tv capture info

[lexor]

hi guys I'm going to buy a tv-tuner card LeadTek (http://www.leadtek.com/multimedia/winfast_tv2000xp_expert_1.html) let's have that as reference (it won't get better, though might change the brand)

what I'm wondering is if it uses CPU when capturing. i.e. it can capture to mpeg 1/2/4 (it uses MS Mpeg4 for latter is that any good?) but does it has a chip on the card that does encoding or is it using the CPU?

As I intend to capture 720x576 I would like to know how much power CPU wise it would need (if indeed it needs CPU)? I have AthlonXP 1700+ with 256MB of DDR RAM, no upgrade on those will take place. The TV capture will be the only thing running, I would only use it when I'm not home and want to catch something (most likely in mpeg2 SVCD format) so the system will pretty much be dedicated to capturing.

what do you guys think? will it work well? the most concern is with dropped frames and like issues. I'm not so concerned with quality since this is not for heavy duty video stuff, but what would you say should I peak the one above or .Asus (http://usa.asus.com/products/vga/tvfm/overview.htm) ?

Thanx for your input!

[lexor]

'cmon guys 39 views and no replies? surely you don't all don't care :( what if I tell you I'm a hot blond, will you help?

[leoncheong]

I have a P4 1.8 and I used Xvid codec for capture at 352x288. VirtualVCR is the program I used and CPU utilisation stays at approx 50%. No a single drop frame.

I see that you like to capture at 720x576. I believe you are not going to make it with Xvid. You may like to use MJPEG instead.

If PQ is no to big a concern, why not do a 720x288 capture and say good-bye to interlace problem?

[Kb_cruncher]

Your system is fast enough to capture PICVideo MJPEG or HuffYuv @720*576 no problem so long as you have enough HD space and it spins at 7200rpm:D

I highly recommend DivX4.12 set at mediun=>fast performance if you have little space.

[kisk]

I have the deluxe version of that card (not expert). When using the included software (winfast pvr) it would capture at about 40% cpu usage on my 2.4ghz. I switched to virtualvcr and now push only about 20% cpu usage while capturing huffyuv @ 704x480 ... don't use leadtek's pvr software, it sucks.

[lexor]

Thanx for all the replies!

And to address the resolution concerns, the only reason I'm doing that high rez is to be able to do downsize latter. Although I never had a capture card before, I thought I would capture at some hight bitrate/hight rez, so that I get the most quality I can from what analong cable delivers, then I can do a 2pass encode to whatever lower bitrate/rez with some AviSynth filters for resize, clean, and such. I want to make it easier on my hardware to capture so it doesn't drop frames (because that's kinda unfixable), but then work it hard to do an encode and let it take its time with it.

About space, I'm planning to capture 20-30min of video, how much space does it teke up for you guys? I can give it 10Gb max unfortunately.

And lastly would you guys say that doom9's guide to TV capture is up to date and I should have it as reference?

[Kb_cruncher]

10Gb is fine for 20-30 mins if you use an MJPEG codec like PICVIDEO but not quite enough to use the HuffYuv codec.

Dooms capture guide is a good starting place and is quite up to date.Capping doesn't go out of date quite as quickly as encoding.

[kisk]

Yeah 30 minutes of HuffYUV is ~13-14gb

[Arachnotron]

Originally posted by lexor
<snip>
but does it has a chip on the card that does encoding or is it using the CPU?

<snip>

, but what would you say should I peak the one above or Asus?

Both cards have modern capture chips (Conexant CX23881 versus Philips SAA7134) and neither of these chips do any of the encoding on-board. The encoding/compression load goes to the CPU completely. But, as the others already noted, with the right codec, that should not pose a problem.

Which one is better is more a matter of taste. Both are good chips.

But if at all possible, try finding some extra disk space... :)