Which capture card my best options?

[CaptureDJ]

Right now my work flow is non-TBC JVC S-VHS > Panasonic ES-15 > Roxio VHS to DVD > MacBook Pro

I’ve got a whole load of VHS tapes I want to capture and for this next batch I’m looking to get a Win7 Laptop and a much better capture card. I have also sourced but not tested a JVC hr-S7722EK with TBC function.

I’m struggling to source the best available capture card right now and these are my options. Can someone please tell me which is the best of this bunch and which OS would work best with it.

(Apologies for imgur, I already uploaded before I started this post).

Tevion DVD Maker 2.0
https://imgur.com/a/zIKjijt

Tevion DVD Maker for USB v2.0
https://imgur.com/a/mFvxWlD

Tevion DVD Maker VS-USB2800
https://imgur.com/a/ei443FY

Zolid (ATI 600 clone?)
https://imgur.com/a/ULie6Mb

Or I also have the option for a Hauppuage USV-Live 2.0 (but only the dongle, no extras)


Lastly,

I’ve also acquired one of these for free:

Videotech VCC3010 Colour Corrector
https://imgur.com/a/VpIP6rr

Is this something that is worth adding to my workflow. Unfortunately I’m colourblind so working with adjusting colours is a bit daunting. But if it helps make a better capture than I’d like to try.

Thanks for any help and for everyone here giving great advice. Slowly I’m working towards a setup that will give me good captures in the future, all with the help of everyone here

[lordsmurf]

All of those Tevions shown are junk, Easycaps type clones.

That Zolid may be fine, maybe, unconfirmed.
Remember, a video item is more than simply how it looks, or even the chips in use.
The bigger issue is it comes from Spain, literally the worst postal system in Europe (probably worse than even Ukraine right now), one of the top worst in the world. You may get it in 1 month, 2 months, or never. I've had the displeasure of using Correos many times in the past 25 years, and each time sucked.

That VCC3010 looks like a Sima SCC clones of sorts, but definitely a proc amp. How well it works is unknown. Sometimes those items are just interest, and not overly useful due to image/signal damage. If you're colorblind, don't mess with it.

The Hauppauge dongle with no extras doesn't help. But it also won't work on a Mac, so entirely unhelpful.

There are actually some more cards you've not considered, but Mac will remain the problem here. There is maybe an option, but I'd have to test it myself local before making the suggestion.

[CaptureDJ]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I’m trying to source a Windows laptop currently. Dell, Sony, Toshiba as per your post sometime ago. But it’s a midfield that I’m struggling to get my head around. Anit-Glare, i5, 8gb Ram and dual hard drives (one SSD for OS and one normal for capture files) are the specs I’m running with right now.

The Zolid from Spain is an eBay listing (I know… sorry) and the last picture in the listing is a picture of the first Tevion I linked (implying they are one and the same).. So I’m guessing if I go for any I should try the Tevion DVD Maker 2.0 if it’s the same as the Zolid but cheaper.

Or should I pursue a Hauppage USB Live2 as the best windows USB dongle? Assuming all bits are included. Guessing that drivers and dongle being the most important bits required.

And believe! I lived on the Canary Islands for a while. Don’t even bother trying to post or send items. Consider everything lost before it’s even sent is my motto.

Thanks again for taking the time to help

[lordsmurf]

Tevion is just a brand name, not all cards are the same. Tevion doesn't use any model numbers, so lots of people get confused. Never make the mistake of believing any random Tevion is the same as any other random Tevion.

If you try to buy video gear by price alone, you'll get screwed.

Live2 is not the best, not even close. Some folks like it, but it has quirks and weaknesses.

[CaptureDJ]

Tevion sounds like right minefield and I should stay clear. Were the Hauppuge Live2 at least consistent in their chipsets and quality of output? Are there any USB dongles you highly recommend for a Windows laptop?

I’m pretty keen to hear what the results of your mac tests are like. I’m considering getting a new MacBook Pro so it would be great if I didn’t need to use a Windows machine.

I know someone who’s using a ClearClick to a mac and he’s happy with the results. He’s a video editor so I’m assuming he knows his stuff more than me. One of these:

https://www.clearclick.com/collectio...puter-required

I’ve also just stumbled on this. Hauppuage WinTV 40005.
https://imgur.com/a/EqHKXkZ

It’s got S-Video connection. I can’t find anything about it anywhere online.

