is required to capture Video at 720x576 8000CBR with the quality slider at 100% ?
If you have hardware that can do this please let me know.
PS: I only found the 100% quality slider when I turned off the check box for "allow access to Capture devices settings" in Capture Tab of Files preferences. Also note, that if I capture at 80% quality, I really cannot tell much difference on my current TV anyway.
Dear George,
sorry I seem to have started a new topic without realising that yours amounts to the same query, but predates mine by 4 days! I'm a newbie.
I'm guesing that a P4 3.2c would be able to hit the 100% quality mark, but maybe an overclocked 2.8 could also do it. My HP O.E.M motherboard will not allow overclocking, however, though I use "RivaTuner" to overclock the video card by 25% (largely irrelevant to VS8, but useful for gaming)
sorry I seem to have started a new topic without realising that yours amounts to the same query, but predates mine by 4 days! I'm a newbie.
I'm guesing that a P4 3.2c would be able to hit the 100% quality mark, but maybe an overclocked 2.8 could also do it. My HP O.E.M motherboard will not allow overclocking, however, though I use "RivaTuner" to overclock the video card by 25% (largely irrelevant to VS8, but useful for gaming)
JVC GR-DV3000u Panasonic FZ8 VS 7SE Basic - X2