Video Capture Hardware

[HiTek21]

I have a couple of VHS tapes that I would like to transfer to the PC and burn to DVD. I have a Leadtek Winfast 2000XP but I lost the video in cables also the video quality is not so great from the card. I'm looking for a good piece of hardware for video input.

 

[HiTek21]

bump

I was looking at a capture device from plextor but it got mixed reviews. Link

I also spotted a new Card from Leadtek Winfast DV2000 but I can't find any stores that carry it.

 

[voodoochili]

I need one too, i c lots of good reviews on the 2000 expert, but you say its quality aint all that, hmm i'm just lost in this whole capture card thing. can't seem to get any consistancy in reviews

 

[gsellis]

I like this one. It works with some advanced software too. Pinnacle MovieBox DV

Generally, USB capture devices are problematic and can drop frames. Canopus also makes some of the best capture devices.

 

[imported_torgo]

Check out the videohelp.com capture articles. For capturing straight to mpeg2 DVD the Hauppauge cards have good quality, but can have trouble working with capture software besides their own.
Also videoguys.com have some good information and nicer editing cards.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: torgo
Check out the videohelp.com capture articles. For capturing straight to mpeg2 DVD the Hauppauge cards have good quality, but can have trouble working with capture software besides their own.
Also videoguys.com have some good information and nicer editing cards.

Remember that MPEG2 is compressed. Although VHS is not the best quality, compressing the video, editing, and possible reconverting it will potentially make the video quality poorer. Best bet is to take it to DV/AVI first and then convert it to MPEG as part of the DVD creation process. It will edit faster too.

 

[imported_torgo]

Remember that MPEG2 is compressed. Although VHS is not the best quality, compressing the video, editing, and possible reconverting it will potentially make the video quality poorer. Best bet is to take it to DV/AVI first and then convert it to MPEG as part of the DVD creation process. It will edit faster too.

Good point. It is possible to cut commercials/etc from the mpeg-2 stream, but any real editing or adjustments will require recompression. Using a lossless codec like Huffyuv will give the best results, but will be more time consuming and use much more drive space. Kind of a easy-of-use vs. flexibility tradeoff.

 

[tiap]

Hey everybody don't forget the poster just wanted to copy a couple of vhs taped to dvd. VHS at best is less than half dvd quality, so don't worry too much about formats codecs etc. Once you have it digitally on your drive it won't degrade any further. Probably the biggest concern is to get it on your drive in any format without any dropped frames. A P3 1gig is about the minimum for this realistically. A lot of clean ram helps. A simple ati AIW radeon 32 mb original card is more than enough for this project. Their software has been greatly improved. Short of spending a couple of thousand of dollars on a professional realtime capture card, you are just wasting money. A lot of these sub $500.00 cards just don't work as claimed. Software can run anywhere from freeware/shareware to ten grand a pop.
So keep your original goals in mind. It gets tricky in a big hurry.
Check dvdrhelp.com for all your video needs. Many guides to help you.

 

[HiTek21]

Originally posted by: tiap
Hey everybody don't forget the poster just wanted to copy a couple of vhs taped to dvd. VHS at best is less than half dvd quality, so don't worry too much about formats codecs etc. Once you have it digitally on your drive it won't degrade any further. Probably the biggest concern is to get it on your drive in any format without any dropped frames. A P3 1gig is about the minimum for this realistically. A lot of clean ram helps. A simple ati AIW radeon 32 mb original card is more than enough for this project. Their software has been greatly improved. Short of spending a couple of thousand of dollars on a professional realtime capture card, you are just wasting money. A lot of these sub $500.00 cards just don't work as claimed. Software can run anywhere from freeware/shareware to ten grand a pop.
So keep your original goals in mind. It gets tricky in a big hurry.
Check dvdrhelp.com for all your video needs. Many guides to help you.

I think i've have enough hardware requirements just need a new capture source.

XP 2500+ Barton
1gb PC2700 DDR Crucial
200gb HDD (130gb Free)
Radeon 9700np 128mb
Sony DVD+-RW

I have a Leadtek Winfast 2000XP Deluxe but I lost the little break out cable so I can't connect any video source to the card. It's a nice simple card to use but the quality of the video isn't great but probably better than any VHS Tape can produce. I don't really want to spend a lot of money because once I capture these VHS Tapes I probably won't be using it again for awhile unless a friend or relative wants to convert VHS to DVD. I was thinking of getting the Leadtek Winfast 2000XP Expert since its only about 50 bucks and I can get it sent in a day (newegg is down the street)

I have Pinnacle Studio 9 and Instant CD/DVD software (hopefully it will do the trick)

 

[MattTrubac]

Hey,

Might be a little more than what you are looking to spend but try looking into something like this.

http://www.adstech.com/products/API_550/intro/api550intro.asp?pid=API-550

It is an Analog to Digital audio/video converter by ADS Pyro.

It looks like you can grab one anywhere between $150 and $200 depending on where you shop.

I'm not sure how the quality would compare to the Canopus ADVC-100 but those run closer to $250 I believe.

GoodLuck,
Matt

 

[imported_theEman]

I'm currently using Pinnacle Studio 8 AV with the DC10 capture card. It captures everything perfectly. I usually use it to capture old VHS tapes and then I burn them onto DVDs.

 

[tiap]

Have you looked on ebay for a replacement cable?
Around here you can get vhs tapes copied onto dvd for $10 bucks a pop. You said you probably won't do it again for a while, so maybe that's an option.