Software Recommendation for MPEG2 via composite capture?

[crasus]

Good evening! :)

I would appreciate some advice on what software should I choose for my captures.

Here's the story :

1) I record several shows from TV on my Thomson STB/DVR (Set-top box with Digital Video Recoder). The shows are broadcasted from the cable company as interlaced MPEG2. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the DVR, I am unable to download the files straight from its HDD.

2) The only possible output from the DVR is SCART. So, I'm using a SCART to 3xRCA adaptor to connect it to my AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid Volar HX (http://www.avermedia.com/avertv/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=293)

3) The AVerMedia dongle is connected to my computer via USB.

I've been using the software that came with it for some time now. But, I'm not very satisfied with the MPEG2 capture it provides. Mostly since the software applies some kind of on-the-fly deinterlacing which creates blockyness.

To make a short summary : I want to capture the videos as originally interlaced, 720x576 MPEG2 files.

What else could/should I try?

Thank you! :thanks:

[zilog jones]

VirtualDub, VirtualVCR or DScaler might work with this device. If they can you can capture using whatever codec you want with no unwanted processing.

[Emulgator]

Almost any hardware MPEG-2 capture unit I tested (Aver, Dazzle and the like)
delivered very poor quality, blockiness seeming one of the main goals;-]

Deinterlacing is not the problem here, just poor DCT
and no motion search algorithms in these chipsets.(DVXcel and the like..)

I can only recommend to borrow (not buy) a DV-AVI box (Pinnacle something),
capture as DV-AVI and encode to whatever you need.

If MPEG-2 is what you need,
the last HCEnc0.24 beta (free) is your friend (and for me was worth a donation too).
Audio: WavToAC3Encoder (free).

[mariush]

I own a Winfast 2000XP Expert TV tuner and it has some built in MPEG 1 / 2 codecs which gives very good quality.
Deinterlacing is also done in the tuner's chip and it actually looks pretty good - overall it's not worth the trouble of capturing using lossless codecs and virtualdub and then re-encoding to mpeg2. You can also choose to record the signal as it comes, interlaced, or to let the tuner deinterlace it.

That SCART ouput should give you out s-video or composite and both are acceptable inputs by this tuner.

See these samples to see the quality:

http://www.definethis.org/temp/sample.mpg (this channel is coming interlaced so you can also see the deinterlacing quality)
http://www.definethis.org/temp/sample2.mpg (i think this one is coming progressive but I'm not sure anymore)

My TV tuner is a bit old and you may not find it anymore in stores but you should be able to find it on eBay or Amazon ... Amazon has it here: here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leadtek-WinFast-TV2000-XP-Expert/dp/B0001KO8Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258668662&sr=8-1) or here (http://www.amazon.com/Leadtek-WinFast-TV2000-XP-Expert/dp/B0007LBPEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258668716&sr=8-1)

[zilog jones]

That SCART ouput should give you out s-video or composite and both are acceptable inputs by this tuner.

If it's like my Thomson DVR (forget the model) it only outputs composite and RGB.

[crasus]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm not looking for a new TV Tunner or Capture Card. Just a software that can do the capture properly, as good as its possible of course :)

Also, I chose DV or MPEG2 as those are a reasonable compromise. I don't have the space for an uncompressed recording.

[mariush]

My point is if you were willing to pay 25-30$ for a software, you could spend the money on a quality tuner/capture card that in addition does mpeg2 encoding.

No software will improve the quality of your video if the tuner/capture dongle you have sucks at doing hardware encoding and will always do blockiness on the video.

If it does allow you to capture the original signal and not only the "already encoded to mpeg2" movie then use Virtualdub and a lossless codec to capture, then use HCEnc or other mpeg2 encoder.

[Ghitulescu]

Well, the options would be:

1. digitally copy/paste from your DTV (USB, network, direct access to HDD). In your case it seems that's virtually impossible. The most recommended way -----

2. use a decent DVD-Recorder (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer - any order). If you don't have it or you can't afford an used one, you have just lost the second best option

3. Use, as suggested, a DV box (probably the best analog part you may find among the external solutions) which gives you access to the best consumer codec. If you can afford one then just read which software codec (for decoding) suits you better. Beware, 1h of DV is usually 13GB. If not, just another lost option.

4. use a good capture card, the eBay is full of old hardware - the newer is really really crap - get one if you can/afford

5. use your device and face the consequences. No software can undo the damages it caused to the video, or maybe you'll lower your expectations.

-=-
I still wonder why people complain about a thing they bought. They have no excuses. They should have inquired about the product quality before actually buying it. "Quality on the cheap" might work in software (freewares) but not in hardware.