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10-23-2020, 11:13 AM
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WildcatMatt92 WildcatMatt92 is offline
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I had built up a capture workflow back in 2008 which ran through a Sony DVMC-DA2 into Premiere CS5. This worked well for me for a while, then my career and then kids took me away from my video hobby.

I'm trying to get back in the saddle now and one of the biggest things I want to address is capturing.

I have access to a SC-512N1L/DVI capture card which apparently was the rage for some time with gamers capturing playthroughs. I recognize this is not the same purpose as trying to get good quality transfers from VHS, U-Matic, and EIAJ open reel but given the attention I've seen these guys give to things like comb filtering, dot-crawl, and handling imperfect signals I thought maybe it would be worth a look.

This card is branded in Japan as Micomsoft but variants were sold under other brands.

I'm curious whether anyone has had experience with this card that they could share. Is it worth trying to set up or should I pass and just get an All In Wonder instead? And in general, is an internal card still preferable to USB or is that no longer an issue?

If it helps, my budget for a replacement capture card is $300 max.
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  #2  
10-23-2020, 12:04 PM
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lordsmurf lordsmurf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WildcatMatt92 View Post
I had built up a capture workflow back in 2008 which ran through a Sony DVMC-DA2 into Premiere CS5. This worked well for me for a while,
That was DV, you lost half of your video color quality. It cooks the chroma. Colors have tint changes, contrast is off, lots of muddy and gray details. DV was the best tech of the 1990s. Lossless in the 2000s should have killed it off, but marketing kept it afloat.

Premiere is excellent -- just not for capturing.

Quote:
I have access to a SC-512N1L/DVI capture card
This card is branded in Japan as Micomsoft but variants were sold under other brands.
I'm curious whether anyone has had experience with this card that they could share. Is it worth trying to set up or should I pass and just get an All In Wonder instead? And in general, is an internal card still preferable to USB or is that no longer an issue?
HD cards almost always do a terrible job with SD consumer analog video. There's not many HD cards out there, and almost all are clones or behave the same.

Quote:
which apparently was the rage for some time with gamers capturing playthroughs.
I've seen these guys give to things like comb filtering, dot-crawl, and handling imperfect signals I thought maybe it would be worth a look.
Most gamers wouldn't know a VHS tape from an 8-track. More often than not, it's just kids (and adults) throwing around terms to look smart, puff out their chest, measurebating. Some of those concepts completely differ when source is a console video game, vs. a consumer analog tape.

Quote:
I recognize this is not the same purpose as trying to get good quality transfers from VHS, U-Matic, and EIAJ open reel but given the attention
Yep.

Quote:
If it helps, my budget for a replacement capture card is $300 max.
That's an extremely good budget for a quality SD card. (For comparison, I have several cards in the marketplace subforum for $100 to $200.)

VHS (and U-matic, etc) has a recipe for quality capture. Just follow it.

VCR > TBC > capture card
Not just any VCR/TBC/card, but items known for the quality results.

And remember: buy it, use it, resell it. It doesn't have to be a forever purchase, something you stick in a drawer. It retains some/most/all value.

- Did my advice help you? Then become a Premium Member and support this site.
- For sale in the marketplace: TBCs, workflows, capture cards, VCRs
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  #3  
10-23-2020, 03:36 PM
hodgey hodgey is offline
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It seems to use different hardware to the more common HD cards out there so you would really have to test.
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  #4  
10-24-2020, 12:48 PM
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WildcatMatt92 WildcatMatt92 is offline
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I have the chance to play with the SC-512N1L for a couple of days, so I want to run some tests.

Obviously, thorough evaluation would involve capturing a lot of different types of video from several sources, but are there a few specific tests you like to use which would quickly reveal a chipset as being junk and not worth evaluating further?

As a departure point, I have a DPS-295 to go with my BVU-870 so I can generate most of the common SD test signals.

"I can make mistakes myself just fine." - Don Williams
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