LEADTEK WINFAST "DELUXE" TV2000XP TV/FM MULTIMEDIA CARD - RETAIL BOX (UPDATE: NOW $42.00 shipped!) @ Newegg!

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FuZoR

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2001
4,422
1
0
damn i was looking at this for like 2 weeks, I finally order for $56.99 a few days ago

and now its 54.99 grrrrrrr hahaha.

:)
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
Originally posted by: RobsTV
Originally posted by: geckojohn
So, can anyone answer my question: how to burn to a vcd Cd so that i can play on a standard dvd player? please respond...


1. Record program to your hard drive. AVI will be best quality but huge. Mpeg is fine for testing.

Does the SW w/ this HW do AVI then?
The ATI TV VE does mp2 only
 

SearchMaster

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2002
7,791
114
106
Originally posted by: ZakPC
Originally posted by: RobsTV
Originally posted by: geckojohn
So, can anyone answer my question: how to burn to a vcd Cd so that i can play on a standard dvd player? please respond...


1. Record program to your hard drive. AVI will be best quality but huge. Mpeg is fine for testing.

Does the SW w/ this HW do AVI then?
The ATI TV VE does mp2 only

Don't know anything about the software that comes with this card, but TMPGEnc should do what you're looking for. You have to pay for the SVCD capability (after a 30 day trial), but I believe the VCD is free. It does a fantastic job, and if you use the highest quality setting, it does much better than any other software I've used to make MPEG files (like Pinnacle Studio, Movie Maker, etc.)
 

caribiner23

Junior Member
Jan 7, 2003
18
0
0
Jinduy wrote:
anyone know if this antenna is any good? it is recommended that i get a "blue" type antenna, which i have no clue how to check.

I have never heard of a "blue" antenna.

The best thing I would suggest is that you try your local Radio Shack (assuming you are in the US) and see which of their "rabbit ears" style antenna works for you. If it doesn't work, you can return it.

Any TV guy will tell you that nothing beats a good outdoor antenna. The indoor ones are all pretty much the same in my experience.

I just ordered one of these cards myself. :)
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
Don't know anything about the software that comes with this card, but TMPGEnc should do what you're looking for. You have to pay for the SVCD capability (after a 30 day trial), but I believe the VCD is free. It does a fantastic job, and if you use the highest quality setting, it does much better than any other software I've used to make MPEG files (like Pinnacle Studio, Movie Maker, etc.)

So this SW is capable of capturing using the tuner as the capture device?
Currently, I just click record in the MMC bundle that came w/ my card and was unaware I could use others apps to capture off the card (though it makes sense - it's just a device after all and I would guess makes sense to not be tied to particular SW)
 

geckojohn

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2000
4,679
0
0
From the bundled software that comes with this tv tuner, Which Unlead software do you guys prefer?
 

psxjunky

Senior member
May 30, 2000
921
0
0
I just got this card and want to setup my home theater PC as a PVR (I already have a TiVo ... and love it ... but a second PVR won't hurt :) ).

Has anyone done this ? Which PVR software are you using ? Is the included WinFast PVR stuff good enough ?

Anyone looked into ShowShifter or SnapStream yet ?

Any other PVR software anyone wants to recommend ? I absolutely love the TiVo interface and want something on my PC that emulates TiVo as closely as possible.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,485
9,977
136
Is anybody else finding the playback functionality to be quirky? I can't get 4x playback, only 2x. And that grab the wheel and twist with the mouse pointer is really really flaky. Doesn't seem to work. I can't get the control panel to come up in playback mode without reducing the image from full screen. Is there a way to jump ahead a minute, 2 minutes? One of my VCR's has 30 second jump with every press of a button on the remote. I don't use that alot because I can put it into 9x playback to skip commercials. Is there a reasonable way to skip commercials with this thing? 2x with the sound on is ridiculous. I may have to stick with my VCRs for recording. :( Or is it possible to use another PVR software with this card?
 

RobsTV

Platinum Member
Feb 11, 2000
2,520
0
0
Originally posted by: ZakPC
Originally posted by: RobsTV
Originally posted by: geckojohn
So, can anyone answer my question: how to burn to a vcd Cd so that i can play on a standard dvd player? please respond...


1. Record program to your hard drive. AVI will be best quality but huge. Mpeg is fine for testing.

Does the SW w/ this HW do AVI then?
The ATI TV VE does mp2 only


Besides the Ulead stuff, the TV Console also has multiple options.
These recording options include the following built-in format profiles:

Uncompressed AVI
Windows Media Video
DVD NTSC or PAL
VCD NTSC or PAL
MPEG-2 Normal, Good or Optimal
MPEG-1 Normal, Good or Optimal

And also under each profile, there are additional Capture settings that allow you to
customize things to the max, to get best quality at desired size.


