[Ham-Computers] RE: VIDEO CAPTURE

Fri Aug 19 19:45:12 EDT 2005

I don't ATV, but I do some video capturing.  You'll need more than just
software - you'll also need a video capture device.  Common devices are
capture cards or USB/Firewire-based capture "boxes".  Some video cards also
include video capturing.  PC-based TV tuners can also be used for video
capturing if the source is RF based rather than composite or S-Video.  The
capture device usually comes with some capturing software.  This should
suffice for most purposes or until you need something more sophisticated.

Now if you don't already have a capture device, there are many options
available these days.  The most common capture card for PC's are based one
of several Conexant chipsets and they're the most widely supported, AFAIK.
The newer "CX" chipsets support 10-bit color capture (vs 8 and 9 bit on the
older "BT8x8" chipsets).  Most capture cards are based on the Conexant
reference design, but each manufacturer may tweak something here or there.
Hauppauge, Pinnacle, and Adaptec capture devices are widely supported by 3rd
party software.  Other "generic" cards that are based on the reference
design should also work fine.  

There are many more details about video capture, but they aren't that
important since you're just starting out.  But I will suggest one thing.  If
you're considering capturing files and saving in MPEG-2 format, then highly
consider a card that does MPEG-2 *hardware* encoding.  The picture quality
is like night and day unless you have some high-end hardware and/or
software.  Hardware MPEG-2 capture devices also reduce the burden on the
computer's CPU as the card does all the encoding.  If you take a good look,
most software based MPEG-2 capture cards require a 1GHz system or better to
reduce the possibility of dropped frames during capture.  Hardware MPEG-2
capture cards cost a bit more (about 50%), but I believe the picture quality
is worth it if you're not going to spend much time editing and transcoding.
Be aware though that some Hardware MPEG-2 capture devices won't allow you to
capture in anything but MPEG-2 format.  If you're planning on doing heavy
editing, you'll want to find a card that can save in additional formats
natively.

At home, I have two systems with capture cards.  One is my PVR (Personal
Video Recorder) on which I record TV shows (it replaced my VCR a few years
ago).  In it I have a Hauppauge WinPVR-250 with hardware MPEG-2 encoding.
It's set so I can burn saved recordings to DVD-R's without a transcode step.
Prior to getting the WinPVR-250, I had the original WinPVR-PCI - it was a
better card, IMHO, but poor driver support forced me to stop using it.  In
my primary computer, I have a Leadtek WinTV-2000.  It's based on the
Conexant BT878 and can save in any format for which I have a CODEC.
However, the capture quality isn't as high as the WinPVR-250 and it requires
some CPU oomph.  I used it for a while after I retired the WinPVR-PCI and
before I got the WinPVR-250.  It's not a bad card and the software is better
refined than that shipped with many of the other "generic" CX-based cards.
However, Leadtek doesn't use the reference design, so some software packages
might not work with it.  Not a problem if you don't mind using the included
software.

Oh, one more thing...the cards I have all have a TV tuner.  If you don't
need the tuner, there are cards available for less $$$.  But, having the
tuner gives you the option to capture from an RF only output device.  When
considering cards with a TV tuner, the tuner itself will also dictate the
quality of the capture (if using RF).  Crappy tuners are found on cheaper
cards.  On average you can find the better capture cards (with TV tuner) for
about $70.  The WinPVR-150 (replaced the 250) with Hardware MPEG-2 encode
sells for about $100.  Generic USB capture boxes sell for about $40, but the
ones I've tried are pretty crappy (both the capture quality and the included
software).  The better ones that support MPEG-2 hardware encoding sell for
about $150.

73 and have fun!

  - Aaron Hsu, NN6O (ex-KD6DAE)
    {nn6o}@arrl.net
    {athsu}@nbcuni.com
    No-QRO Int'l #1,000,006
    . -..- - .-. .-   ".... . .- ...- -.--"

p.s.  If you're capturing direct from a device that has a FireWire port
(IEEE1394), then all you need is a FireWire port on your PC.  You can then
just transfer (copy) the data stream straight from the device to a .DV file
on your PC.  Then just edit and transcode using editing software.  Adobe
Premiere is a reference standard for editing, but costs $$$.  Premiere
Elements is a light version of Premiere and sells for under $100.  You can
get Adobe Premiere Elements 1.0 bundled with Photoshop Elements 3.0
(basically Photoshop Lite) for about $150...it's a steal.

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 10:16 AM
Subject: [Ham-Computers] VIDEO CAPTURE

I am about to embark on Amateur TV experience
need some recommendations on VIDEO CAPTURE software so i can take the video 
fro the TV and save it on the HD of my computer

specs
running WIN XP
processor 1.9 GHZ
ram 512 MB
video card 64MB ram

comments suggestions

Don