AV/DV Video Capture

cix7records wrote on 1/29/2003, 10:14 PM
I am looking at getting either the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe 8 or the Matrox RT.X10 (leaning towards the latter since they are both under $500.). Each card comes with some pretty handy software but can anyone suggest a package with similar "capturing power" without the added software or bells and whistles for possibly a lower price. We already have the software that some with one of the cards and kinda feel like we'd be paying for it twice. Considering we want to do most of our editing in Vegas, we only need high-quality AV and DV capture capablities. Any suggestions?

Thank you,

C. M. J.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 1/29/2003, 11:33 PM
Take a look at something like the Canopus ADVC-100 external A/V -> DV converter. This will connect to either composite or S-video and mono or stereo line level audio and convert it to DV which can be captured via firewire by SonicFoundry's VidCap. It also works the other way if you want to output back to analog A/V. No additional software necessary and it can usually be had for under $300.
cix7records wrote on 1/30/2003, 8:07 AM
Thanks for the reply. I've look into it. At first glance, this looks like a unit that converts an analog signal to digital and then sends it to digital capture hardware. Would this mean I'd need to also have a separate digital capture card? I wasn't very clear in my original post, but I'm looking for hardware that supports both analog and digital input.

Thanks,

C. M. J.
cix7records wrote on 1/30/2003, 8:37 AM
I looked again. Based on the specs it seems that the 100 can accept digital input as well. I WILL need to add a firewire card (no trouble) to the new system though. This unit is external so, that may be a plus. I also looked at the 1394 wich is a PCI card. It also has an option for adding front inputs in the 5 inch bay. This is just as handy as (if not more than) having an external unit for plugging in sources. It seems promising, though it lacks analog output (which I don't think I need at this point since I'll be burning final cuts directly to DVD). It's also packaged with Vegas Video LE 3.0 (and can't wait for 4.0. I'm a Sonic Foundry Addict, I must admit). The combined price for the 1394 and the front bay option is more than the price of a decent firewire card and the ADVC 100, but since using the Livedrive (front bay) on the Sblive so long ago been quite spoiled by that accessiblity. Thanks again.

C. M. J.