Need HELP - Which USB Capture Device?

[basskozz]

I have a new Dell e1505:
2.0 Core Duo Proc
1g RAM
80G 7200RPM HD

And I need to capture some video from some VHS tapes to convert them to DVD. I've been looking into different USB capture devices and I need some help choosing the right one.
Plextor M402U (http://www.plextor.com/english/products/M402U.htm) but after reading some reviews (http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=1754723/id_type=masterid) i have heard that the software it comes with is shotty, and it doesn't have a capable plugin for Adobe Premiere / Encore (which I've never used and don't know if I ever will, but it would be nice to have the plug-in). Then I figured for a couple of extra bux ($50 extra) I could get the Plextor TV402U (http://www.plextor.com/english/products/TV402U.htm) which I can also use for an HTPC which I plan on building in the near future (I assume this also doesn't have the plugin). Does this provide the same quality video capturing as the M402U??? This device also got pretty poor reviews (http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=4225905/id_type=masterid). Both of these cards are Hardware encoding, but I could save some serious money and go with a software based card, like the ADS Video Xpress (http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV-191-EF/intro/USBAV_191_intro.asp?pid=USBAV-191-EF), but i don't know if my laptop is fast enough to handle a NON-Hardware based encoding card.

Please Help…
Do the M402U and the TV402U provide the same quality video captureing? Whats the difference, just the TV Tuner?
What is the best Hardware based capture card (USB)? With TV tuner and Without ?
Is my lappy fast enough to handle a Software based device? If so, which one should I get?

:thanks: Thank You,
-BassKozz

[urvieh]

I only have the TV version, so I can't make a comparison. But as I already mentioned in another thread, the tuner quality matches the one of my Loewe TV set. If you have the money, go for it.

The BUT's: When encoding a stream to mpeg-2, I do have asynchronous a/v streams at times. I'm not sure what the reason is; some people say it's the curse of the usb device, but I don't know ... The mpeg-4 streams don't show these delays even if they are encoded at the same bitrate. Perhaps German c't magazine will give me an answer at some time in the future.

Secondly, WinDVR is crap, indeed. I'm using Plextor's PlexTools Pro XL, which also offers advanced settings for the hardware encoder, while WinDVR just has some simple profiles.

The quality of the encoder is good as long as the bitrate and the source stream are good enough. For DVD authoring reasons I try to use mpeg-2 encoding whenever it's possible and correct the asynchronous streams in Pinnacle Studio. I do so because rendering the dvd is much faster instead of re-encoding it to mpeg-2 again.

DivX and MS-mpeg-4 are almost equal, except for the MS "codec" being a bit softer than the DivX video.

Plextor ships WinDVD Creator 2 with the package, which should be enough for beginners. You will have to pay for PTPXL. There's a trial version at http://www.plextools.com.

[basskozz]

Does the TV402U have an IR emitter? So that it can change the channels automatically on my Digital SetTop Box (Cable Box).

[basskozz]

Whats your thoughts on "Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-USB2" ?

[urvieh]

They ship it with an IR USB adapter and a remote control. But I haven't tried how good it is.

[Don James]

Whats your thoughts on "Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-USB2" ?

Hi basskoz,
I use a Hauppauge PVR-150 and it does an excellent job once it's set up right. It's not usb, but I think the internal cards are better, why mess with usb? I had to learn how to use it, especially how to use the Hauppauge Tweaker to adjust the sound and sharpness. But now, with a good vcr and external tbc, my DVDs are better than the VHS's I make them from. I capture at 12 mb and use Nero to write with.
Don

[Surf]

"internal cards are better"...maybe...but I don't think it could be jammed into a laptop...:D.

Here's a simple solution, buy the HodgePodge USB(pretty good company), try it and keep it if you like it, return if you don't.

By the way you laptop is pretty good, later on you may want to think of an external usb harddrive.

P.S. the hodgepodge usb does NOT capture in AVI format which may be desirable down the road....
Check out this www.shspvr.com on the Hodgepodge.