usb capture device

[Mac_forever]

I am considering on buying the Pinnacle Linx video capture device. It uses the usb port. It seems to be a good price.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product%5Fcode=289794&csearch=1

[eviltechie]

i suggest USB 2.0

otherwise, data transfer rate will be low and things may take a while
USB 2.0 is the new standard now and im sure they have similar products in that interface

but you also need USB 2.0 ports on your comp
PCI cards with 2 USB 2.0 ports can be bought for less than 30 USD
and most of the mobos now comes with USB 2.0 too

[The_Other_One]

A USB 2.0 device may be alright, but I'd go with PCI before USB. USB uses too much processing power, and can esally drop frames. Also, at that price, I seriously doubt it has an on-board compressor...so expect 320x240 res MAX! Frame rates should be around 15-20, with dropped frames.

What do you want to do? For low res web streaming, this card may be alright, but for anything else where quality IS a factor, I would forget this...

[BobyJo]

If I am not mistaken, X-10 Makes cameras that will work as far away from the computer up to 100 feet using thier cable setup. They have several security setups that will work from one central computer.

[The_Other_One]

I also my be mistaken, but I think it exports audio/video via RCA. Atleast, thats how the cheaper ones worked. Their may be other recivers that go to the computer

[Mac_forever]

What I want to do is transfer my personal video tapes to cd-roms(VCD format) or to DVDs.

[Omega]

For that all you need is a video card with VIVO. This can be found for relatively cheap (something like an ATI All-In-Wonder of some sort is supposedly fairly good).

Then just hook your video out of the VCR into the video input of the video card, and play the video tape, and run a screen cap of the video input on your computer. Then you'll have the .mpg, or whatever it saves as, and you can burn/encode that as whatever you want.

[eviltechie]

well he might not want a new graphics card though

if the USB thing is cheap, why not
and im sure Pinnacle offers good support and software

[Mac_forever]

You are right, eviltechie, I don't want to change my vid card yet. It is a very good price at 19.99 after mir.

[The_Other_One]

Yes, your right, it's not a bad price...however, you can forget DVD quality. And as I was saying, you'll barly achive VCD quality. Remember, using a USB capture card with no onboard comptresser, you will ONLY get 320x240. And, you'll probably not get full 30FPS. With mine, I get 15 to 20 if I'm lucky.

Trust me, DON'T get this card. Find some PCI card, or some higher end USB with a compressor.

[eviltechie]

well if you are using it to capture from analog camcorder, its ok for most people

but if you want digital cam
then i suggest you get a 1394 DV capture card

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage.asp?Product_ID=600&Langue_ID=7

[The_Other_One]

Listen...I know what I'm talking about... If that thing is ANYTHING like my little USB capture card, it sucks! Believe me, I've worked many different capture cards, and uncompressed USB is the worst choice!

Hey, if you want, I'll capture somthing with my old USB card, then my $30 PCI capture card. Trust me, the difference is stunning.

[eviltechie]

analog camcorders are not really high in resolution
so that Lynx is for people on the go

but if one likes quality
stick with what NES is saying

get a card

[The_Other_One]

Your correct analog camcorders aren't high resolution, however, the main part I'm getting at is framerates and video quality. The colors and FPS of my USB capture card are horrible. As I was saying in a previous post, 15-20 FPS. Regular video runs at 30 FPS. Less frames obviously means jerky video. Then, being on a USB, it should be expected to drop frames.

A friend needed to capture some video to his computer, so I loaned him my little USB card. He captured about 5mins of VHS-C video, and dropped over 1000 frames! Oh, and his computer was a 1GHz Celeron...

[eviltechie]

but this particular product could be different though

have you checked its specs in detail?

this capturing device really depends on what he want to use it for...

[The_Other_One]

I think we've taken over this post :lol:

Well, the main part I'm getting to is Framerates. With any uncompressed video on a USB bus, you can expect low framerates and many droped frames. As you said, it's probably not like mine. Actually, it's totally different, as mine dosn't have audio(I just use the soundcard) But then again, that more to cram onto the USB bus...

Just trust me on this...I've worked with $10 capture cards to $6000 video editing machines. I've had all kinds of experiences, and the worst has been with USB.

Actually, so I can end this...let me capture some video on my different capture card. A little mini review ;) I'll find some video with alot of motion, then capture it will 3 different cards, all using the same settings, resolutions, framerates, etc. After you see this, maybe you'll understand what I've been getting at...

[eviltechie]

well Mac_forever, what do you want to use it for?

are you just looking for a cheap one or a quality one?

the TV capture card from Asus is quite nice
has a nice capture feature other than for TV

eg. S-video and composite

[Mac_forever]

I just want to convert my video tapes of family events to VCDs or DVDs so I can have them for a longer time.

Thank you for all your suggestions. If this type of capture card drops that many frames I am going to get either a firewire or internal card.