[hodgey]

The clearclick things are standalone recorders (no idea if they can work as a av->hdmi thing or if the hdmi is just for digital playback.) so they will "work" as such with any system if you are fine with the lossy encoding and cropping/deinterlacing/processing (don't know the exact details) they do I guess. If you want to capture lossless and do processing in post that won't be ideal though.

If you are using a ES15 there is also the option to use something that can capture component and use the component output of the ES15, which may or may not be easier to find.

For windows the I-O Data GV USB2 is another alternative which I've used a fair bit myself though can take some time to order.

The difference in video quality between the roxio and "better" capture cards will probably be pretty small though if the Roxio is capable of capturing at standard resolution in a lossless or near lossless codec.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptureDJ

Were the Hauppuge Live2 at least consistent in their chipsets and quality of output?

No. Hauppauge had a bad habit of mid-production chip/firmware/etc changes, undisclosed in any way. So random results is typical.

Quote:

I’m pretty keen to hear what the results of your mac tests are like. I’m considering getting a new MacBook Pro so it would be great if I didn’t need to use a Windows machine.

I'll be testing on a Mini with M2 Pro, in addition to my older Intel running 10.11 (at most).

Quote:

I know someone who’s using a ClearClick to a mac and he’s happy with the results.

Many people are also happy eating a diet fast food. But we all know it's slow suicide, and leads to health issues.

Quote:

He’s a video editor so I’m assuming he knows his stuff more than me.

He does not.
In fact, I question this "someone" as having much video knowledge whatsoever. Remember, seeing something on Youtube doesn't make you an expert.

Quote:

One of these: clearclick

This is literally one of the worst items ever made for SD analog videotape conversion. It molests the quality of the transfer.

Quote:

I’ve also just stumbled on this.

You're starting to random shop. Stop, don't do that.

Capture cards are not commodities, and have vastly different chips and uses. You can buy overpriced garbage like ClearClick, which compressed the video to hell and back. Or you can search for cards that ingests at the best it can (respects source values like exposure and color depth).

Quote:

Originally Posted by hodgey

The clearclick things ... they will "work" as such with any system if you are fine with the lossy encoding and cropping/deinterlacing/processing

Takes like this are really too kind, and it allows a person to make a bad decision (as they do not yet comprehend concepts like lossy, deinterlace, aspect, etc). They'll learn the hard way. Or worse, falsely all consumer videotapes look like crap, simply because the device was junk.

Quote:

The difference in video quality between the roxio and "better" capture cards will probably be pretty small though if the Roxio is capable of capturing at standard resolution in a lossless or near lossless codec.

No. Roxio almost exclusively rebadges Easycap (aka Easycrap).

[Hushpower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodgey

For windows the I-O Data GV USB2 is another alternative which I've used a fair bit myself though can take some time to order.

I am an avid PAL user of of the GV-USB2 and reckon it's great.

[CaptureDJ]

Quote:

Many people are also happy eating a diet fast food. But we all know it's slow suicide, and leads to health issues.


Takes like this are really too kind, and it allows a person to make a bad decision (as they do not yet comprehend concepts like lossy, deinterlace, aspect, etc). They'll learn the hard way. Or worse, falsely all consumer videotapes look like crap, simply because the device was junk.

Thanks for all of that. Especially these bits. I’m keen to try the best i can to preserve these tape in as best a quality I can achieve. If the new workflow is significantly better I’ll probably revisit all my older tapes too.

[Hushpower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lordsmurf

Or you can search for cards that ingests at the best it can (respects source values like exposure and color depth).

Where? How can somebody, who possibly knows only a little about this game, search for something he needs but doesn't know anything about? He needs clear suggestions that he can go out and buy and get the job done.

[lollo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Live2 is not the best, not even close. Some folks like it, but it has quirks and weaknesses.

False. Provided it is fed with Y/C and lineTBC corrected signal, Hauppauge USB- Live 2 is excellent, and one of the best card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

No. Hauppauge had a bad habit of mid-production chip/firmware/etc changes, undisclosed in any way. So random results is typical.

Spreading false information. The video IC inside the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 was CX23102 10 years ago and is CX23102 today. Same for the firmware.
A link to the 2012 linux page of the card: https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.p...uge_USB-Live-2

---
A channel on S-VHS / VHS capture and AviSynth restoration https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsKcwn9Yh1MmNAs7I8nu4g

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hushpower

Where? How can somebody, who possibly knows only a little about this game, search for something he needs but doesn't know anything about? He needs clear suggestions that he can go out and buy and get the job done.