 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
i've been screwin around trying my hand at the capture -> HDD -> to VCD stuff and then some downloded mpg/avi to VCD as well and have some ?'s
Which is the better format for making VCDs - AVI or MPG?
The AVI look better on my PC but Nero encodes it before burning anyway and lost the sound on one of the 6 files I burned.
I tried to make an SVCD and Nero couldn't handle it - ended up all screwed up - I had to download the VCD file which played and burned fine.
Is there other SW I should be using to make SVCDs?
Basically my intent is to get from either a capture source (what format?) or download source (AVI or MPG?) to a VCD (or preferably SVCD) to watch on my DVD player on the home thater.
I seem to have no trouble going from a downloaded AVI to VCD but have had some issues w/ any other combination.
Also, when I capture in software other than ATI's bundled SW, as soon as I exit the app I lose all TV sound - even if I reenter the same app I was capturing in.
Another issue is that if I use 3rd party capturing SW, even after closing, I cannot watch TV at all in ATI's SW as it says the driver is still in use by the other app.
Thanks for all the previous help and thanks in advance for your answers here.
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
BTW - part of the reason I'm so hot on this issue is that if I can get all of this figured out and like the results, I'll be spending the extra $$ for an All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro instead of either the ATI, Hercules or Crucial non-All-In-Wonder


 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
91
Originally posted by: ZakPC
BTW - part of the reason I'm so hot on this issue is that if I can get all of this figured out and like the results, I'll be spending the extra $$ for an All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro instead of either the ATI, Hercules or Crucial non-All-In-Wonder

Either way you probably can't lose. I have the Leadtek with a 9700 Pro and am very pleased, but I am not so into making VCDs. I figure there is added flexibility in having the TV tuner card separate, in that it will allow me to upgrade the vid card separately and keep TV capabilities. That said, the AIW 9700 seems like the all-around best vid card ever made.
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
Originally posted by: Don_Vito
Originally posted by: ZakPC
BTW - part of the reason I'm so hot on this issue is that if I can get all of this figured out and like the results, I'll be spending the extra $$ for an All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro instead of either the ATI, Hercules or Crucial non-All-In-Wonder

Either way you probably can't lose. I have the Leadtek with a 9700 Pro and am very pleased, but I am not so into making VCDs. I figure there is added flexibility in having the TV tuner card separate, in that it will allow me to upgrade the vid card separately and keep TV capabilities. That said, the AIW 9700 seems like the all-around best vid card ever made.

What are the benfits of the All-In-Wonder over a standard 9700 Pro in conjuction w/ my current ATI TV VE (besides stereo rather than mono sound on the TV feed)?
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,485
9,977
136
FYI! OK, folks, I just found out something that's gonna take you by surprise ! :D I too was wondering why the antenna connections at the back of the card seem so loose. More than that I was wondering why the picture would go from grainy to decent, to grainy by just jostling the thing, etc. WTF? While fiddling with them I gave a little yank and discovered something. The antenna connectors on this card - give a yank (yeah, with the cable that's attached, screwed on, you know how loose fitting it is and how people have complained/noted that?). It's nothing but an RF plug-RCA plug converter! Yes, it pulls out completely and you see that the card really accommodates a male RCA connection from the antenna. So, if you want to minimize your signal loss, use just a male RCA connector on the end of your antenna (and remove their converter, of course). In my case, I will solder it on to the antenna cable lead-in to the card. Same would apply to cable TV, dish, etc., naturally. Otherwise you are losing an extra 3 db or so of signal with the converter in there. That's, of course, if your signal is already suspect AFA strength is concerned. There are actually circumstances where your antenna signal could be too strong and you would want an attenuator in the line. That's judging from reading the backs of accessories at Radio Shack, so it may not be worth a lot. It's NOT the voice of MY experience. I'm no expert on video. In my case, I think I have to worry more about my signal being too weak than too strong. I'm going to try to run quite a lot of stuff just off my antenna, and if and when I get satellite TV, that too.
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
Originally posted by: ZakPC
BTW - part of the reason I'm so hot on this issue is that if I can get all of this figured out and like the results, I'll be spending the extra $$ for an All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro instead of either the ATI, Hercules or Crucial non-All-In-Wonder

I couldn't wait anymore....
Went with the Crucial 9700 Pro which is of course not an All-In-Wonder
wasn't expecting sales tax - ouch
I'll stick w/ my ATI TV VE w/ my new Crucial
I hope it comes Friday rather than Monday w/ their free 2nd Day shipping!!!!
Anyone have suggestions on what my used Elsa Gladiac 920 is worth?
It's really hard for me to price as it's (last I knew THE fastest) GeForce3 that's still going for $330+ new becuase Elsa had discontinued consumer products (though they now have a 9700 Pro advertised - strange - back in the consumer market? - had I known that I may have waited for their 9700 Pro) so these cards in new condition are way overpriced.
At the same time, I think it's certainly worth more than 60-75% (my standard used/refurb mark down) of what the other new GF3's (like Asus or MSI) go for: $90-$110
Whaddya think?
Resale value of the used Gladiac $150? $100?
 

