Hi,
Can anyone recommend a very good video capture card? I'm on a Compaq Presario 1.7Ghz, 512MB RAM, and Windows XP Pro. I use Vegas Video 3.0 for all my video projects. And would like to capture mostly VHS & VHSc video.
I'd use a complimentary capture program like ShowShifter and the older PCI "TV" capture cards from either LeadTek or Hauppauge (TV2000XP or WinTV respectively, ideally with SVIDEO input for what it on better than VHS sources) before going down the custom chip budget analogue USB/USB2 capture route.
I agree with the ACEDVIO card being fantastic for DV sources or analogue where you might mix with DV or you simply are OK with DV for editing. However the full screen capability of MJPEG at 4:2:2 on these capture cards is easily overlooked during this DV revolution. Sure, you get restricted to a Windows desktop for editing in, unlike using an OHCI DV card. Yet these cards are $60 and can target DVD media, web or broadcast (ideally if you don't start off with VHS!)
It is a pity that none of the NLE manufacturers have figured out how to perform the acquisition from these cards. Fortunately the TiVO lookalikes have, so if your sources are not DV and not SDI, consider Bt878/Conexant-Fusion878 based capture cards.
It simply boils down to the windowed preview on Bt878 being forced into half resolution whilst you are acquiring at full 720x480 (NTSC) 29.97. The capture program with NLEs assumes that the preview monitor will stay at the same resolution as the capture - so both Vegas and Premiere bomb out on these types of cards.
If MPEG-2 is your target you might even enjoy the realtime Ligos encoder you get with the deluxe LeadTek WinTV2000XP. You need line input on the sound card too and half decent drivers to give ShowShifter access to the timing for lip sync.
Trying to save you money and give you the best deal. You're sticking with Vegas Video 3. That should do fine.
A few months ago, I called upon this forum to ask about capture cards. I took the advice of my fellow Vegas users who highly recommended the Canopus products. We purchased the Canopus ADVC100 and are very happy with it. It was easy to hook up, no seperate drivers to install, and works perfectly with Vegas. We've used it to cature from our analog Sony Handyman camcorder, our DVD player, digital camcorders, as well as our VHS player in both VHS and SVHS mode. We love it.
USB 1 isn't really fast enough to capture good quality video. I have never tried any USB 2 capture devices but since it is comparable in speed to firewire I would assume the quality would be OK.