Hardware MPEG2 Encoder (PCI) $96.22+tax

[Kostya17]

This Card from Creative is available here for $87.62 + $8.60 (S&H) + tax (if applicable). As far as I know it is the cheapest hardware MPEG2 encoder with bundled VCR software. Looks like TiVo is finally gettin' some competition

 

[AznRyda]

depends on the quality. :Q

 

[yodayoda]

looks good, my roomie loves the idea of digital VCR. he hooked up a broken VCR to his video in line on his video card and just records the feeds from that and using the CPU to encode it. this looks a little more elegant and would save cycles on his CPU too =)

 

[Scorpi0]

Considering the MSRP (99.99) it is a warm deal at most IMHO.

The quality is also questionable. Creative doesn't have a good reputation for its video products.

It would be wise to read some reviews before buying it...

 

[jerommy]

According to the product instruction, the main function of this card is to capture analog signals and then transfer them into MPEG2.
So there are two more questions:

1. Is the format of MPEG2 file fixed? (e.g. 320*320)
2. The most important, can this card process existing files? Such as files captured from a digital camcord.

If this card is not only a better TV card, $97 is definetly a good price, but...

Did someone have experience on this card?

 

[Morpheux]

<< According to the product instruction, the main function of this card is to capture analog signals and then transfer them into MPEG2.
So there are two more questions:

1. Is the format of MPEG2 file fixed? (e.g. 320*320)
2. The most important, can this card process existing files? Such as files captured from a digital camcord.

If this card is not only a better TV card, $97 is definetly a good price, but...

Did someone have experience on this card? >>


"Captures and plays back full-motion 640x480 NTSC video full-screen or in a window"
"Also works as a video capture board. Accepts input from camcorders, VCRs, and other video devices with S-Video or composite output"

 

[HKS]

I'm surprised no one seems interested in this card... It looks pretty interesting to me, but I would also like someone who has had some experience with it to share.

 

[noxxic]

Here's a long thread about it @ AVS Forum

 

[clunk]

Unfortunately, VCDhelp.com is down right now. They have an excellent database of user experiences with various capture cards. They also had great forums for discussion of the various capture cards/techniques. If I recall correctly, this card was much anticipated, but not significantly better (or cheaper) than others already out there.

 

[StormRider]

Wow I think this is one of the hottest hardware finds for the new year! I wonder why I've never even heard of this product before? I was thinking about getting the Dazzle Video Creator II (for hardware MPEG2 encoding) but this seems like a potentially much better product since it also includes a TV tuner and is much cheaper ($99 versus $299). Great find!

 

[rsales]

I have one and I'm returning it. It has a bad tuner. Now it records programs/video in multiple files. There is an exporter that is neat because you tell it what size media your putting it on and it breaks it up in file sizes to fit. Now it exports MPEG2 but it isn't standard MPEG2. The audio is only 32k. To get it into standard MPEG2 format you must recode it. I didn't like the idea of having a MPEG2 hardware encoder that I would have to recode if I wanted to say make VCD's. Reading the specs it looked very interesting for the price. Have now consider getting the Hauppaug WinTV PVR. It has a hardware MPEG2 encoder and looks like it is encoding to the standard. It looks like it includes software to make vcd's or svcd's out of your recorded material. Rub is it's just over $200.

Edit: The software that comes with it is difficult to use. Except for the exporter.

 

[mdplayer00]

If the audio is better, you might be able to use this to archive videos. But imo, nothing beats a tivo in terms of using it as a pvr.

 

[marschw]

<< I have one and I'm returning it. It has a bad tuner. Now it records programs/video in multiple files. There is an exporter that is neat because you tell it what size media your putting it on and it breaks it up in file sizes to fit. Now it exports MPEG2 but it isn't standard MPEG2. The audio is only 32k. To get it into standard MPEG2 format you must recode it. I didn't like the idea of having a MPEG2 hardware encoder that I would have to recode if I wanted to say make VCD's. Reading the specs it looked very interesting for the price. Have now consider getting the Hauppaug WinTV PVR. It has a hardware MPEG2 encoder and looks like it is encoding to the standard. It looks like it includes software to make vcd's or svcd's out of your recorded material. Rub is it's just over $200. >>



You could probably just not let the card compress the audio, and have your cpu do it at the correct bitrate. If the card really does offload all the work of the video encoding, you should have plenty of cpu cycles left to compress the audio realtime on any reasonable cpu.

-=Marcus

 

[Dood]

The quality of this thing has been widely reported to be VERY POOR. 480x480 is NOT high enough resolution for most people. And the captures are not DVD compliant spec.

The ADS USB Instant DVD continues to amaze me. It works so great. Captures are "DVD legal" spec. Caps can be used by ANY authoring program.

And stay away from Dazzle products...never had one that did what it was supposed to.

 

[marschw]

<< The quality of this thing has been widely reported to be VERY POOR. 480x480 is NOT high enough resolution for most people. And the captures are not DVD compliant spec.

The ADS USB Instant DVD continues to amaze me. It works so great. Captures are "DVD legal" spec. Caps can be used by ANY authoring program.

And stay away from Dazzle products...never had one that did what it was supposed to. >>



Specs say 640x480, not 480x480. In any case, 480x480 is NTSC SVCD resolution, which is the only mpeg2 format you can burn on a cd anyway. miniDVD discs are very rarely playable, and very few people have DVD burners. Also, 640x480 (also 480x480, for that matter) is overkill for TV sources, which is what this card is for.

Not that I reccommend it though.

-=Marcus

 

[Dood]

Ooops, you are right. It is 640x480. If www.vcdhelp.com forums ever get back online, read the CAPTURE threads about this card. Not very positive. But everyone has different goals and standards.

I don't care about the "vcr" or tuner aspects of a capture device. I simply want to capture high quality analog sources (VHS, Tivo) to DVD-LEGAL COMPLIANT MPEG2 SPEC files. The ultimate goal is DVD...but I don't have a burner yet either. But that does not prevent me from capturing and authoring and storing on my HD or CDs until I get one.

I tried the Dazzle2 (up to 8-9mbps vbr), but it has too many problems. The ADS Instant DVD does 5mbps (even higher...6 seems max) CBR (and VBR) and the quality is amazing. Even explosions are "artifact-free". Considering that most commercial DVDs hover around 4mbps VBR, the Instant DVD's 5-6mbps is plenty for 2.5 hours of high quality capture...perfect size for a 4.7gb DVD.

If you want PURE, HIGH QUALITY capture for DVD purposes, I recommend the ADS Instant DVD ($160). If you want a tuner/PVR unit, maybe check this Creative card out. But read some other experiences first.