UVC capture card for NTSC?

[dssrtfx]

Hello, lordsmurf! I want a USB capture card. I'm going to be capturing NTSC video.

I'll be using the capture card for capturing old home videos with whichever VirtualDub works best with the particular card.

I also want to capture (for recording as well as streaming online) the composite output of an IBM CGA card as well as a PlayStation. Do you know if any of the USB capture cards you [have] can be used with software such as OBS Studio? As a UVC device, I think it's called.

Thank you!

[lordsmurf]

UVC capture cards are for live-streaming (mostly used by gamers). VirtualDub also does not work well (or at all) for UVC capture devices. Different uses.

For analog videotape capture -- not live streaming -- then you want something like ATI (WinXP/Vista/7), or the certain version Pinnacle (NOT Dazzle!) USB (Win8/10/11). Those work well with VirtualDub, and give you high quality captures -- assuming quality VCR and some form of TBC also in use.

OBS is a digital stream recorder (and "broadcast") software, and was not made for videotapes. It records from display layers, not by direct card access, which makes a large difference in quality (mostly in interlacing integrity, but others areas as well). Also, OBS does not require UVC devices, though it (almost always?) will for streaming application.

You can capture video games perfectly fine with standard card>VirtualDub setups. Though some opt for more expensive setups specifically for video games, often wanting to upscale during capture (for better or worse).

If you want to both stream, and capture, realize those are two very different functions. It's like wanting a car that can both run laps on a track, and can tow a boat. That won't happen. Two separate functions, needing two separate tools.

[dssrtfx]

Thank you for your time answering! I’m just having a bit of a hard time finding out if, I suppose regardless if the capture card is technically appearing as a UVC device or not in OBS Studio, it can appear as a Video Capture device and capture a good signal. If anyone has experience with either the ATI TV Wonder HD 600 USB or the good version Pinnacle USB capture cards as a Video Capture device in OBS Studio, please let me know!
Thank you again.

[lordsmurf]

What OS are you using? Assuming Win10/11 here.

Both of these cards should appear in OBS, but not necessarily as UVC.

Win10/11 does treat many capture cards like webcams, and that's a bad thing. I don't have the current ability to test this for you, my Win11 setup has to stay clean at the moment.

[Aya_Rei]

If anything, OBS wasn't built to capture analog tape. It wasn't built to capture from old analog cables. You can do that but it ain't gonna be good. And they ain't gonna update OBS to support this stuff, it is not their target audience.

It was built to screen record your computer and at most capture from HDMI capture cards that are primarily used to capture from video game consoles.

It's like a RetroTink, built for displaying old video game consoles on a modern HDMI only TV and does an A+ job at that. But it was not built from capture from analog sources.

From my understanding people capture footage from old consoles by running them through a RetroTink and capturing the RetroTink's output using an HDMI capture card.

[lordsmurf]

One of the defining factors of a UVC card is driverless install. That's not any analog capture cards that I'm aware of, aside from maybe DV cards. Maybe. I still have an extra Canopus that I'd set aside for a Mac workflow (then he ghosted on me), and can test with it.

Due to the tech of the time, most UVC are also HDMI output, and wanting HD or upscaled sources.

I really don't know why UVC is a factor here. Quality capture cards, for videotapes, or even retro-quality console gaming, need not be UVC.

[NJRoadfan]

For the record, OBS does work with DirectShow capture devices.

[vwestlife]

Note that CGA cards and video game consoles deviate from the NTSC broadcast specification enough that they can cause problems with video capture cards and USB video capture devices. (Classic computer/video game enthusiasts refer to what they put out as 240p, rather than 480i.) You may end up needing a time base corrector.