Hauppauge HVR-1800 good enough for VHS to DVD capture?
 

Hi,

Saw your post on the type of VCR's that can adequately support VHS to digital capture, so I have a JVC SR-V10U ordered and on the way.

I currently have a Hauppauge HVR-1800 PCI TV Tuner card in my PC.
(here's the product link: http://www.hauppauge.com/site/produc...a_hvr1850.html)

From their FAQ:
What type of recordings can I make with the WinTV-HVR-1800?
Using the WinTV 7 application the WinTV-HVR-1800, will record in a transport stream (TS)
For ATSC and Clear QAM digital TV recordings, the recording format and bit rate is exactly the same as the broadcast format (i.e. ATSC 1080i is recorded at 1080i).
For NTSC analog cable TV recordings, our HardPVR is used to create Transport Stream files (TS)

Note: TS files can be converted to MPEG files using options in the WinTV 7 configuration menu.

Note: The WinTV 6 application recording are in MPEG format for both digital and analog.

Note: Not all recordings made with ATSC/QAM signals are DVD compliant

I have the Hauppauge WinTV 7 applications so hopefully I can record into TS, whatever that is.

So the basic question is whether I should get a new capture card, and if so, what do you recommend?

It's hard to say how good your results will be based on the information given in the FAQ.

As far as the program: There are many bad reviews for the bundled software with reports of encoder crashes during capture, so you may be better off using a different program -- i.e. Virtualdub. You'd probably get better quality results capturing as a lossless HuffyUV or Lagarith, filtering, and then encoding down to an MPEG2 instead of capturing to MPEG2 directly for VHS.

As far as the card: Assuming it'll capture at 720 x 480 resolution over the composite/svideo ports (it's not specified) and within DVD bitrates (once again, not specified and it's possible that it won't given the line about it not necessarily producing DVD compliant streams) it might be workable, but I would test it out first.

The card might work ... it's been 2009 since I tested it ... but the WinTV 7 is extremely buggy. You'll have to see. From what I remember, it only captures 720x480 MPEG-2, and it might go up to 15Mbps (which is good for Blu-ray!).

The ATI 600 USB is arguably a better card.
Even the cheap Tevion is better, if you can find one. (Currently see none on eBay, for the correct model.)

Thanks for the replies, and advice!

Ok, just read up on the capabilites that the ATI 600 chip set provided... given the choice, would you go with the ATI 600 USB, or the ATI 650 USB that adds digital QAM capability?

(link to 650's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000W5OYQ4)

AMD ATI comparison page: (http://www.amd.com/uk/products/pctv/...ct-matrix.aspx)

IIRC some people had trouble with the 650 and 750
the 600 is a known great capture device

Correct, correct. :thumb: