Best HD capture card.

[ceramiclion]

Hello Everyone.
I am currently looking to get a capture card for my pc. I think It would be better if its internal so I had 3 cards in mind.

Hauppage Colossus

AVERMEDIA Game Broadcaster HD Record and Stream

Black Magic Design Intensity Pro.

The one with the best rating seems to be the AVermedia game broadcaster but that is normal since it seems to have come out recently.
I am looking to record PS3, PC, SNES, PS2, Sega Genesis (megadrive) and Sega Saturn. I hook up my sega saturn using a Scart through a Gonbes 8220 converter.

Anyone has ever used any of these cards? How is ease of use?
I heard you need an SSD to be able to play and record without lag, is that right?
Thanks!

[Borman]

Ive used an Intensity Pro for years with no issues. Just be warned, youll need something that upscales to get some older consoles to work. You dont need an SSD without lagging, the Intensity Pro has passthrough capability so you can just play on your TV. That said, if you are recording in HD, youll need a moderately fast computer to record compressed footage, or if you really do want HD, a RAID setup (SSD setups wouldnt give you enough space). 480p is fine uncompressed on a normal harddrive.

[dcultrapro]

I capture video for my youtube channel currently using a simple, cheap EZCAP usb device, the results are fine but if I ever wanted to capture better I think I'd probably buy this:

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod...ensity/models/

would you guys think this is a good solution? or is it better to buy one of those internal ones the OP mentions?

Reason I look at this one instead is because it offers direct capture from RCA and S Video which is what the majority of my oldschool consoles use, so if you factor in having to buy something to upscale this Intensity probably works out ok in price

what do you guys think?

OP, I don't suppose this would help with your requirement?

[derekb]

I trust Borman's opinion since he posts a million gaming vids a month

[Borman]

Honestly, Im sure some of the other solutions are just as good at this point, I just know that I was one of the first with the Intensity Pro for gaming capture, and the software has come a long way. Like I said, it's still not perfect, with the lack of low resolutions and 480p over HDMI only, but it captures Composite, Component, and HDMI (non HDCP, so the 360 or a PS3 test, or a PC, which is awesome), along with S-video through a breakout cable. It covers everything, it is internal, and it has continued updates to make it better.

I will say that their USB3 Intensity isn't as good, mostly due to USB3 driver errors that people are having. I thought about getting one and risking it, but I knew the Intensity Pro works for what I need it to do, no reason to change that now.

[bob]

I use the intensity pro (the internal version) and it works beautifully

[ceramiclion]

So black magic intensity pro is the most tried.
I ask because I read the reviews and many of the complaints are about how difficult they are to use and such.
I think I will go with the Blackmagic intensity pro then. Thanks.

[Borman]

Most people who complain don't have the hardware to be doing what they are doing. You will drop frames if your harddrive isn't fast enough, but that will happen on any capture card, depending on the format. What I love with the Intensity Pro is that I can set it to use whatever codec I want, and hit record in Final Cut Pro. Nothing hard about it.

The IP does not have an onboard encoder, it is up to your CPU, not the box itself. So other people get boxes that record in h264 or some other format, and think "OMG SO MUCH BETTER!" but in reality, it isn't as nice quality wise.

[dcultrapro]

hey guys, just wondering if any of you thought the device I mentioned was any good? ok it might not be what the OP was looking for but I also capture video, though I'm not too bothered about them being in HD etc, and wondered if this would be a good solution for me


Intensity Shuttle for USB 3.0 - $199

intensityshuttle.jpg

I only really use RCA cables for all my older devices like Master System etc but I suppose I could use the component for the Wii and HDMI for 360 which would be awesome... its just a case of having the money for it I guess, but I've certainly got the performance in my pc to handle it

[Borman]

Like I said, the USB 3.0 version is not the best, simply because the drivers make it not work on certain (a lot) of motherboards. That solution is overkill if all you want to do is use composite.

[dcultrapro]

ok cool, sorry I must've missed your response/comment about that device, so is there anything between the EZCAP and the intensity shuttle you think might be worth looking into?

thanks

[ceramiclion]

ok cool, sorry I must've missed your response/comment about that device, so is there anything between the EZCAP and the intensity shuttle you think might be worth looking into?

thanks

From what I've read the EZCAP is cheap and to the point. The Intensty shuffle is not cheap. They are both USB. If you just want to record composite then go with something like the EZCAP. That's the gist of it.


Borman. I have one more question, How would I go about connecting a digital audio input into it? I use TOSLink coming from the PS2. DO i need to buy a converter?

