• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

/needs new Video Capture card! (advice needed)

G

Gamedude

Member
I'd like to record movies from my camera, put them on my PC and edit them with special effects.

I too like to record some in-game things and edit them with special effects etc aswell.

So.. to do those things, I need some kind of Video Capture card? What should I buy if my budget is 200$ MAXIMUM?

I'd like to have a card so that I can (easily) capture my in-game movies. (which has a very good quality overall, so sound too. )

So please tell me which one you recommend me, maybe a Pinnacle? (if so, which) + experiences with specific cards are always interesting.

PS: I live in Belgium, it's okay for me to order one from, for example: amazon.com, so link me up if you have something interesting to show! (which ships worldwide that is)
 
I would recommend a FusionHDTV 3. It does everything you want it to but it also does HDTV OTA reception and recording. It even comes with software to convert your captures to DVD. The only real caveat is that it uses a software HDTV decoder which mean you need a relatively hefty computer (> 2Ghz) for it to run real smooth. As for analog, it has inputs for S-Video and composite and has the latest conexant chip so you could you Dscaler if you want.

I've had this card for a year now and it kicks ass! Great HD reception and watching my old laserdiscs via the s-video input is a revelation and at $150.00 its a steal!

fusion3qt.jpg
 
Whoa! Just checked their website and their latest drivers now support HD timeshifting! Excellent...BTW, the QAM version will also receive and decode unencrypted HD channels on cable networks.
 
If you want to save some cash try this baby:

http://www.surpluscomputers.com/CRD10186.html

For only $20, it's a great card to cut your teeth on. Only has composite input, but Hauppauge is wellknown for their video capture cadrs. I've been putting together some nice game footage clips togehter for another forum using this card. Moving away from VirtualVCR and now using DScaler for my captures. But I'm a newbie, and this more than satisfies my basic needs. If I evvr run my own site or something I may make a bigger investment. But for now it's good enough to show people some decent gameplay videos. :)
 
For games video capture, get the cheapest card you can find with a s-video input. You should be able to find one for about $50. These cheap card all use a BT848/878 chipset (or newer model with a new name but basically the same) and they work perfectly well at full resolution (720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL, interlaced) and are supported by about every application/OS you could find.
Now myself I'm looking to by a true HDTV video capture card, by true I mean capable a capturing an uncompressed HDTV stream. Card + Component input/HD-SDI adapter : $2500. *shudder*
I'm still determined to get one before the end of the year, along with the monster PC/Hard drive setup needed.
Aphram: Your video was nice, but by default most captures are way too dark. Make sure to add a bit of brightness. Contact me on MSN for encoding tips :)
 
I have an AMD 64 3000+ so I won't have problems if it depens on my PC.

@ Apharmd Battler: can you post the link to your movies made by your TV card of 20$?

Blimblim said:
For games video capture, get the cheapest card you can find with a s-video input.
Click to expand...
interesting, but what's the difference between the cards your saying & the one of 3dman?

I have a lack of knowledge about terms like "HDTV" etc so please tell me what the difference is. :)
 
Gamedude said:
interesting, but what's the difference between the cards your saying & the one of 3dman?

I have a lack of knowledge about terms like "HDTV" etc so please tell me what the difference is. :)
Click to expand...
Looks like the card there is using a conexant CX23881 chip for analog capture. It's a slightly better version of the BT848/878 chip, so you can go ahead and buy this one.
Edit: Just noticed you live in belgium. If so then you can forget about getting a HTDV card, it will only work with US compressed AV streams. Just get a cheap Winfast TV 2000 or Hauppage PCTV Pro for about 50/60 euros and you'll be all set. That's what I use for my site (try getting the Winfast one os it works almost correctly in PAL60 mode) and I could not be happier with it. Using VirtualVCR you can capture and preview the video at the same time, so you do not need a video doubler to play on your tv (though I'd recommend it if you want to make lots of videos, playing with interlaced footage will quickly tire your eyes)
 
Gamedude said:
I have an AMD 64 3000+ so I won't have problems if it depens on my PC.

