TV Tuner for capturing analog TV,S/VHS to mpeg2 & other codecs...

[retroborg]

Hello,
I would like some opinions on which is the best TV-Tuner at the moment, for capturing analog TV,S/VHS to mpeg2 & other codecs, in terms of highest resolution, optimal picture capture quality, high Frame rates and also supports NTSC,PAL & SECAM formats.

I've been told to further look into the following two brands:

LEADTEK WINFAST & HAUPPAUGE TV-Tuners

I'm interested in achieving the best possible capture results, so any subjective opinions on which specific card I should choose, will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[chipzoller]

First, you may want to re-read the forum rules, especially the one about not asking what's best.

Second, you'll have to specify a price range as there are analog capture cards from under $100 to over $1,000.

[Chainmax]

Like chipzoller said, asking what's best goes against the rules. The reason for that is because it's too broad a question to answer,not to mention that it all boils down to subjective preferences and what the person actually wants to do.
Given that you mentioned Hauppauge and Leadtek though, I can recommend you either the Compro Videomate Ultra (http://www.comprousa.com/New/en/product/vmtvm800.html) or the Compro Videomate X800 (http://www.comprousa.com/New/en/product/X800.html). Those are much better than the ones you mentioned, there was a webpage where Richard Berg compared the Ultra against other cards and it produced much better images. I'll try to find it and post a link to it.

[retroborg]

I'm mostly interested in capturing aerial, analog, antenna broadcast TV signals (TV channels), as well as capturing into high quality mpeg2 files from some old multi region VHS tapes (PAL, NTSC & SECAM), via Composite RCA video cable connected to my VCR.

Destination is my Hard Drive.
Later on, I might edit some of these mpeg2 files & encode them into Xvid or DivX to reduce the size of the files.

Can the Hauppauge PVR cards capture in both Variable & Constant Bit rate and do they support both perspective & interlaced modes?

I know the Winfast TV series cards do.

Thanks in advance.

[Chainmax]

Here's the comparison I was talking about:

http://www.richardberg.net/WeatherMapRoundup

[chipzoller]

Yeah but how old is that review? There are LOTS better cards available now than those mentioned, even though the Compro VideoMate Ultra is still a good card. In this day I wouldn't even consider getting a BT-based card.

Check into the ATI series of theater pro cards with either the 550 or 650 pro models. The does everything you want or need and does it better than most cards.

[Chainmax]

That review is old, but like I said the X800 is an updated model with has 3D Y/C separation for both PAL and NTSC, along with a host of other features.
I don't know how does the ATI Theatre Pro line performs (especially since there are virtually no widespread capture card comparisons like the one I linked to) but much like the All-In-Wonder line, I don't know if the Theatre Pro line be worth the price premium over other options. Besides, they encode only in MPEG2, which in my opinion is a drawback.

[chipzoller]

The 550 and 650 theater pro lines also have both 3D and 2D comb filter along with a host of on-chip noise reduction and other tweaks. And they don't only encode in MPEG-2--that's dependent on the software used to capture. I use my 550 pro to capture via VirtualVCR with Huffyuv and lagarith quite successfully.

[Chainmax]

I didn't know that :o; thanks for the clarification. I wish capture card comparisons were as common as graphics cards comparisons :(.

[olyteddy]

VideoHelp.com has a pretty good list of Capture Cards. You can search by feature, price, user opinions, etc. and yes, the Hauppauge's do support VBR but being hardware encoders have limited look ahead/behind so probably don't create the smallest MPEGs for a given bitrate.

[retroborg]

Hello, I’m thinking about getting the HAUPPAUGE WINTV PVR 150for:
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvr150.html

Does it support De-Interlaced/Progresive Capturing/Encoding, to eliminate the lines, noise and flicker on the edge of motion objects, like the Leadtek WinFast TV2000XP Global?
http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/tv_tuner/overview.asp?pronameid=169&lineid=6&act=1

I found no reference regarding Interlaced, De-Interlaced Capturing/Encoding at the Hauppauge site, about the WINTV PVR 150.


Thanks in advance.

[DrP]

No it doesn't. It captures as interlaced MPEG2 video. If you persist you can use the card to do AVI captures, but that defeats the purpose of buying a MPEG2 card.

You could use whatever software you like to post-capture de-interlace if you want to convert to another format.

You can't really compare a PVR150 and that Winfast card. The PVR150 has hardware MPEG/2 encoding, the Winfast card is just another analogue capture card where all the encoding is done in software.

[retroborg]

So...

No it doesn't. It captures as interlaced MPEG2 video. If you persist you can use the card to do AVI captures, but that defeats the purpose of buying a MPEG2 card.

1. If I capture from an antenna RF TV channel, or from my VHS/VCR, to mpeg2 and play the file on my pc, I'll see lines, noise and flicker on the edge of motion objects?

You could use whatever software you like to post-capture de-interlace if you want to convert to another format

2. What software do you propose?
You suggest that once I capture in interlaced mpeg2, I should then use other software to convert to Divx/Xvid / de-interlace?

3. Is there any way to capture/encode hardware de-interlaced mpeg2 with this card?

Thanks in advance.

[retroborg]

Inverse telecine film baced material to true progressive video.

1.Could I use
Avisynth 2.5.7
http://avisynth.org/

Decomb Plugin for Avisynth
http://neuron2.net/decomb/decombnew.html

...And this Inverse Telecine Guide to De-Interlace guide:
http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/inverse_telecine.cfm
to convert the captured interlace mpeg2 files to progressive (De-Interlaced) mpeg2 files?
Will this process produce various artifacts in the image like double vision blurs?

Or...

2.How about the "WinFast PVR3000 Deluxe"
http://www.leadtek.com/eng/tv_tuner/overview.asp?lineid=6&pronameid=322

“Hardware MPEG-II Encoder” provides excellent video quality with minimal CPU usage.

De-interlacing:
Enjoy crystal-clear picture quality and much smoother frame rate for TV, DVD and other video playback

powerful 3D NR (Noise Reduction) can clear noise from the TV source and deliver clear, vivid TV pictures. No more ‘snow or raindrop’ effects or poor channels on TV

Has anybody used it and could this card capture in good quality, hardware mpeg2 encoding, aswell as de-interlacing, without having to mess around with post-processing?

Thanks in advance.

[DrP]

1. If I capture from an antenna RF TV channel, or from my VHS/VCR, to mpeg2 and play the file on my pc, I'll see lines, noise and flicker on the edge of motion objects?That depends on if you use some sort of deinterlacer on playback. PowerDVD's decoders have deinterlacing of one type or another.

That Winfast card seems to use the same encoder as the Hauppauge card.

[olyteddy]

Hauppauge also has an optional add on program called 'Wing' that will convert their MPEG2 streams to other formats.