Help me choose a Video Card

cowmumble wrote on 12/12/2001, 11:59 PM

Hi Folks,

I need to get the right hardware to best meet my needs for using Vegas Video3. I'm not into gaming so i just need a good solution for high quality capture & editing. Here are some questions:

What Video Card/Capture Card solution will give me the best results? I'm mainly interested in converting my old VHS and S-VHS tapes to high quality DV and also convert DV video back to analog.

I'm puting together a new computer on Windows XP with Pentium 4, a Raid set-up, 2 SCSI Hard-drives, and since I'm new to this whole firewire thing, I need some advise on the card (or cards).

Should I get the RADEON 8500 DV?

Should I get the Sony DVMC-DA2 Media Converter with a Maxtor 394 PCI Adapter card? Wll this be good enought quality? How about ADS Pyro Pro DV?

Being a newbie I have another question. Is a Video Capture Card or 1394 Adapter Card the same thing as a video graphics card? In other words If I go with the Sony Media Converter Box will I need BOTH an 1394 adapter card AND a video card, or do i just need to buy 1 or the other? I don't wanna buy stuff I don't need. Can anyone help me with these questions based on the Raid set-up I'm trying to put together.

Also any issues with XP compatibility on anything I've mentioned.

Many thanks!

Comments

Cheesehole wrote on 12/14/2001, 3:59 AM

i believe you may be confusing a couple issues. i'll try to clear things up a bit.

your video card is separate from your video-capture card. the video card is what you plug your monitor into. any modern video card will be suitable for Vegas. I use a GeForce2 MX and it works great.

for capturing your VHS tapes to your hard drive, you'll need some means of 'analog' capture. you're right on with the Sony Media Converter. that's one of many devices on the market that will convert your VHS signal into a digital signal in the form of DV.

that leads us to the next thing... the DV capture card. any OHCI 1394 adapter (aka firewire card) will do the trick. the most recommended cards all have the same chipset made by Texas Instruments. i use an SIIG card with the TI chipset and it works great. an OHCI 1394 adapter allows you to transfer DV video on and off your hard drive.

so the connection goes:
VCR --> Sony MC box --> OHCI 1394 adapter in your PC

or if you have a DV camera or deck:
DV CAM --> OHCI 1394 adapter

it works the same way in the other direction as well. so you can go back to VHS or any other analog device utilizing the Sony MC box to convert your DV signal into an analog signal.

hope it helps.

- ben (cheesehole)