@ Apharmd Battler: can you post the link to your movies made by your TV card of 20$?


interesting, but what's the difference between the cards your saying & the one of 3dman?

I have a lack of knowledge about terms like "HDTV" etc so please tell me what the difference is. :)
Click to expand...


HDTV is High Definition TV...If you are not interested in any HD broadcasts, then stick with something cheaper. But, you'll defenitely have no problems with your PC if mine (AMD 2800+) runs it well. I was also about to warn you that perhaps in Belgium this card might not be for you, but I see Blimblim has already done so...Sorry.
 
about that movie, the faces and stuff are a bit unsharp.. is that just the game or the quality of the card?

and those black things on the left, right, upper & down side of your window: is it the game or your resolution you can choose?

I just need a card so I can make HIGH quality (the size doesn't matter, I have plenty of space on my HDD and can burn them on dual layered DVD's etc) movies of specific things in games.

For example: I'd like to record all the cut-scenes from the Metal Gear Solid franchise so I can watch them on my PC etc.. I'd like to see those cut-scenes on my pc with the same quality as I would watch them in the game.
 
Don't forget that the video you get out of your console is interlaced. You do not want an interlaced video on your PC so the video has to be deinterlaced, and it will lose quite a bit of details in the process. Hence the kinda blurry faces and overall loss of details.
If the game supports progressive output, and you have a very expansive card that supports progressive capture (professional stuff, don't even think about getting one) then you'll be able to get much more details.
 
what's does the term "interlaced" mean? & why don't you want interlaced video's on your pc? immense huge amount of space needed on your HD??
 
I bought a cheap BT878 card from maplin in the UK. cost £30 (50 Euro). It is old, so it is mature and has flexible drivers. I bought mine because I need to capture PAL-60 from a VHS deck, and the 878 is pretty much the only card that will do it.

Hauppage WinTV express from maplin

Hauppage is a German company I think, so should be no problems finding one in Belgium. Its worth going to buy one from a store, or checking you can return it if its not a BT878 card - some of the later ones are connexant based, which is OK for normal capture but not as flexible.

What is your camera? Does it have DV out? If so, have a look at its capabilities. I have a Sony TRV-25, and it can take an analog input (composite or svideo), and convert it in realtime to DV, so I can use that as an analog capture device -you just need a firewire input on your PC. unfortunately it doesn't' handle PAL-60, but thats sorted now.
 
that camera is becoming a bit old, It's a Sony (I guess 4 years old) and I already checked if it has connectivity for firewire: nope
 
Blimblim said:
For games video capture, get the cheapest card you can find with a s-video input. You should be able to find one for about $50. These cheap card all use a BT848/878 chipset (or newer model with a new name but basically the same) and they work perfectly well at full resolution (720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL, interlaced) and are supported by about every application/OS you could find.
Now myself I'm looking to by a true HDTV video capture card, by true I mean capable a capturing an uncompressed HDTV stream. Card + Component input/HD-SDI adapter : $2500. *shudder*
I'm still determined to get one before the end of the year, along with the monster PC/Hard drive setup needed.
Aphram: Your video was nice, but by default most captures are way too dark. Make sure to add a bit of brightness. Contact me on MSN for encoding tips :)
Click to expand...


Thanks buddy. I sent you a PM and we'll try to set up some Rallisport Challenge 2 time to discuss. Or even Splinter Cell. ;) I think I may have used VirtualVCR to capture that video but I don't remember since it was an experiment. I plan on doing some more real soon.
 