In the past 5 or so years, I find that capture card suggestions need more targeting, based on factors like OS options available. The days of untargeted capture card suggestions have mitigated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptureDJ

Thanks for all of that. Especially these bits. I’m keen to try the best i can to preserve these tape in as best a quality I can achieve. If the new workflow is significantly better I’ll probably revisit all my older tapes too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollo2

False. Provided it is fed with Y/C and lineTBC corrected signal, Hauppauge USB- Live 2 is excellent, and one of the best card.

That's part of the problem with these cards. In the overall landscape of capture cards, where you have extremes of overly touchy, to more resilient, that card is away from center into the touchy area. It's even more of an outlier than the ATI AIW, which had been criticized for similar reasons decades ago. Like all other cards, it has quirks, caveats.

Realize I don't like this fact. And I did truly want to like the Live2, we need more decent cards options. But it is what it is.

Sometimes it takes one person to mention a flaw, and the "me too" come pouring in. The Live2 specifically has come under pressure in recent times, due to further analysis that showed issues even when TBCs were in use. That may be concerning if you have nth gen or lower quality source tapes. The problems being noticed, and being investigated further, all came about due to some of your posts, and others posting issues that they were having in recreating your Live2 success.

Quote:

Spreading false information. The video IC inside the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 was CX23102 10 years ago and is CX23102 today. Same for the firmware.
A link to the 2012 linux page of the card:
A channel on S-VHS / VHS capture and AviSynth restoration

It's not false info whatsoever.

LinuxTV is definitely a useful resources, but it's not complete, and can be inaccurate at times. Remember, it's just wiki with contributions, not an end-all/be-all compendium. And it's a site created for Linux PVR, not analog videotape capturing.

I think your Avisynth work is excellent, always have. But it doesn't really prove anything here. Yes, your captures are fine, but more than once it's not translated to others having the same successes. I'm all about results that can be repeated, not random variables that can make results unknown.

Also don't hide links behind Bitly, those will be edited to reveal links. No need to hide anything here. There's no rule that you can't link to your channel in a non-spammy way, and you never have. You're fine.

[lollo2]

Quote:

Realize I don't like this fact. And I did truly want to like the Live2, we need more decent cards options. But it is what it is.

It does not matter what you wish, because what you say it is not a fact. And reality is not what you say it is. What you say is false. Period.

Quote:

but it's not complete, and can be inaccurate at times. Remember, it's just wiki with contributions, not an end-all/be-all compendium.

Bring a fact or an evidence that ICs or firwmare have changed for Hauppauge USB-Live 2. Just one.

Quote:

Sometimes it takes one person to mention a flaw, and the "me too" come pouring in. The Live2 specifically has come under pressure in recent times, due to further analysis that showed issues even when TBCs were in use. That may be concerning if you have nth gen or lower quality source tapes. The problems being noticed, and being investigated further, all came about due to some of your posts, and others posting issues that they were having in recreating your Live2 success.

I helped many people without being reported on the forum, because they contacted me by PM. About your speculation, post a fact or a single link about this problem. Or stop this bullshit.

Quote:

Yes, your captures are fine, but more than once it's not translated to others having the same successes. I'm all about results that can be repeated, not random variables that can make results unknown.

I never, ever used any of my captures as an evidence, and I will never do. Your attempt to take them out of contest will not support your theory.
As I said many times, I know many users capturing with Hauppauge USB-Live 2 and IOData GV-USB, and all captures I have been working on are fine. Not mine, but captures from others.

Quote:

Also don't hide links behind Bitly, those will be edited to reveal links. No need to hide anything here. There's no rule that you can't link to your channel in a non-spammy way, and you never have.

It's strange that as webmaster you ignore that the signature of a user is removed when you post using "Go advance" option, and need to be added manually. That's the simple reason. In addition the signature lenght cannot be too long!

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollo2

the signature of a user is removed when you post using "Go advance" option, and need to be added manually. That's the simple reason.

Really?

That's never been reported as an error. Something in the form must be ticked on/off by default. Normally this would be looked into, but we'll be upgrading to a new platform later this year, to try and give everybody features they need and want.

Quote:

In addition the signature lenght cannot be too long!

Yes, that is a set limit, and for good reason.
PM your desired signature, and then a version that is as short as possible. I'll see what char limits are needed for it, and see what can be allowed.

Quote:

And reality is not what you say it is.

I just don't have the time to argue this, nor gather samples and images. You think my facts are wrong, and I think you information is incomplete. We'll just have to leave it there.