Video Capture?

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StormBringer

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I'm in need of a good video capture device, any recommendations for a good capture card or device? I don't need anything of production quality, I just need something I can use to make decent quality files from home movies of my son to send to my dad
 
Decent quality can be achieved with any Bt8x8-based video card. I've had quite a good results with Pinnacle PCTV Rave. Hauppauge Win/TV models are also good. Some videocards have video-in, too (look for "VIVO" models).
 
I really love my ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder. But it is a video card, that has the capabilities or video input and video output, as well as TV input. So you are probably needing something with video in to send home movies to your dad. And this card is great for that. But it is probably a little out of your price range (not saying you are cheap, but a regular tv card is like 50 bux, this one is 250). Just a little insight.
 
Originally posted by poertner_1274
I really love my ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder.

I've been thinking hard of getting the 8500DV All-In-Wonder card. I watch alot of DVD's and TV and would like to record some TV shows I like. I've heard good things about this card, but don't want to invest alot of money into one until I feel its worth it. Could you convince me alittle more into getting one of these and tell me about some of the other neat things it can do. Also, is it good for gaming? I'm not looking for the fastest greatest card out there, just something with good FPS and quality imagery. Thanks for any help you can give!!!
 
Well, my current card, a GeForce2 MX400 64MB DDR, has TVout but not in, That card more than suits my graphics needs but I need something just for vid capture. I've seen several capture cards and devices ranging from around $50 up to $300+. The only one I've actually been able to look at and play with was a Dazzle Video creation plus(or something like that) I saw it at Best Buy and it is basically a small box with inputs on one side and a USB cable on the other. It sells for $70, though it looks like it probably cost $3 for them to make.
 
I would go with the Radeon All-in-wonder too or the much more inexpensive ATI TV-wonder, I have that one and it save you from buying another video card !!
 
Originally posted by StormBringer
The only one I've actually been able to look at and play with was a Dazzle Video creation plus(or something like that) I saw it at Best Buy and it is basically a small box with inputs on one side and a USB cable on the other.
The problem with USB 1.x video devices is that USB is too slow for good quality video. Therefore, these things usually use MPEG-1 compression, and as they're cheap, quality is what it is. But if 352x288 is enough for you, go for it. I still recommend using internal PCI TV cards.
 
Ok, let me restate myself for those who don't seem to listen. I don't want or need a new graphics card. My current card is more than enough for what I do with this system. I just need a capture card. I only pointed out that USB device because it was the only one I had seen, note that I also pointed out it looked like junk.

Please don't reply just to tell me that my graphics card isn't good enough
 
Ok, let me restate myself for those who don't seem to listen

I think that is a bit harsh - people in here don't HAVE to help you.


No one said your graphics card wasn't good enough, they merely stated that an option was to get a new graphics card that had video in and out.

Your other options are a capture card (as also already mentioned), or a USB editting box (Which you referred to as Junk).
 
i have the ATI TV wonder, it works great in win2k and 98se
(i waited for almost a year until they have beta win2k driver)

the win9x driver works great, win2k driver is still in beta, but no problem at all.
i used to use the TV card to watch hockey, but my gf took it to hook up with her VHS (poor me)

there are 2 new version of ATI TV wonder.
one VE version with less function
one USB version, again, with less function

here are the links you can take a look
http://www.ati.com/products/pc/tvwonder/index.html
http://www.ati.com/products/pc/tvwonderve/index.html
http://www.ati.com/products/pc/tvwonderusb/index.html

hope that can help you.

btw, i prefer TV wonder over ALL in wonder card, coz
i don't need to worry about video capture when i upgrade my video card:D
 
and i don't think ATI is going to update the TV wonder/ve 's drivers,
but they may have updates for USB in the future.
 
I have the Radeon 8500DV; I admit it, I bought it because at the time (last month) there was no Geforce 4 Ti 4600 with the input options the AIW offers (there still isn't, right?). I have a (sob!) score of ~6400 in 3DMark 2001SE, so if you wanted to play games, forget about those max. settings.

The experience with this card (I wanted to replace my aging VCR movies) is a varied one. It reminds me of the time when I bought the SB Live! Platinum 5.1. I started recording with the bundled software, then bought two more programs because I wanted to trim and adjust a little bit more, and currently I own Cubase VST. The Radeon will do the job of capturing -you have to get the card running first- but soon you'll be wanting to have more editing capabilities than Ulead's studio.

Hope this helps.

BTW, the new Radeon AIW runs at 275Mhz. While not great for games, it will certainly bring you up to speed (I have to put up with 230Mhz)
 
Originally posted by running
I have a (sob!) score of ~6400 in 3DMark 2001SE, so if you wanted to play games, forget about those max. settings.

Sounds awful... It must run terribly slow. :rolleyes:
 
It doesn't run terribly slow, but for unforgiving engines is not enough. When you think that a score over 10,000 is not exceptional anymore, then you can't help but compare this card to what's currently available out there.
 
A little older than the All In Wonders is the ATI Rage Fury Pro VIVO. It comes with 32 mb of RAM and uses the same ATI software bundles as it's Radeon kin. You can find them online for great prices and the performance for video capture, editing and output is remarkable without spending a fortune. But remember this, if you are happy with your current vid card for everything you do, don't go with an ATI card unless you are willing to trade the cards. The ATI cards will work in dual monitor situations right up until you need to use specific video capture features, then it just gets buggy and sometimes will outright refuse to work. If your current card is a PCI card then ATI AGP cards really aren't much of an option at all since Win OS's default to PCI video cards first in dual monitor situations thus disabling a lot of the reason you got the ATI card for anyway.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I found one. I got an ATI TV Wonder. It was only $45 and the quality is better than I had hoped for and it also has the tv tuner
 
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