Gamedude said:
what's does the term "interlaced" mean? & why don't you want interlaced video's on your pc? immense huge amount of space needed on your HD??
Click to expand...
No, interlaced means that each image you capture is in fact composed of half an image, and half the next one. Odd lines = one image, even lines = the other image. Your average TV runs in interlaced mode so you won't notice it, but on a progressive display like you computer screen, you DEFINITELY do not want that.
Take a look :
Frame 1 deinterlaced
Frame 2 deinterlaced
Interlaced frame
I'm sure you'll notice the problem right away :)
 
Gamedude said:
I have an AMD 64 3000+ so I won't have problems if it depens on my PC.

@ Apharmd Battler: can you post the link to your movies made by your TV card of 20$?


interesting, but what's the difference between the cards your saying & the one of 3dman?

I have a lack of knowledge about terms like "HDTV" etc so please tell me what the difference is. :)
Click to expand...

I made some videos of Spikeout over at the GR.net forums for my pals in this thread:

http://www.gamersrepublic.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=6492&st=15

LIke I said, I think I used VirtualVCR, instead of Dscaler to capture the footage in .avi then covert to .wmv using Windows Movie Maker (which is built into WinXP). I haven't had much time to play around with my capture settings, and I haven't tried to use other apps I have laying around (i.e Adobe Premier, Roxio Creator, Pinnacle Studio 9). This was just something basic I slapped togetherin like 10 minutes to see if I could do it. I plan on putting more stuff together in the future, if I can get my act together.

I need WAY more free time to play around at the house :(
 
mrklaw said:
I bought a cheap BT878 card from maplin in the UK. cost £30 (50 Euro). It is old, so it is mature and has flexible drivers. I bought mine because I need to capture PAL-60 from a VHS deck, and the 878 is pretty much the only card that will do it.

Hauppage WinTV express from maplin

Hauppage is a German company I think, so should be no problems finding one in Belgium. Its worth going to buy one from a store, or checking you can return it if its not a BT878 card - some of the later ones are connexant based, which is OK for normal capture but not as flexible.

What is your camera? Does it have DV out? If so, have a look at its capabilities. I have a Sony TRV-25, and it can take an analog input (composite or svideo), and convert it in realtime to DV, so I can use that as an analog capture device -you just need a firewire input on your PC. unfortunately it doesn't' handle PAL-60, but thats sorted now.
Click to expand...

I'd like more info on this as well. I have an older Panasonic DV100D MiniDV Camcorder. It has Firewire out and I've used it on my main PC to import my vacation footage and make a nice DVD via Pinnacle Studio 9. Can I somehow use this camera as a caputre device? I don't think I can because I don't think there a video input other than the lens, which is why I got the $20 Hauppauge card I listed above to cut my teeth on. I too am new to this but have been learning a lot from doing research (and pestering BlimBlim and pals). ;)
 
ok, so let me get this straight... If I want to capture footage of my games I just have to buy a TV-card for a 50-60€ in my local pc-shop and I will be O.K , I don't need anything more expensive than that for very good quality?

can someone tell me which one you recommend me?

(Winfast 2000 maybe ? and why)
(a specific Hauppage type? and why)
 
I think most TV tuner cards with S-video input should be okay. I have a Leadtek Winfast 2000 Deluxe just to play games on my monitor and it looks decent. Doesn't look as good as it does on a real television. Perhaps the forums at deinterlace.sourceforge.net would be a good place to ask about specific cards.
 
I've always been a big proponent of ATI capture cards. MY AIW 9800 Pro still takes great still captures and nice vids of game I play.
 
I got an ATi TV wonder and it sucks for videogame capture, since there is a delay of 1 second of what's being outputted to what you see on the screen. I thought that it was because videosoap was on but I dno't think it is...

Shoulda got the Hauppage :(
 
Apharmd Battler said:
I'd like more info on this as well. I have an older Panasonic DV100D MiniDV Camcorder. It has Firewire out and I've used it on my main PC to import my vacation footage and make a nice DVD via Pinnacle Studio 9. Can I somehow use this camera as a caputre device? I don't think I can because I don't think there a video input other than the lens, which is why I got the $20 Hauppauge card I listed above to cut my teeth on. I too am new to this but have been learning a lot from doing research (and pestering BlimBlim and pals). ;)
Click to expand...


