Video Capture Card Recommendations Please

[Guest]

I am helping my father-in-law convert/copy some VHS tapes to DVD -- Movie
Maker seems really nice for a simple editing job.

I know I/he needs a video capture card. It would need to accept input from
a VCR player and a VHS camcorder and maybe a Super Hi 8 camcorder -- and of
course audio -- and maybe a camcorder with digital output. Do these cards
accept all of these inputs. Could I get some recommendations? Thanks.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

A digital camcorder will need a firewire aka iLink aka IEEE1394 card. An
analog device (VCR, analog camcorder) will need an analog capture card. I
know of none that combine the two imputs.

 

[Guest]

I have a Firewire (IEEE-1394) connection on my computer, so I guess that
would work for direct camera input, wouldn't it. The confusing issue is the
video capture card -- there are so many out there, I don't know which one to
choose.

 

[Burgy]

Looks like you may only need a firewire connection.If your computer doesn't
have a firewire connection, you can get a pci card pretty cheap with the
firewire on it. If the digital camcorder has a firewire connection, you can
probably run the other things through it and it will be converted from
analog to digital as it passes thought the digital camcorder. Much better
quality that way.
Of course you will need the cords to connect the vcr to the camcorder. Some
digi-cams have S-video connections in addition to the video-audio
connections. Depends on your model. Read the manual on the camera for info
on how to hook to vhs player etc.
Good luck.

 

[Burgy]

Don't worry about the card, if you use the firewire port, you probably won't
need the capture card. The digicam will be your capture tool if you are able
to hook your vcr to the inputs on it.

 

[Guest]

Burgy, thanks for the help. My father-in-law is on vacation, and out of
state, so I can't tell what kind of camcorder he has, but I expect it is old
(I know it records on VHS tapes) and is analog -- which means, I think, I
will be getting the VHS input from either an analog output on the camera or
from a VCR -- which probably means analog coax cable or maybe S-video in to
the PC -- so I am pretty sure I need some sort of video capture card.

So:
1. I still need a video capture card, I think (Recomendations?)
2. Could I rent a VHS camcorder that would have a Firewire Digital "out" on
it.
3. Which would be the best option, if #2 is possible.

 

[Guest]

Ron -- I have found the SONY VRVDC10 and follow-on prdcucts very helpful. It
is advertised as a "Hands-off" tape -> DVD device. But there is a driver
download from SONY or NERO that allows its use with NeroVision as a
videocap. It is a USB connection. It will also give you a DVD burner.

Dick Nugent

 

[Guest]

Walmart has a device called DVD Xpress that will help you in this matter. It
costs about $78. It is a USB device.It comes with cables and software. Hope
this helps.

 

[Guest]

wRen, Sniper, Thanks for the replies and help.

I remember reading somewhere that USB was not fast enough to capture video,
only firewire was -- but that may have been video taken directly from a video
camcorder.

So, I take it these devices are external devices, and I would not have to
insert a card into my PC. Have you used these devices, and how have you used
them -- do they work pretty well.

 

[Graham Hughes]

The cheaper/usb ones generally make mpeg files. These will probably not
import into MM and MM probably will not recognise the device, so you are
normally limited to using whichever software comes with them. As mpeg uses
less bandwidth, you can capture via usb2.

Try to find one that uses firewire connection. They will be more expensive,
but the benefts are, dv-avi files, easy to edit in any app, audio/video
sync, so when you do come to edit the audio file is not 10 seconds longer
than the video. I recommend looking at canopus advc range or miglia.

Another option is to use a digital camcorder, you make mention of one, so
long as it has analoge in, you can use pass through to accomplish what you
want.

Graham

--
Graham Hughes
MVP Digital Media
www.myvideoproblems.co.uk
www.dvds2treasure.com
www.simplydv.com