Re: Video Capture Devices


stauffer@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
timbwilliams@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
I will preface this post by saying I am a beginner and all help is
appreciated.

I am looking to start doing some amatuer video editing. I need help in
deciding on a capture device, Internal? External? USB? Firewire?

I would like to have a range of options from decent video quality for
decent price to very good capture quality for a few more $$$. I have
no idea where to start and what price range to expect.

Also, a small side question...is there a product that will play several
of the different formats of tapes outthere or do most people have a
different camera for every format that they may need to play that type
format.


Thank you!

There are several issues here. First of all, there is an issue of
Firewire vs USB2. Firewire hardware has not proven to be that
reliable. I have lost the Firewire connection on two seperate DV cams.
I talked to a salesman about a camera with USB output instead. He
recommended against it as most current editing software will not
control a DV camcorder with USB. He also said indeed the hardware
unreliability of the Firewire is a problem, which he blamed on use of
daughter boards with flexible wires not well supported against shock
and vibration. However, DV cams with USB VIDEO output are rare.

However, I also have a capture box for capturing analog video and it
uses USB. The software I use (Pinnacle Studio, and Adobe Premiere
Elements) both work fine with it, though they do not control the
camera.

You did not mention your video sources. Will you be using a DV
camcorder or an analog camcorder? Or do you also have older VHS tapes
and stuff you'd like to add.

If you are going to be using a DV camcorder as your source, most newer
computers already come with Firewire and USB 2.0. If you are using an
older analog camera you will need a conversion or digitizing box. I
recommend external, as the state of the art of these things changes as
rapidly as computers, and it is nice to be able to change to a newer
model without opening up the computer and going through a more complex
installation.

Hi Tim,

The other answers here are very correct. While I personally choose
firewire and nothing else, I was using a TV capture card when I had my
old Hi8 camcorder. In that context, in order to get smooth, high
quality video with an S-Video or RCA input, I had to spend quite a bit
of cash to upgrade my older computer. With only 512MB memory and a 1.2
GHz processor, I could not get smooth video at a high resolution. Just
a heads up that if you choose to stay away from the DV route, make sure
you have a good PC to handle a higher quality video capture.

.