My camera has composite and S-video outputs, which double up as inputs. I specifically checked the specs and went for one that did. On the PC side all you do is capture from DV as normal - the camera does all the work. This was at least 4 years ago, so there shoudl be plenty of cameras that do that these days.
 
Uncle Dukey said:
I think most TV tuner cards with S-video input should be okay. I have a Leadtek Winfast 2000 Deluxe just to play games on my monitor and it looks decent. Doesn't look as good as it does on a real television. Perhaps the forums at deinterlace.sourceforge.net would be a good place to ask about specific cards.
Click to expand...
on that site you're mentioning is no forum, or do you mean the forums they visit in their links?

http://www.avforums.com/ ?
 
Takosuke said:
Svideo is cool, but what about RGB ?
Click to expand...
RGB / YUV is almost only available on pro hardware, but for interlaced material I doubt RGB is really any better than svideo, condering the hit the picture takes when deinterlacing.
 
so can someone please tell me which video card I should buy if I want good quality + the option for STEREO music? :)

& what about a VGA? or what is it name, I though it was made for console gaming purpose only (on pc)

is the quality better than a regular "TV" card?
 
You guys have seen the vid-caps I make? I use a Dazzle80 USB device. The only thing is the software that comes with it is complete shit. Lucky for me the webcam I bought has compatible software, makes great vid-caps. I do believe even without the webcam software, XP allows you to take vidcaps straight from it's OS. Anyway it's a ghetto way of doing it but it's only 50 bucks for the Dazzle.
 
What software did you use to capture and create the movie. I'm trying to make movies look that good. I take it your resolution is at 320X240. I need help getin gnice deinterlaced captured then coverting them to nice .wmv movies! That's the info I really need. Being a newb to video capture sucks. :(
 
I bought the ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0, but I can't get the dang thing to work because it says "DMA for DVD/CD" drive on my laptop isn't enabled so it won't launch the TV capture. I did all the steps to see if it was enabled, it it already is but still won't work. My laptop must be falling back in PIO mode for the DVD/CD drive but I can't figure out how to force DMA.
 
i'm using my asus 9600xt 's video IN to use my xbox on my pc monitor (in combination with Dscaler v4.1.11) , but i have to say, there is a lag somewhere, i don't know how to put it,justlike everything is half a second to late to respond.

if somebody knows why this lag happens, i'l be happy!
 
Sorta related to this topic, do you know what would give me the best video quality with just trying to pipe an s-video pal signal into my PC to be viewed on a monitor? I'm trying to play some PAL games and the easiest way I think I can do it is to hook my PS2 to my PC with s-video and have my PC go to my TV through DVI. So what would give me the best full screen video picture quality for the best price. This is the only thing I want to do with it so I don't need any extra abilities or anything, just great picture quality and no lag.
 
Marty Chinn said:
Sorta related to this topic, do you know what would give me the best video quality with just trying to pipe an s-video pal signal into my PC to be viewed on a monitor? I'm trying to play some PAL games and the easiest way I think I can do it is to hook my PS2 to my PC with s-video and have my PC go to my TV through DVI. So what would give me the best full screen video picture quality for the best price. This is the only thing I want to do with it so I don't need any extra abilities or anything, just great picture quality and no lag.
Click to expand...
I guess that would work correctly with dscaler. The image may look blurry though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Advice needed for new PC Build
22
2K
marjo replied
Retro Studios needs to go back to fucking Donkey Kong
2
73
250
pqueue replied
Advice: New PC for my son’s 10th birthday
2 3
108
2K
Cyborg replied
A well needed EU and Steam only giveaway.
2 3
125
2K
Spyxos replied
Fuck L3/R3. Alternatives Needed Sony/Nintendo/Valve.
2
52
361
kiphalfton replied
Top Bottom