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What's the best analog capture card these days?

post #1 of 8
11/13/08 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
Hey all,

Helping a friend build a new PC and he wants to add an analog capture card for composite and S-video. He regularly captures video via composite (no idea why). Back in the day it seems like Hauppage made good hardware encoder cards with composite inputs but I haven't seen anything recently (mostly because I haven't been looking). He wouldn't mind having a digital tuner but it's not a necessity (same thing for HD capture).

Any suggestions on the best analog capture device these days?

Thanks,

Russell
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post #2 of 8
11/13/08 at 10:11pm
did you even look? there is a current thread on this very subject... SEARCH!!!
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post #3 of 8
11/14/08 at 4:56am
Thread Starter 
Wow, thanks for the helpful response! Now I know just what to recommend!

I'm not a noob. I did indeed search, and found a plethora of threads asking questions about NTSC tuner cards, s-video capture, and component capture. However, as my thread clearly mentions, he is in particular need of composite capture, not RF or S-video.

The only thread on the first 3 pages of the HTPC forum regarding analog capture is again, in reference to NTSC capture and capture via s-video, which AGAIN is not what he needs.

So thanks for the reply, but if anyone has any real help, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.
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post #4 of 8
11/14/08 at 7:13am
Any card with S-Video inputs will generally have Composite also, often with a small adapter or dongle. (all of the Hauppauge encoder cards do, some with jacks, some with an adapter)

Reasons for Composite:
Converter box recordings - CECB (I have two set up)
VCR tape archive
Analog Camcorder conversion
Standard cable box (an IR Blaster can do channel change)
Monitor Output jacks from a TV (many limitations)

The current Hauppauge card is a NTSC/ATSC HVR1600/1800 although a PVR150/250/500 would work just as well for composite captue.
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post #5 of 8
11/14/08 at 7:49am
As mentioned above - almost all TV tuner cards have s-video/composite inputs (composite via dongle/adapter).

From what I've gathered so far - for best analog picture quality (in no particular order):

- ATI 650
- Vista View (any one of their cards - note the Saber 2020 might be hard to come by)
- Nvidia had an analog card - can't remember it's name - but it's no longer available.
- One fellow swears on Compro cards. He says they blow away all comers in regards to analog. Note though that the E900F is a DVB-T card - not useful here in the States. They have an analog only - E600F. Beats me where one might find a retailer for these.

Warning on the ATI 650. It apparently has a problem with bright white screens. I'm not certain if it only occurs with the RF input or also involves the s-video/composite input. Apparently it's a driver issue and has persisted since v7.8. Pre v7.8 drivers do not exhibit this issue. Some say the overall picture quality with the older drivers is not as good and other say it's just psychological. For more information see this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...650+v7+drivers

Again note that I do not have any personal experience with any of the above cards. It's just information that I've gathered so far.

I do have experience with the Avermedia M780 PCIe Combo. It does an alright job with HD clear QAM and indeed makes HD clear QAM availalbe in VMC. I also have this card connected to my STB via s-video (for analog). I've read many post that stated that the M780 was poor when it comes to analog performance. I would tend to agree with that assessment. I would also note that many cards tend to have poor performance with their RF coax inputs. It's better to connect them to your STB via s-video or composite.
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post #6 of 8
11/14/08 at 8:43am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies zaphod7501 and T^2.

I didn't realize that the cards typically had composite capture with a dongle.

I'll look into the 650 card and the Hauppage card for more details.

Thanks guys,

Russell
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post #7 of 8
11/14/08 at 8:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by trpltongue View Post

Thanks for the replies zaphod7501 and T^2.

I didn't realize that the cards typically had composite capture with a dongle.

I'll look into the 650 card and the Hauppage card for more details.

Thanks guys,

Russell

I would also look into the Vista View cards (Saber DA-1N1-E, DA-1N1-I, and 2020). I've seen glowing reports on their performance, especially with analog. They've been said to meet or exceed the performance of the ATI 650 - the defacto standard when it comes to analog (so I've read). The s-video/composite input performance of the Vista Views cards is reportedly outstanding.

Based on what I've read so far - if the Saber DA-1N1-E was a low profile card (I can only use low profile PCIe cards) then it would probably be the first one that I would try.
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post #8 of 8
11/14/08 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 
Absolutely will! Forgot to type them in my first reply
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