Good capture cards available in Europe? (s-video, Video8)
 

Hi! I've been doing some reading here, looking for decent hardware to digitize my family's collection of Video 8 tapes.

I was able to buy a camcorder with S-Video and TBC to use as my output. However, finding one of the cards that get recommended the most here in Europe is rather challenging.

All ATIs come from the US, as do the recommended Hauppauge models, and I'd rather avoid high shipping rates and long delivery times if possible.

There are a lot of various Pinnacle cards, but I wasn't able to find any suggestions which are actually worth buying, and the naming schemes aren't helping much either. I'd be very grateful for suggestions regarding PAL capture cards with S-Video that one can buy on European marketplaces. I'm pretty flexible when it comes to hardware configs, can use both Windows and Linux, including XP on some older hardware.

Also, are any of the ones below any good (especially the two first ones)?

- USB PINNACLE PCTV 150e
- Pinnacle Systems 51011560 Excalibur 5.1 PCI Video Capure Card
- Pinnacle VHS Saver
- PINNACLE Studio MovieBox Plus 710
- Pinnacle Dazzle Digital Video Creator DVC120

The listings are from Ebay: https://www.ebay.de/sch/175679/i.htm...e&LH_PrefLoc=1. I'm trying to find something in Germany or Poland if at all possible.
Thanks a lot!

Hauppauge USB-Live2, HuffYUV, AmarecTV, laptop running Windows10

compare_1a_dvb-s-muxed.mp4
capture result (comparison of an analog capture from s-vhs recording and a dvb-s stream of the same program)

compare_t2a_sigla_1a_dtbc_nr_on_best_on_copie_off_ d3r_on_org_v16ad-muxed.mp4
restoration result (experiment to improve video quality with AviSynth)

I hope it helps

Thanks... it isn't this thing, is it? https://www.ebay.de/itm/WIN-TV-usb-2...kAAOSwrS1gBKIR

I don't think I can buy the model you recommended, alas.

https://www.hauppauge.de/site/produc..._usblive2.html

https://www.hauppauge.co.uk/site/pro..._usblive2.html

Thanks, I thought they only shipped them from the US... You said you used a lossless codec, so the card can output raw video?

The captured video is a 4:2:2 YUV, codec: HuffYUV, example attached

The comparisons were compressed to mp4 for size reduction

Great. I ordered the camera and the card, and now I should read up on post-processing and restoration :) Thanks for your help!

Well, I am not at expert at all: restoration is difficult and require a lot of effort, learning, and experiments;
in addition is a sort of "art" imho. But here and on VH you'll have excellent support ;-)

On german video board they have tested many capture cards the result for the hauppauge was:

Hauppauge HVR-900 DVB-T stick & Hauppauge USB-Live 2:
Video part: sharpness satisfactory, FBAS color separation poor, va. with the USB-Live, within certain limits "real" proc amp. It seems that a 10-bit converter is installed, which has a high operating point (maybe about 1.5V), and the rest is digitally spread to 8-bit.
Video jitter stabilization ("TBC-Like"): none, for VHS-direct even completely unusable! A perfect recording (see tube TV) wobbles and makes waves without end!
Audio part: Not tested

If I understand correctly this refers to composite input signal. I always use S-Video.

I use it sometimes to fix the levels and it works

Yes, CX23102 is 10-bit. If 8 bits are used internally is probably because that number is adequate

I do not want a TBC inside a capture card. I need a line TBC in the VCR and eventually a frame TBC between the VCR and the capture card.

To my eyes the Hauppauge USB-Live2 is ok. In my previous attachement I compared a dvb-s "pure" stream (the reference) and the same video that went from a set-top box, to a VCR and finally to a capture card! Unfortunately the results is compressed for size reasons, but do you see any bad in it?

Out of interest, what did they say about the IO Data GV-USB2, my favourite capture stick?

If I am not misunderstanding something, for the guy who did the test the favourite seems to be a Terratec DVB-T stick, which is a surprize for me (was expecting something like a BrightEye 75). Apparently he has a preference for a card capable to handle problematic tapes/bad VCRs (sort of internal TBC capabilities?).

In the past I had a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid (that I have broken), capable of capture from analog source, and in my experiments it was not better than the Hauppauge in any way. I do not remember if it was capable to capture in the range 0-16 and 235-255 (Hauppauge does not).

I still have a Terratec Cynergy XS (no analog capture) that work flawless for dumping DVB-T streams, but that's another story.

I found no mention to IO Data GV-USB2, but did not search a lot ;-)

Thanks Lollo2. :congrats:

I read good opinion of IO Data GV-USB2 on VH.
I never had it.
Could you post some sample?
Thanks!

:smack:You should read the whole post to avoid spreading half-truths here. The Terratec you mentioned failed because no synchronous recording was possible except recording with the mpg codec.
The main focus was on jitter correction. Tested were pretty much all capture cards that were available in the German-speaking world.

In my thread I will continue posting comparisons with the (not recommended on DQ) IO DATA GV-USB2 + a recommended ATI AIW AGP card + the ATI 600 USB :)

Post #15, first example:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...html#post71895

Same as you did just translating few words.

As I said, mine was just an impression. I do not care about it, I have my own test.

Thanks for your contribution :), but I am not interested anymore in this useless discussion. Anybody can build his own opinion .

Yes please, I am interested! Thanks a lot :-)

Good start. :congrats:

Not really.
For example, I often have capture cards in the marketplace, and ship worldwide.

Not true. Certain AIW models were native to Europe.

For EU/UK<>US, shipping cost is about double domestic ($30 max), and times are usually not long either (2-3 weeks). It's mostly back to normal now. It's in-USA that's still fubar, political messing with USPS.

Pinnacle, Hauppauge, and others, reuse models/names, so it's indeed not always easy to know with having the card in-hand.

None of those.

Maybe fine.
Again, reuse model/name, that card had multiple variations.

No.
Conexant capture chips = no.

That was probably a mistake.

Link, please. :)

That stick is garbage. That and another variation of the HVR.

Correct.
However, line TBC in a capture card would have been nice. But one never existed.

True. But qualified opinions are based on facts and truths. Not just "because I think so". So as long as your opinions are grounded, all is well.

I thought I was referring to a "fact" when I posted my comparison. Apparently it was not the case. No problem, I'll quit. Thanks for everything!

Yeah the IO-Data seems to have gotten generally good feedback and seems decent, it also seems to have a proper proc-amp judging by how the histogram looked in one post here (can't find right now). Both the conexant (diamond vc500, hauppage usb live and many others) and it seems most or all empia-based (ati 600 and many others) seem to produce "sawtooths" or gaps in the histogram when adjusting contrast/brigthness. The empia ones in particular seem sometimes simply be adjusting brigtness of the already catured y data.

There seem to be a handful of rare ones that did to some extent, mostly using the functionality in the analog-devices chips, like the canopus nx and some other obscure ones, though the performance seems to vary. Ideally the full TBC functionality would be integrated into the capture devices but it seems pretty much no one has bothered with it, even though the technology itself has been around for quite a while and used in TVs, dvd-recorders etc. ADV even makes a chip with line and frame-TBC built in (which admittedly may not be quite as robust as panasonic/philips chips have been but still), but I've never seen any capture card use it.