Video Capture

[roberoy]

Will someone please help me?
I just got an HP a750y Pavilion PC with an ATI Radeon X600 graphics card, a dvd-rom and an hp dvd-writer/cd-writer comb. I am using Windows XP Pro SP-2 with 1 GB of ram and a speed of 3.2 GHz.
All I want to be able to do is to copy tapes from my (old) JVC VCR and burn them on DVD, nothing else, no games, home theater or whatever.
No one, not even ATI will give me a straight answer as to what equipment I need or how to hook it up.
I am 73 years old, I live on SS and I cannot afford to spend much money. I do have lots of time though. This stuff is a hobby and I spend most of my time at it.
Will someone please give me some straight-talk!
Thank you.

 

[Gamingphreek]

You need a Video Card that is VIVO (Video In/ Video Out).

After you get VIVO then you get an SVIDEO cable and an SVideo to RCA cable and plug it in. Then record the movie to your HDD and then burn that file to the DVD in DVD format.

Kind of confusing, if need be i can make it a bit clearer.

-Kevin

 

[MaverickBP]

or if you have a minidv camcorder with analog throughput. you can do it that way also. cnet.com has a article about it with parts needed

 

[Wolfshanze]

You do NOT need an over-priced video card with VIVO (forcing you to buy new video cards just for video-in is ridiculous).

No, all you need is a simple $29 buck capture card that is independant of your video card (you can upgrade your video card whenever you want to whatever you want, for whatever price you want without having to worry about VIVO if you have an idependant capture card).

Get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-100-120&depa=0

It's cheap, it works better then a VIVO card, and comes with the software you need to make your own DVDs from video tapes (and the software is good and simple to use). For $29 bucks, you can't go wrong... my wife and I each have one of these in our system.

 

[MrPhelps]

I have a ATI 7500 All in wonder and have done exactly what you are talking about.
I would suggest a cheap capture card like mine. I also asked a ton of questions and got little out of the box help. Alot of trial and error and found that I am happy with my DVD's for my home videos.

1) Capture mpeg2 format 720x480 and watch for frames dropping. Shut down all progs in the back ground like Antivirus internet ... Don't multi task while capturing.
2) burn to dvd ( This is the easy part) I use Nero.

You might have to reduce the capture setting if you get frames dropping.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

roberoy,

Are you confortable with opening your PC and fiddling with the insides? if yes, but a TV Tuner/capture card, like Wolfshaze suggested.

If you'd rather not deal with open cases, screws, slots and all, and you don't want to worry about software and dropped frames, the best external solution for DVD mastering is ADS USB Instant DVD 2.0

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...em-details.asp?EdpNo=573674&CatId=1428

That's what I have, and it's perfect - the quality is extremely good, and the installation is as easy as 1, 2, 3. I don't get enthusiastic over such things easily, but this is probably one of the most useful gadgets I've ever bought.

 

[Wolfshanze]

A good authoring program like Cyberlink Power Producer does EVERYTHING for you, from capturing the video, to setting up the DVD, to burning to DVD.

The capture card I recomended is $29 bucks and COMES with Cyberlink Power Producer... no need to switch to multiple steps and/or multiple programs or cards two or three times the price.

The bundle I linked you to will cover all your bases and save you some $$$.

P.S.
"Fiddling" with the inside involves:
A) Open case
B) Insert card
C) Close case

It's neither rocket-science nor difficult to install a PCI capture card... if it's too difficult to do A,B,C, you probably shouldn't have a computer.

You don't get dropped frames with PCI cards, not sure where you got that from. You can, however get slow transfer rates if your USB isn't up to snuff in combination with a USB device... if you have an older system lacking USB2.0, you'll get terrible transfer rates compared to a PCI card that a two-year old could install.

Going the USB route will also involve more cables behind your computer and increased costs (external USB devices always cost more then internal PCI devices... in this case, $29 bucks for PCI vs $119 bucks for USB to do THE SAME THING). If you enjoy throwing money away to do the exact same thing, buy the PCI card and send me the $90 differance!

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Wolfshanze
You do NOT need an over-priced video card with VIVO (forcing you to buy new video cards just for video-in is ridiculous).

No, all you need is a simple $29 buck capture card that is independant of your video card (you can upgrade your video card whenever you want to whatever you want, for whatever price you want without having to worry about VIVO if you have an idependant capture card).

Get one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-100-120&depa=0

It's cheap, it works better then a VIVO card, and comes with the software you need to make your own DVDs from video tapes (and the software is good and simple to use). For $29 bucks, you can't go wrong... my wife and I each have one of these in our system.

A Video Capture card supports VIVO. I never said he needed one of the high end cards. None of the cards with onboard VIVO will be as good as a seperate Capture Card.

-Kevin

 

[roberoy]

Thank you: Gamingphreek, MaverickBP, Wolfshanze, MrPhelps, and AnitaPeterson for your GREAT input. Why couldn't ATI have done that?
I ordered the KWorld DVD Maker Card for $31.00 including S&H (no tax). It sounds like it will do the job and the price is exactly right!
Thanks again for your help.
Roberoy
http://www.ourfamilyleaves.org

 

[Wolfshanze]

Glad to be of help roberoy. I'm sure you'll be happy with the card... the only "issue" if there is one with the card is the default setup might give you low volume on the sound... if you have this, you can increase the volume by having your VCR sound inputs go directly to the Line-in of your sound card (bypassing the KWorld audio inputs). If you don't have the adapter to do this any Radio Shack should be able to get you the twin-RCA-plug to STEREO mini-plug adapter for a few bucks. This will raise the volume of your recordings if you think it is too low by default.

Also, it comes with the excellent program "Cyberlink Power Producer 2 Gold". It's a great program and easy to use... but if you like it and want more, I found Cyberlink Power Producer 3 for $10 bucks at the link provided (I got mine, and it's even better then PP2-Gold).

One oddity about PP2-Gold, the "Edit" function doesn't work right, but you can use the "SPLIT" function in it's place, which works like a charm... just split the video you want to cut out at the beginning and end of the segment (like a commercial break) and delete the unwanted section... works basically the same as Edit.

Anyways, for $30 bucks, you'll love the KWorld card and Power Producer program. It gives GREAT video quality and the software is very simple to use! I knew NOTHING about making DVDs after I bought my DVD burner... I wanted to do the same thing you mentioned... make DVDs from my VCR tape collection, nothing more.... I did some research and found this KWorld card and Cyberlink software. I got them in, installed them and hooked up my VCR and within the same day had already made my first VideoTape to DVD transition without much thought... very easy and fun to use!