A question of which capture card is better

[Rickkins]

Asus TV-FM Card -or- WinFast TV2000 XP Expert

These two cards I can get locally...the asus is about half the price.
I am on a very limited budget...but I still want as much quality as I can get.
I have some family members who will be on satellite tv that I want
to preserve for prosperity.

I have an amd 2500+ barton core/ 512 ddr pc2700/ winxp-prosp1 setup.
I know absolutely nothing.

Fire at will(but please be gentle :p )

[Arachnotron]

Do not ask what is best... ;)

The main difference between these two cards is in the capture chips used:
Philips SAA713x versus the CX2388x for the leadtek.
(if you are in PAL country probably the SAA7134 and the CX23881)

Both chips have roughly the same features.

I suggest you do a forum search on the merits of these two chips as there has been quite some discussion on that subject.

[Rickkins]

Originally posted by Arachnotron
Do not ask what is best... ;)

hehehe...as I'm sure you noticed, I never said "best"...only "better".
That much I've been able to pick up. :D



Originally posted by Arachnotron
The main difference between these two cards is in the capture chips used:
Philips SAA713x versus the CX2388x for the leadtek.
(if you are in PAL country probably the SAA7134 and the CX23881)

Both chips have roughly the same features.

I suggest you do a forum search on the merits of these two chips as there has been quite some discussion on that subject.

Shouldda mentioned I'm in NTSC country.
And yes...I've read...but frankly it all seems mighty confusing. I'm
more of a hands on guy, and untill I get my first card up and running
it's all gobbledeegook to me.
Basically, I'm leaning toward the ASUS card(SAA713x)<-see, I learned
something already....:D
The ASUS is about $46.cdn around the corner from me. The Leadtech is $90....same place. That made me wonder if the Leadtech(CX2388x) is twice as good.
Or what....???

Thanks

[Arachnotron]

Well, this is the stuff flame wars are made of. :D

The CX is seen by some to be sharper, by others to be more noisier. The Philips is seen by some to give cleaner captures, by others to be blurrier. My take on it is that the differences between the chips are small and a matter of taste. But the CX is definitely not twice as good as the Philips, or vice versa.

My personal choice would be the asus, since it is cheaper and IMHO the philips drivers are more mature and stable than the CX2388x drivers are. Asus is a decent company that in all likelyhood will not abandon driver support any time soon.

I own a PAL version of the Asus and found the added software ok (mostly Cyberlink stuff) but I haven't used it all that much so I cannot really advise you on that. I'm a virtualVCR kind of guy. :)

In the end, no matter which one you buy it will probaly work for you.

[edit] to give a little background: TVcard chips have become so integrated that a standard cheap TVcard has only two mayor parts any more that for 99% determine the quality: the chip used and the tuner used. Since most manufacturers have stopped developing their own drivers and simply re-package the standard drivers made by Philips or Conexant, driver quality is not an issue any more either, though there is a difference in how promptly new driver versions are made available.

[Rickkins]

Excellent....Thanks !!!
For me, at this time cheaper is a main factor, and if the results will
be close...then there's no question.


But I got one more very important question...

Do they both produce "STEREO" sound...???

I can't find the word 'stereo' anywhere on the asus website.
Plus, looking at the picture of the cards...it's not obvious...
And let's be honest here...stereo sound is a must....:cool:

Or am I just missing something....:)


Thanks again.:)

[Arachnotron]

There are two versions for the Asus card- the Asus TV-FM Card 7133 and the Asus TV-FM Card 7135

IIRC The latter has a few extra audio options like dolby pro logic. But I think both are stereo (my PAL version is) but I cannot guarantee it.

AFAIK the leadtek is stereo too (are there any mono TVcards left nowadays?) but i cannot guarantee that either :)

[Rickkins]

Outstanding !!!

Thanks again. Looks like we're getting an Asus...:D :cool: