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Guide on Capture Cards
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Guide on Capture CardsPosted:

iLewis
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Welcome to my topic on capture cards, by the end of this topic you should have a clear opinion on which card you are going to buy. There are many different cards, which focus on many different outcomes. Whether it's regarding buying, information or support, people are always asking about capture cards. Hopefully this topic can clear things up for some of you.

What is a Capture card?

A Capture card is a device used to capture Standard or High definision content from a source; Like a Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 etc. You can also use these to capture your TV!

What is the point me getting a Capture card?

You should get one for the following reasons;


  • If your interested in uploading gameplay videos to the internet/Youtube.

  • If you want to transform your old DVD or VHS movies to digital format or HD format.

  • For recording live television and streaming TV.

  • Livestreaming online.



What Capture card should I buy?

There are many factors that will determine your choice.

    The most well known Capture cards around are;
  • Easycap
  • Dazzle
  • Hauppauge HDPVR
  • Black Magic Intensity Pro
  • Elgato Game Capture HD


These 5 devices are PC dependent, so obviously you need a PC close by to capture content. Check your computer specs before buying - A reasonable amount of Hard drive space, RAM, CPU and a good graphics card are recommended when capturing game content.

I will be going through as many devices as I can to a large amount of detail.





These cards are usually cheap and only record in standard definition, many YouTuber's start out with a standard definition card. People claim you can get to "HDPVR" quality with a Dazzle, you can't.

EasyCap

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Easycap is the ingenious device which links your PC up to any video device with RCA connector or S-Video connector, such as VHS, VCR, DVD, TV, DV, analog camcorder, camera. Use Easycap to cheaply transfer your old VHS recordings to PC and burn to DVD. Protect your precious memories from old camcorder tapes. Record your videogames exploits. The possibilities are endless with Easycap!

The Easycap is the cheapest capture card out there to buy, but it is the worst quality one.


Dimensions (LxWxH) 88 x 28 x 18 mm
Casing Plastic
Color options Black

POWER-RELATED FEATURES
Power source USB

CONNECTIVITY
Connectivity options USB 2.0
Data transfer rate 0
Inputs RCA composite, RCA audio, S-Video
Outputs USB

ADAPTER-RELATED FEATURES
Supported file formats DV, AVI, MPEG, WMV, VCD, DVD

OTHER
Supports Both NTSC and PAL video systems
NTSC recording 720 x 480 at 30fps
PAL recording 720 x 576 at 25fps
Recording formats DVD+/-R/RW, DVD+/-VR, and DVD-Video
Output formats DV, AVI, MPEG, WMV, VCD, DVD
Supports Brightness, contrast, hue and saturation control


Where to buy?

You can buy the Easy cap from their official website [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] which is overpriced. Or buy it from eBay or Amazon.

UK - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

EasyCap install for capturing Console Games

If you have just purchased a EasyCap to record games on your Wii, here is quick guide to getting it up and running very quickly. A few extra Items you will want to purchase are 2 or 3 phono splitters
for this tutorial i will use just 2 splitters.

This will enable you to play the console on your TV whilst recording the game on your laptop or PC.

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phono splitters

2 sets of phono extension cables

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phono extension leads

Now from the Easycap connect 1 set of the phono extension leads to the correct colours yellow on yellow for Video the other end connects to 1of the phono splitters

Repeat with the white cable and the other cable splitter, it should now look like below.

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both phono leads connected to splitter

The other end of the extension cables goes to your TV, select the correct channel for the AV leads. Now you will need to connect the Wii AV cables to the splitter, following the same trend as before yellow (video) to the splitter with the other video cables, and white (audio)cables to the splitter with the white cables connected. You should now have this setup below.

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3 AV cables connected to the splitter

Now power on your Wii, you should see the picture on your TV screen, check you are on the correct channel for the AV cables.

If your based in the UK make sure the WII is set to PAL 50hz

Launch the Ulead software (Included in pack) and follow the following steps;

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Click Capture.

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click options, select video and audio capture settings

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For PAL systems make sure you have these settings

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Check the the capture tab has the same settings.

Useful YouTube Tutorials/Videos





Roxio Game Capture

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Hardware & software solution that lets you capture real-time Xbox 360 & PS3 gameplay to your PC.

Perfect for bragging rights, posting your own game reviews, or even creating your very own machinima.

Minimum System Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 7, Vista SP2, XP (SP3 for 32 bit & SP2 for 64 bit), Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 1.8 GHz or AMD Athlon x2 64 2.0 GHz, 2GB RAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card or higher, sound card
2GB free hard drive space for installation. 10+ GB free recommended for video recording.
Windows Media Player 11 or higher
Internet explorer 7 or 8
Internet connection required for capture, registration, product updates and tutorials. Any Internet charges are the user's responsibility
One available USB 2.0 port

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Capture
Capture real-time gameplay from your Xbox 360 or PS3 to your PC while still playing in HD on your television.

Edit & Personalize
Edit your captured gameplay by adding transitions, voice-overs and overlays to show off your high scores and best moves.

Share
Share your creations easily on YouTube & Facebook. Perfect for bragging rights, posting game reviews and strategy tips.

Where to buy?

UK - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]



The Dazzle

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The dazzle is the best non HD capture card out there in my opinion. It has good quality, nice design and is great for people buying a capture device for the first time. It's not as expensive as the HD capture cards but is a little more expensive than the Easycap. Overall it's a good capture card with your videos being in SD as well as playing in SD the only drawbacks.

Specificiations

Minimum System Requirements

Windows XP (SP2 or higher)
Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz or higher (2.4 GHz or higher recommended)
512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
DirectX 9 or higher compatible graphics card with 64 MB (ATI Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce' 3 or higher, with 128 MB recommended)
DirectX 9 or higher compatible sound card (Creative Audigy or M-Audio recommended)
1 GB of disk space to install software and 3 GB to install bonus content
1 USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) or USB 1.1 port
DVD burner for creating DVDs

Hardware Specifications

Video inputs: Composite video (RCA), S-Video (mini-DIN)
Audio inputs: Stereo audio (RCA x2)
On-board MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and DivX compression hardware
PC connection: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 or USB 1.1

Software Specifications

Capture from any video source with composite (RCA) or S-Video output
Capture Formats:

Hardware compressed MPEG-1, MPEG-2 & MPEG-4
Import Formats: (Studio QuickStart)

Video: DV, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, MPEG-4, Windows Media Format, Non-encrypted DVD Titles*
Audio: WAV, MP3*
Graphics: BMP, JPG, PCT, TGA, TIF, Windows Media Format
Export Formats: (Studio QuickStart)

Video CD (VCD) or S-VCD with optional CD burner (CD-R or CD-RW)
iPod & PSP compatible (MPEG-4)
DVD with optional DVD burner (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R or DVD+RW)
DV, AVI, DivX, RealVideo 8, Windows Media 9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 files
Dolby Digital 2 channel and 5.1 channel audio*

Package Contents

Dazzle DVC 170 USB video capture device with MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 compression hardware
Pinnacle InstantDVD Recorder software
Pinnacle Studio QuickStart software
Studio Bonus DVD
Quick Installation and Getting Started guides


Where to buy?

UK -
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US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]








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Now this is where the good cards come to show, these follwing capture cards capture your content in either 720p or full 1080p HD.




Hauppauge HD PVR

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HD PVR is the worlds first High-Definition video recorder for making real-time H.264 compressed recordings at resolutions up to 1080i. HD-PVR records component video (YCrCb) from cable TV and satellite set top boxes, with a built-in IR blaster to automatically change TV channels for scheduled recordings. Audio is recorded using AAC.

The recording format is AVCHD, which can be used to burn Blu-ray DVD disks. Two hours of HD recordings, recorded at 5 Mbits/sec, can be burnt onto a standard 4.7 GByte DVD-R or DVD-RW disk for playback on a Blu-ray DVD player.

The HD PVRs amazing recording quality allows personal archival of your favorite high definition TV programs from any component video HD set top box. The HD PVR also has standard definition composite and S-Video inputs so you can record your old home video tapes into an AVCHD format for creating Blu-ray DVD recordings.

Specifications

Hardware encoder:
H.264 AVCHD video encoder.
Recording datarate: from 1 to 13.5 Mbits/sec (user selectable).
Recording format: up to 1080i from component video (YCrCb)
Note: the video input format determines the recorded format. For example, 1080i input records at 1080i, 720P records at 720P, etc.. Any other format conversions needs to be done with the MediaConvert program (supplied).
Size:
19.8cm wide x 17.3 cm deep x 7 cm high.
Power:
5V at 2 amps.
System Requirements
Processor Requirements (minimum):
Dual core CPU.
Microsoft Windows 7 (32/64bit), Vista (32/64bit) or Windows XP Service Pack 3.
Graphics with 256MB memory (or greater)
Note: the playback of high definition H.264 requires a fast CPU and at least 256MB of graphics memory.
Sound card.
Included with the HD PVR
HD PVR high definition personal video recorder, USB.
IR Blaster transmitter cable.
Component video cable set.
Audio cable set.
USB cable.
5v power supply.
Bundled software applications
Arcsoft TotalMediaExtreme for video capture, preview, playback, and authoring and burning your TV recordings onto a Blu-ray DVD compatible disc.
Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater, a video player so you can play back your TV recordings to your PC screen.
Arcsoft MediaConverter , to convert your H.264 HD recordings onto other formats.
Includes Hauppauge's WinTV scheduler for scheduled TV recordings.
Input and outputs
Component video input and loop through output.
Optical audio Input and loop through output.
Left/ Right RCA audio input and loop through output.
Composite video and S-Video inputs (on front panel).
Left/right audio input (on front panel).
IR Blaster output.
USB2.0 High speed Device.


Where to buy?

UK -
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US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]




Elgato Game Capture HD


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Elgato Game Capture HD enables you to record PlayStation or Xbox gameplay to a Mac or PC and share it with your friends and fans. With advanced hardware H.264 encoding, you can capture in stunning HD quality, while keeping the file size low.


The gameplay is passed through to the TV via HDMI in pristine quality, without delay. Elgato Game Capture HD doesnt need a lot of cables or even a power supply to record your game: With direct Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 input, you can use a single cable to connect it to your console.

[img]http://images1.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/capture-convert/GameCaptureHD/elgatoContent/02/image_en/gchd-specifications-en.gif?20120116124148[/img]

[img]http://images1.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products/capture-convert/GameCaptureHD/elgatoContent/04/image_en/gchd-inthebox-en.gif?20120116124222[/img]

Where to buy?

UK - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]



Blackmagic Intensity Pro

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Intensity Pro is the worlds first HDMI and analog component, NTSC/PAL and S-Video PCIe capture and playback card for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux computers. Intensity Pro is great for HDTV or standard definition editing using big screen televisions and video projectors. Intensity Pro works with uncompressed SD or HD video.

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Where to buy?

UK - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]




Avermedia Game Capture HD

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Recording your Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii gaming triumphs is now much easier! If the living room is your war field, all you need is your video game console, TV set and the Game Capture HD. The Game Capture HD is a standalone HD video capture box which allows users to record PS3 or Xbox 360 HD gameplays to an internal or external hard drive without a PC. Installation is easy. Just connect the Game Capture HD to your game console with Component cables, and there you go! With one click, the Game Capture HD can capture and preview live game footage in 1080i resolution. When youre gaming or playing back your recordings, you can also capture the precious moment in an image file freely. You have the right to decide where to save the recordings or screenshots. Besides, all your recordings and screenshots can be moved between the connected hard drives for portability and sharing.

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Where to buy?

UK - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
US - [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]



BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle

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Intensity Shuttle for USB 3.0, the worlds first 10 bit HD/SD editing solution for USB 3.0 computers! Simply plug in Intensity Shuttle and get access to incredible quality 10 bit HDMI, analog component, composite and s-video capture and playback. Intensity Shuttles innovative design is compact and portable, plus you can plug inline with your cables because input connections are on one side, and output connections on the other! Intensity Shuttle powers from the USB 3.0 connection so you dont need cumbersome power supplies. Intensity Shuttle comes ready with advanced video technology such as HDMI and 1080p electronics, so it will grow as faster high performance USB 3.0 computers are released in the future!

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If you are still unsure, I found quite a good video explaining it.






I hope you have now figured out which capture card you want! If you have any questions be sure to PM me.




Ant Edit: iLewis has permission from original OP, he will maintain it from now on.




Last edited by iLewis ; edited 5 times in total

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#2. Posted:
Chinese
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Great post man! I never even knew about most of these devices!
#3. Posted:
Z61
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Gotta love an instant sticky, biased staff much?

Edit: who ever thumbed down do you honestly think it is fair for someone to receive a sticky the same minute they post the topic?


Last edited by Z61 ; edited 1 time in total
#4. Posted:
gallardo242
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This is an awesome guide
awesome post *9clown*
#5. Posted:
Ant
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Z61 wrote Gotta love an instant sticky, biased staff much?


He's reposting this topic and has permission to do so from the OP (who used to be a moderator himself). iLewis will be keeping this thread up to date as the orignal OP no longer had the time to do so. The sticky would have been locked otherwise if no-one offered to maintain it.

Keep your opinions to yourself if you don't know the story behind it.
#6. Posted:
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great post bro thanks lol
#7. Posted:
Definitions
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Good post! but a Roxio is a HD capture though i am pretty sure.
#8. Posted:
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i have read the first part but i need some help on something else on my computer to work my dazzle for some reason my computer needs a program to have sound on it and i accidentally removed from my conmputer and now i have no sound do you know the program that i need for sound
#9. Posted:
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Z61 wrote Gotta love an instant sticky, biased staff much?

Edit: who ever thumbed down do you honestly think it is fair for someone to receive a sticky the same minute they post the topic?
dont be mad that you cant make such a great post like this
#10. Posted:
Halo3-
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THANKS BRO Ive been looking for a post or someone who will help me with buying capture cards
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