SearchMaster

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2002
7,791
114
106
Originally posted by: ZakPC
i've been screwin around trying my hand at the capture -> HDD -> to VCD stuff and then some downloded mpg/avi to VCD as well and have some ?'s
Which is the better format for making VCDs - AVI or MPG?
The AVI look better on my PC but Nero encodes it before burning anyway and lost the sound on one of the 6 files I burned.
I tried to make an SVCD and Nero couldn't handle it - ended up all screwed up - I had to download the VCD file which played and burned fine.
Is there other SW I should be using to make SVCDs?
Basically my intent is to get from either a capture source (what format?) or download source (AVI or MPG?) to a VCD (or preferably SVCD) to watch on my DVD player on the home thater.
I seem to have no trouble going from a downloaded AVI to VCD but have had some issues w/ any other combination.
Also, when I capture in software other than ATI's bundled SW, as soon as I exit the app I lose all TV sound - even if I reenter the same app I was capturing in.
Another issue is that if I use 3rd party capturing SW, even after closing, I cannot watch TV at all in ATI's SW as it says the driver is still in use by the other app.
Thanks for all the previous help and thanks in advance for your answers here.

ZakPC,
This is where TMPGEnc comes in. I apologize if my earlier post was lacking in information. Capture in the highest quality AVI that you can, then use TMPGEnc (in highest quality mode) to convert to VCD or SVCD. Then drag-drop your new MPEG1/2 file onto your Nero VCD/SVCD compilation. Nero will check that the file is in the right format, but will do no other conversion. I've never had a problem with Nero's own conversion from AVI to MPEG1/2, but its quality is much worse than I get from TMPGEnc (a lot more artifacts and blocking). TMPGEnc doesn't do particularly well with Divx from what I understand, so do your original capture in Huffy or whatever high quality raw format you prefer.

VCD is always MPEG1 format, and SVCD is always MPEG2 format. That's why there has to be some type of conversion from AVI to MPEG1/2 before you can create a VCD/SVCD. If you find that the capture quality of the card is good enough in MPEG1/2 for you (not too blocky, etc.), you might be able to put the settings at MPEG1, 352x240, 29.97 frames/sec, 224kb/sec audio, 1150 kbit/sec video to get a compliant format out-of-the-box. See www.dvdrhelp.com for more info about VCD and SVCD formats.
 

ZakPC

Senior member
Oct 11, 2002
204
0
0
Is there an easy way to split up big files w/ that app?
I saw you can set start and end frames but will it "remember" your last end fram so you can continue if you have an AVI that will need 3 CDs or so?
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
40,485
9,977
136
Can anybody get 4x on playback? I only get 1x and 2x forward. Backward I get -1x, -2x and -4x.
 

psloan

Senior member
Dec 27, 2000
268
0
76
Same here.


Originally posted by: Muse
Can anybody get 4x on playback? I only get 1x and 2x forward. Backward I get -1x, -2x and -4x.


PS I am still having problem with shows set to record on a reoccuring bassis don't record when the pvr is shut down. Single time recordings work fine. Anyone else?
 

psxjunky

Senior member
May 30, 2000
921
0
0
Originally posted by: psxjunky
I just got this card and want to setup my home theater PC as a PVR (I already have a TiVo ... and love it ... but a second PVR won't hurt :) ).

Has anyone done this ? Which PVR software are you using ? Is the included WinFast PVR stuff good enough ?

Anyone looked into ShowShifter or SnapStream yet ?

Any other PVR software anyone wants to recommend ? I absolutely love the TiVo interface and want something on my PC that emulates TiVo as closely as possible.


Anyone ?
 

psloan

Senior member
Dec 27, 2000
268
0
76
I tried snapstream. But it does not look like the tuner works with this card. It is a bummer cause this software looks like the most promising to me as far as a pvr goes. I maybe look more into it and see if I can get it to work.

--pat

Originally posted by: psxjunky
Originally posted by: psxjunky
I just got this card and want to setup my home theater PC as a PVR (I already have a TiVo ... and love it ... but a second PVR won't hurt :) ).

Has anyone done this ? Which PVR software are you using ? Is the included WinFast PVR stuff good enough ?

Anyone looked into ShowShifter or SnapStream yet ?

Any other PVR software anyone wants to recommend ? I absolutely love the TiVo interface and want something on my PC that emulates TiVo as closely as possible.


Anyone ?

 

summerbreeze

Member
Aug 28, 2002
60
0
0
I converted a PAL VHS to NTSC DVD and it was a simple 2 step process (Not counting the VHS Tape insertion into the VCR / Completed DVD Ejection)

This Card Rocks :D

The only 2 software I used were the ones which came with this card and the Cendyne DVD-R/RW Writer