Capturing To Laptop

[woolbrig]

Historically, we have been using a DVD Recorder to capture our weekly services. Recently we decided to capture straight to a computer to avoid the delay of having to download the DVD to the computer.

The problem is the quality isn't near as good. We're pulling the video for the computer from the same source (using a splitter) as the DVD Recorder. We tried the really cheap solution of purchasing a DVDExpressDx2 box to convert the signal to USB.

I'm sure this is the results of our poor quality. What would be a good yet affordable device to capture video? We're using standard composite video (yellow) and audio (Red/White) in & outs.

Thanks,
Joe

[benwilhelm]

You'll certainly notice a difference if you use a firewire converter rather than USB. I just ordered three of these. They've got the same thing without the bundled software for $134 instead of $149, but the cheaper ones are out of stock.

The issue is less with the interface and more with the format its recording to on the PC. With the USB device, you'll be saving to some MPG format, whereas with the firewire box, you'll be saving as a DV AVI file.

Ben

[prochlea]

also - what are you using for a splitter? If you're just using a rca Y-adapter, that could be a problem too. Video isn't meant to be split like that. See how the quality is if you bypass the dvd player and go straight to the computer...

[waynehoskins]

What kind of poor quality is it?

The mini consumer coax is lousy at video frequencies, so if you have a long run of that there will be loss. You can get away with sometimes a meter of that stuff.

If you're wyeing off there, like Pat said, there's at least part of your problem. If you need to split off to both, you want a DA.

[woolbrig]

For a splitter, we're using a $49 Radio Shack 4-way video splitter. We had an opening and just added the capture device to the existing splitter, For cabling, we are using a coax cable that was assembled a previous member who has since moved. It seems to be a good quality cable, but not sure.

Do you think the device Ben mentioned would help us?

[waynehoskins]

Well, it's not the best DA out there by any means, but it should be moderately decent. I'm going to guess it's the capture device, or more so the interface. USB, even USB 2.0, isn't all that great at video, since video is lots and lots of bits, which for realtime means lots of bandwidth. Firewire is much better suited. Laptop might be part of it too, there's lots of bits...

I use a Grass Valley / Canopus outboard Firewire box, their ADVC110. I think it's in the 200-300 class, somewhere in there, and it just works. What comes in the computer isn't as nice as I'd like it to be, but all that's the MPEG compression, which realistically there's no getting around if a computer is part of it, and it's really not all that bad. Goodness, people watch 4:3 television stretched 16:9 at home all the time and can't tell it's wrong, so a little MPEG compression that drives me nuts, they can't even see.

[sien]

Hi,
In an earlier post you mentioned using three old sony dv cams?
Are you still using those?

What I might suggest is to connect your cameras directly to the V4 without the splitter
And from the V4 to the dvd recorder without the splitter.

If the picture quality improves. Then it's prob time to upgrade the splitter!

[Ron]

We use a lot of those Radio Shack 1x4 video/audio units. Visually I can't tell the difference between them and a Kramer DA. So.... $50 vs $150 hummmmm..... That's why we have about 6 of 'em Plus in my experience they tend to last longer than the Kramers.