Best capture card ???

[tat1]

hi guys
looking for some info , can anyone recommend a decent capture card ,
i would like to transfer some vhs tapes to dvd or vcd with good quality
also an idea of the cost , dont want to pay more than £200 .

thanx
tat1 :thumbs

[cosmicma]

have a look at the haupage pvr tv capture cards with on board mpeg 2 hardware encoders these do quite a good job and should be ideal for what you want to do

[Pegasus]

I have the Canopus ADVC-100.

It is an external device that connects via FireWire and it is the dogs dangly bits.
Nothing out there can touch it for quality, and it has a very nice feature whereby the audio is "locked" in sync with the video so you can NEVER suffer from sync problems.
Because the Canopus does all the hard work, you can capture full frame digital video on anything from a P200 upwards.

The ADVC-100 retails at around £270, although you can get it's little brother (the ADVC-50) for around £180.
The only difference between the two is that the ADVC-50 does not have analogue outputs (which you won't need anyway if all you are doing is capturing).

[tat1]

cheers guys

think for the bit extra the canopus looks like the one
thanx agin

cheers
tat1 :thumbs

[{film_man}]

pinical do good capture cards

[diond1]

I have the Canopus ADVC-100.

It is an external device that connects via FireWire and it is the dogs dangly bits.
Nothing out there can touch it for quality, and it has a very nice feature whereby the audio is "locked" in sync with the video so you can NEVER suffer from sync problems.
Because the Canopus does all the hard work, you can capture full frame digital video on anything from a P200 upwards.

The ADVC-100 retails at around £270, although you can get it's little brother (the ADVC-50) for around £180.
The only difference between the two is that the ADVC-50 does not have analogue outputs (which you won't need anyway if all you are doing is capturing).

I used to think this way until I was shown the error of my ways. I do a lot of video editing at uni and in my spare time so I am no novice with this sort of thing. To be fair, I used to get loads of dropped frames with my Happauge card, but I was introduced to AVI/I_O and I have never EVER dropped a single frame, even from the very poorest of analogue inputs.
To be fair, the Canopus was the one I was going to choose until I was shown a cheaper alternative. Now I'm glad I didn't shell out all that much as the alternative has done exactly what I wanted it to. If you want (or are prepared) to pay more, then fair enough, I cannot fault you.

[Pegasus]

I used to think this way until I was shown the error of my ways.

Eh???

I do a lot of video editing at uni and in my spare time so I am no novice with this sort of thing. To be fair, I used to get loads of dropped frames with my Happauge card,

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. If it isn't dropped frames then it is normally latency issues (caused by the PCI bus)

but I was introduced to AVI/I_O and I have never EVER dropped a single frame, even from the very poorest of analogue inputs.

That is all well & good, but can you claim the same when using it on an old Pentium 200?

To be fair, the Canopus was the one I was going to choose until I was shown a cheaper alternative. Now I'm glad I didn't shell out all that much as the alternative has done exactly what I wanted it to. If you want (or are prepared) to pay more, then fair enough, I cannot fault you.

I would hardly say that £180 is expensive for a dedicated video processor, and if they are good enough for the BBC then that is enough recommendation for me.

[diond1]

When I say the error of my ways, I meant that I was going to shell out £200 for a card, rather than choose a £60+ card that would do exactly the same job.

As for the dropped frames, it's not a latency issue, as I could capture *clear* footage without dropped frames, but it was only on poor footage and that's where the AVI/I_O programme I mentioned came to the rescue and works perfectly. I have *NEVER* had any dropped frames since, and that includes one hours' worth of constant analogue capture to my hard-drive.

I can't comment on the P200 processor, but why? Has he/she got a P200? Has anybody got a P200? And anyway, why would you want to capture video footage on a P200? I cannot see any editing software being able to process video data succesfully on a P200. Christ on a bike, it takes me long enough render stuff on my 1.8gig processor, so imagine trying it on a P200. :|

Compare that £180 to a Hauppauge PVR 250 (£80), which also has a dedicated video processor, then yes, it is expensive.

I have nothing against the Canopus as I said above, so don't get all defensive just because you've got one. I am just offering that person a capable inexpensive alternative, which I am sure he/she is happy to be given as an option.

[cosmicma]

i used to run avio 500 mpeg 1 card on a p200 with very good results as all proccesing was done in harware
on a p2 i had the matrox rainbow runner combo which was very good and now have a miro dc10+ card that i picked up for peanuts which in my opinion is not quite as good as the rainbow runner for sheer quality but is still ok

iv's seen a fast ( thats the make ) video editing card ( which was isa ) with scsi raid built on the card running on a 486 which was capable of broadcast quality results mind you the card cost about 4 grand i think it's still in use today on a p90

iv'e had a play with a few different cards in the past and for me it all depends on what you want to do when i first started playing dvd didn't exist so the end result would either be to tape or vcd for vcd the avio 500 card was excellent because it rendered straight to vcd compliant mpeg but with the dawn of dvd this became more or less redundant
if the goal was to go back to tape then a card like the rainbow runner ot the miro series ( could never afford the dc 30 ) was better suited
now everyone wants to go to dvd ( including me ) i think the best card to go for is a card that renders straight to mpeg 2 so no other conversion is needed i have used a pvr 250 and for the money these produce pretty good results once youv'e fiddled with the drivers and managed to get the bloody thing stable

it's all down to the depth of you pocket and what your willing to put up with quality wise in the end