[root670]

Keep in mind that it can be a pain to find EzCAP (EasyCAP?) drivers, especially for 64 bit systems. Also, atleast with the one I have, the audio quality is absolutely terrible. Think of a car stereo system outputting to Apple ear buds for speakers... That kind of bad ;)

[dcultrapro]

Keep in mind that it can be a pain to find EzCAP (EasyCAP?) drivers, especially for 64 bit systems. Also, atleast with the one I have, the audio quality is absolutely terrible. Think of a car stereo system outputting to Apple ear buds for speakers... That kind of bad ;)

WOW, I must be pretty darn lucky then, I have a 64bit Win7 system with 8gb RAM and a beauty of a GPU and my vids come through fine, check out this for a sample



I must be getting off pretty lucky. At one point my sound driver wasn't working so I literally tinkered blindly with the device drivers in device manager by right clicking and selecting update driver etc and picking the device from a list... maybe I just got lucky.

I guess the only reason I might consider moving away from the EZCAP would be if I could find a way to record from the Master System without the constant white flash that I get, its the only glitch I get though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RVr65g220E


any thoughts?

[GrindheadJim]

any thoughts?

I use this:
1.JPG
http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/support...prod/avc-1400/

I use it in tandem with an AV switch, and use a VCR as an RF Demodulator, with pretty damn good results, if I do say so myself. There are a couple US-based sellers that sell this for $30ish.

This is hardly uncommon knowledge, but the the method is tried-and-true, so, often overlooked for standard-def captures. I split the output of my AV switch, with one lead going to the TV, and one going to the dongle, so that I can play on the TV with no lag, and run the capture with as little a CPU footprint as possible.

All told, I spent less than $75 for the AV switch ($20, because I wanted one with an IR remote), the GameBridge (the aforementioned $30), and new RCA cables/splitters (right around $20 shipped for four 6ft cables, and seven 2-way splitters). The VCR I already had, which becomes moot once I mod my top loader.

During capture, it looks like there are dropped frames and lag, but the finished product appears lossless. I hope this is a low-cost alternative that may solve your SMS problem. :)

[dcultrapro]

hey thanks for the suggestion bud, although I'm little unsure what this item does different to mine... can you just step by step the way you connect as i must've lost you in there somewhere lol

Mine for example is just a direct RCA connection to the USB dongle for most of my consoles, but with Mega Drive, MCD, 32x and SMS I have to send it to my dvd/vhs copier/drive first then the picture comes out ok

[Borman]

From what I've read the EZCAP is cheap and to the point. The Intensty shuffle is not cheap. They are both USB. If you just want to record composite then go with something like the EZCAP. That's the gist of it.


Borman. I have one more question, How would I go about connecting a digital audio input into it? I use TOSLink coming from the PS2. DO i need to buy a converter?

Im sure youll need an adapter. I have optical in on my Mac Pro, so it isn't an issue.

You guys seem to be looking at budget solutions mostly, which won't result in the best capture. Even though mine usually isn't always the best, it is often far better than other material. If you want high quality, look into something that can do RGB, or at the very least, RGB through an upscaler / component converter. That will be better than RF any day of the week.

[GrindheadJim]

hey thanks for the suggestion bud, although I'm little unsure what this item does different to mine... can you just step by step the way you connect as i must've lost you in there somewhere lol

Mine for example is just a direct RCA connection to the USB dongle for most of my consoles, but with Mega Drive, MCD, 32x and SMS I have to send it to my dvd/vhs copier/drive first then the picture comes out ok

In terms of concept, we are using the exact same connection method. However, I've read that the EasyCAP is plagued with all kinds of issues, particularly the hardware itself. I recommended the GameBridge as an alternative because it, on the contrary, consistently gets higher marks all around. I can say from experience that I have experienced no problems that I couldn't solve with codec tweaking.

I read so many bad reviews on the EasyCAP - that's why I went with the GameBridge. Again, not a HD solution, but, if you're capturing SD, it works phenomenally well.

So, sorry if I came off like it was a miracle cure - didn't mean to. What I was trying to say was, "You're not wrong - the hardware is!" :)

[dcultrapro]

So, sorry if I came off like it was a miracle cure - didn't mean to. What I was trying to say was, "You're not wrong - the hardware is!" :)

hey its cool I didn't think that at all so no worries, what I was wondering was how does the device actually connect up, you mentioned splitting and Demodulators and I didn't know exactly what you meant or how it connects your device to your pc, sorry if I confused lol

[retro]

Why internal? Most professional solutions are in fact external nowadays.

The Hauppauge HD PVR is very good.

Here it is doing SNES (they used composhite):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF5Xv5SYCwQ

Master System (same person):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IxCfMOhZXI&feature=plcp

720p Xbox 360:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EdbzxI9zNM

They even do a gaming edition, lol.

If you really want the best, Avid Nitris DX. It's broadcast equipment that you'd find in television production suites. And it's the best part of £5,000