Looking For a Video Capture Card and Software

[Bovinicus]

Any suggestion on which capture card? My brother just bought himself a really nice DV camera for a little over 2K. It's the Sony VX-2000. To unleash the full potential of this beast, he is going to have to get himself a video capture card to put in my system so he can do some video editing. The camera has an S-Video port, IEEE-1394 port, and a Component port. They are all capable of both input and output.

Which type of connection is the best to make for capturing video? I know S-Video is high quality (At least for analog video), but firewire is high speed. It seems to me like if the information is digital then it doesn't really matter what kind of cable is used because there should be no change in the binary structure of the video. However, seeing how little I know in this area, I definitely could use information from someone who is more knowledgeable.

Finally, what software would you guys suggest I use? I read an article in CPU magazine recommending this auto director program in conjunction with Pinnacle Studio. He also mentioned Vega Video (Or whatever it is called), but said it might be a little complicated for beginners. My brother plans to make skateboard videos with this camera, so I don't think he will need the advanced options of Vega. However, correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Gibson486]

the ieee-1394 (aka firewire) is your best bet. There is no need to worry about sync bewtween video and sound.

Software? I liked pinnacle, but I got burned with Studio 7. Since then, they released Studio 8. I have not tried it yet.

edit: Firewire is high speed and ha sbetter quality than s-video. however, you need some good system specs to deal with it. They say you need atleast 600Mhz, but no, you need atleast 1.1Ghz and a good harddrive.

 

[Bovinicus]

I have a 1GHz@1.233GHz Thunderbird-C. My HDD is an IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30GB. I am about to get a WD1200JB. I'm guessing this hardware is sufficient for firewire?

Can I just get a firewire card, or do I need a video capture card with a firewire port? I'm pretty sure of the latter, I just want to make sure.

 

[Gibson486]

It is. 600 mhz is the minimum spec, but it still chokes a little at that speed. I just used 1.1 Ghz just to be safe. The specs should be fine, but keep in mind that capturing via Firewire takes up a lot space since the video is in raw form (in other words, it is not compressed into an Mpeg, Mjpeg, etc)). All you need is a firewire card. I got mine for around $30 and it came with Ulead video edit. Ulead is ok.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
I have a 1GHz@1.233GHz Thunderbird-C. My HDD is an IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30GB. I am about to get a WD1200JB. I'm guessing this hardware is sufficient for firewire?

Can I just get a firewire card, or do I need a video capture card with a firewire port? I'm pretty sure of the latter, I just want to make sure.

If your camera is storing the data digitally, you'll only need a firewire card (or any card or mobo that already has firewire inputs). Digital data will be transferred ("captured") by the PC in its original digital format. If you use something like S-VGA out, your camera is converting the digital feed to analog, where it is captured. It then needs to be digitized again in whichever format you choose (mpeg2, VCD etc.). Less work and better quality if you capture with a firewire. And as someone else mentioned, no worries about syncing audio.

Chiz

 

[Bovinicus]

Thanks for your help. How does ATi's TV card look? It has a TV tuner as well and that will probably get some use. Plus, it's only $50.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
Thanks for your help. How does ATi's TV card look? It has a TV tuner as well and that will probably get some use. Plus, it's only $50.

In the $50 range I'd spend $10 or so more and get the Leadtek WinXP2000. Updated drivers (instead of hacked poor quality 98SE drivers) and more features along with better software. Those sub-$50 offerings from ATI and Pinnacle are always dirt-cheap for a reason If you want the latest encoder/decoder chip, the Asus TV 880 is @ $80. I bucked up for the Asus after bad experiences on CX878 tuner cards, but the XP2000 seems to be a solid performer. Also, CompUSA is having a sale on all Adaptec products. Pretty much any I/O add-on is going for $50 (different IR and MIR combos though). They have some nice PCI cards for those with older mobos (USB 2.0 and IEEE1394 combo cards).

Chiz

Edit: There's a huge thread in video (older) as well as a recent one in Hot Deals on the XP2000, available at Newegg for $57-ish

 

[Gibson486]

Thanks for your help. How does ATi's TV card look? It has a TV tuner as well and that will probably get some use. Plus, it's only $50.

If you are talking about capturing with that, then goodluck. Its capture is purely done by software. It is good fo rmini projects thata re under 2 min. long, but once you get passed that mark, you will drop frames (even with a fast CPU), have horrible audio sync, and the quality will be bit fuzzy. Also, almost all software based capturing is captured in a compressed format such as Mpeg. Those compressed formats suck for editing.

The only good compressed format (even though it is a type of compression, it is still big on hd space) that is good for editing is MJPEG, and that should be your option if you plan to capture via analog.

 

[andrey]

As far as software, I would recommend Ulead Video Studio. While it may not be the cheapest, it is pretty easy to use and has all the features you'll need for capturing video and producing the final result for web use, VCD or DVD recording. Excellent program in my opinion!

--Andrey

 

[Gibson486]

Ulead is alright for beginners, but once you get familair with video capture, you tend to think that the program is some what limited. I like pinnacles software, but like I said, the Stuio 7 was rather buggy, I hope Studio 8 is an improvement.

 

[Bovinicus]

Thanks for all of your help guys. I will look into the Leadtek WinXP2000 capture card. So, just to clarify, the XP2000 has hardware encoding/decoding capabilities, right?

 

[Bovinicus]

I was just looking at that Leadtek card. There is no firewire port. Is that bad? Is S-Video/Component still going to be good enough?

After looking around a little more and doing some reading, it seems to me that the firewire port is the most important part of the equation. Things would be different if he had an analog camera, but it's a DV cam. So, if I am correct in my discerning of the situation, what is a good firewire card? I was looking at an NEC card. Adaptec's card (The 4300) looks interesting too. However, the Pinnacle card looks good too because it comes with Pinnacle studio. Gimme some feedback! Hehe.

 

[Gibson486]

Since you have a DV camcorder, just get a Firewire card. Firewire will give you better quality in almost every possible way. ANyways, like I said, those TV cards and videocard combos are not as practical as people say they are when it comes to videocapture. If you are serious about videocapture stay away from it. If you want both, you can get the pinnacle studio deluxe, which has both analog (s-vide0, composite) and digital (firewire) capture, and it comes with studio and I think the card has a sound processer onboard for analog video so you are sure to stay in sync. However, that solution is costly. Basically, if you want to use analog, make sure the capture card uses the zoran chipset, which captures in Mjpeg and does not cost alot. The only cards I know that use it are the Pinnacle studio cards (I do not recommend the DC10 plus aka av7, av8 becaus etehy lack an onboard sound processer, so syncing audio is almost impossible if you have a long video), and some old Matrox card they do not even sell anymore. In conclusion, just get a firewire card. Most Firewire cards are created equal, so just find a cheap one.

 

[DynaOne]

You can get a ATI All-in-Wonder 8500DV with both Firewire and S-Video for less than $200 now. You could get the 9700 version for over twice as much. The versions below the 8500 don't have the firewire.

 

[Gibson486]

Go to videoguys.com, they have some informative stuff capture cards.

 

[jsalpha2]

Look at the Adaptec Dou Connect At Compusa on sale for $50 after rebates. It comes with software and gives you
Firewire and USB2.0.
Good Luck

 

[Bovinicus]

Thanks for all of your help. After doing some more research and looking around, I've decided on recommending the Pinnacle firewire card to my brother. There is one incarnation that comes with Pinnacle Studio v8. Most firewire cards seem to be pretty similar, so the software package is the most important part. The Adaptec duo connect is nice because of USB2.0, but since I don't need USB2.0 it isn't especially useful to me. Maybe for my next system though. =)

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Bovinicus
Thanks for all of your help. After doing some more research and looking around, I've decided on recommending the Pinnacle firewire card to my brother. There is one incarnation that comes with Pinnacle Studio v8. Most firewire cards seem to be pretty similar, so the software package is the most important part. The Adaptec duo connect is nice because of USB2.0, but since I don't need USB2.0 it isn't especially useful to me. Maybe for my next system though. =)

You next system should have integrated 2.0 and firewire

Chiz

 

[cappsa]

Are there any good analog capture devices that connect to a firewire port? I'm getting a new laptop with all the bells and whistles, and want to be able to capture video/audio from my analog Hi8 camcorder.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: cappsa
Are there any good analog capture devices that connect to a firewire port? I'm getting a new laptop with all the bells and whistles, and want to be able to capture video/audio from my analog Hi8 camcorder.

Yer best bet would probably be the Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge ($200-250). As long as you don't install the bundled software (which IIRC tend to hurt more than help) you should be good to go. If you want to spend more money you could get the Canopus ADC-100 $299. It's more of a prosumer level device and will probably be overkill for what you want.


Lethal