The Ultimate Vid Capture Card = ?

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 14, 2003

Looking to watch and record shows from my cable, vcr, and such. So I'm looking for a video capture card. But I don't know what good names are, or even what to look for.

Are video tuners the same as video capture? Or do video tuners need software to capture the signal?

What about output formats? Are AVI's better than MPEG's? Vice versa?

- Thanks for all the info.

Th0r · Mar 14, 2003

ATI - R9700 Pro All in Wounder

gahdzila · Mar 14, 2003

I have a Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR. It's somewhat disappointing, and I would NOT recommend it. It works OK...TV picture is very clear, and it does time shifting...but that's about it. No program guide, etc.

I'm kinda thinking of ebaying it, and getting an ATi card...pending recommendations of this thread

ATi does have a stand alone tuner card, right? I think I'd prefer a stand alone one to the "All-In-Wonder," as I'm a gamer, and I upgrade my video card much more frequently than my tuner card.

Movax · Mar 14, 2003

JohnnyTheRed said:
Looking to watch and record shows from my cable, vcr, and such. So I'm looking for a video capture card. But I don't know what good names are, or even what to look for.

Ati all-in-wonder 9700 - Everything you want plus high end gaming.

Ati all-in-wonder 8500 - Everything you want and okay gaming.

Or get a TV card like an Ati TV Wonder - should give you everything you want as far as TV functionality and will save you some $$.

Are video tuners the same as video capture? Or do video tuners need software to capture the signal?

Video tuners will allow you to hook up your cable TV and basically turn your computer into a television, plus instant playback and VCR-like features. They come with the needed software, and can work with third party software.

Video capture will just let you capture a video signal - If you connect the video out of your VCR you can capture the video that way. (Or from anything that has video out - like console game systems.)

What about output formats? Are AVI's better than MPEG's? Vice versa?

AVIs can be (usually are) better. An AVI can be just about anything though, it is a very generic file type. It can mean the data is encoded with Divx/Mp3 or Mpeg2/wav. Mpeg is more standard, and not generally as good as some AVIs. (When considering quality vs file size.)

Supertrucker · Mar 14, 2003

uncompressed avi=unbeatable image quality but at a huge cot, something like a gig a minute. mpeg2 at 720x480=dvd quality and usable file sizes. the tv wonder from ati works great for watching tv and making vcds as its highest standard resolution is 352x240, it will do 640x240 or somthining odd like that but it sucks for regulat tv, its a widescreen size. the aiw cards offer better on the fly encoding at 720x480 in mpeg2 so they would work better for files you plan to keep on dvd rather than just watch once later. ive never owned a non-ati tv device but the msi pci add in cards that come with a remote look promising if i remember correctly

Disco_Stu · Mar 15, 2003

might be a dumb question, but can you hook a console gaming platform to a tuner/AiW card and play console games on your moniter?

Rav · Mar 15, 2003

Disco_Stu said:
might be a dumb question, but can you hook a console gaming platform to a tuner/AiW card and play console games on your moniter?

I used to do this with my Radeon VIVO, so I'm sure the AIW's can do it.

-Rav

DDR-PIII · Mar 15, 2003

Rav said:
I used to do this with my Radeon VIVO, so I'm sure the AIW's can do it.

-Rav

if they are tv tuners im sure they can do it

RoadWarrior · Mar 15, 2003

I've got an uberleet ISA capture card here

Probably going to stick it in a linux box and have a twinny A1200 system with it. Which come to think of it, might make a pretty good titling/editing setup.

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 16, 2003

So if I told you guys the following guidelines, could you give me some specific ideas? Keep costs below $300

Quality and Picture Size are my two main concerns. I would like DVD or dgital cable quality. I want to feel like I'm watching it on TV. Keeping that in mind, I cannot have a small window area to view what I record. I'd also like it to be burned to DVD/CD? and be viewed from a DVD player.

I'm looking at all these manufacturers of them, and really have no clue what to look for. I see some big names, but that's the only factor that I have experence with :/

Asus, ATI, Dazzle, Hauppauge, Leadtek, Matrox, MSI, Pinnacle, and is ViewSonic the computer line for Sony?

But I don't know if these are just big names, or if they are good producers in this field as well.

- Thanks again

baqai · Mar 16, 2003

i have a geforce 4 ti4200 VIVO does that means i can record too? i know its a very very dumb question but i don't see tuner software etc along with my card and makes me wonder why i have IN if there are no softwares to support it

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 17, 2003

any specifics?

baqai · Mar 17, 2003

it's an Aopen ti4200 128mb card, i came to know that i can use the video in along with VCR to use it, it doesnt have a tuner function on its own

ccb056 · Mar 17, 2003

ive researched this topic a while back and here's what i found out

creative labs= no, b/c bad drivers
ati= no, b/c quality isnt that great
msi= maybe
leadtek= most likeyly b/c good reviews and lotsa options

here's food for thought, if you have a tv tuner, and a tv out on your graphics card, you can plug in a satelite to your tv tuner, run a descrambling proggie, and plug your tv into the tv out

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 17, 2003

So manufacturers to go with are ATI and Hauppauge?

And also, currently what is the highest resolution offered? It seems the max I can find is about 700 by about 575 or somewhere in taht area.

Supertrucker · Mar 17, 2003

even the 32mb aiw radeon original did 720x480 which is what you need for a file for dvd viewing. anything bigger than that and you need to cut it down for dvd burning. the picture quality will be as good as its source, use a bad cable with loose connections, it will be ugly. clean source with good firm cables and even the older aiw cards look great.

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 17, 2003

How do TVs resolve their pictures? Do the TVs themselves enlarge or decrease the resolution of the picture coming in, in order to fit it on the screen? Or is it a set size that comes in thru the cable feed?

baqai · Mar 17, 2003

hey i was at my computer shop and he have this new device its like a cable box but it attaches to your monitor and is with remote so i can now basically attach the cable to it and see the tv on my monitor without any problem

its costing me only 25$'s

paupton · Mar 17, 2003

Tv Tuner

I have been researching this subject for a commercial application. I needed something that had good graphics and would do full screen without the border. I need it to capture and be able to handle vcr, dvd, camera input. I have ordered the following....
Hauppage win tv theatre model 495. Research it, I think you'll be impresses,,,,, and at only 129.00. Go to this link
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=194253
good luck

JohnnyTheRed · Mar 17, 2003

I had narrowed it down to either an ATI or a Hauppauge card. But I was still checking their entire lineups thouroughly before deciding.
The thing that worries me is this....
With a Digital Video Capture Resolution of 320 x 240, I would need to use a viewer to enlarge it 3-5times for an enjoyable experience. But I wouldn't know how well it would do this.

Maybe I'm mislead though. Would this be a good picture, when displaye don a tv or even a monitor? The tv, I assume, would automatically adjust the size, so it might look fairly bad? Whereas the monitor, you have some control over how much magnified it gets...

- Thanks

The Ultimate Vid Capture Card = ?

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