DEAD: Video Capture Card $10 AR Comp USA (Analog)

[trikster2]

While at compusa picking up my new hard drive I saw they have the AVERDVD EZMAKER for $10 after rebate.

Looking quickly at the add I assumed it was just some cheap video processing softare BUT it's not just cheap softare. It's a cheap PCI video capture card compatible with 98SE, 2000 XP.

$10 for a new capture card is pretty "hot" no? Lowest price for this same card on price grabber is $42

AVERDVD EZMAKER

Looking at the add it's easy to assume this is just a piece of softare, not hardware, my compusa even had it buried in with the image/video processing softare........

Analog 8mm tapes start to degrade after 6 years or so. If you have old tapes laying around, you now have no excuse not to get them into a more stable digital format!

EDIT: Sorry SAL but deal is still good and still in stock at my local CompUSA. Will mark it dead sunday.
Note To Self: Send in the $##$@#$ rebate.

 

[trikster2]

More detailed specs, this thing claims to be able to capture directly to DVD or VCD:



Capture, Record, and Enjoy! It?s that simple! AVerDVD EZMaker is a complete package that allows you to create DVD quality home videos on a CD or DVD in real-time. It is the ideal solution for capturing videos from camcorders or VCRs to a CD, DVD, or your PC.

The DVD authoring capability enables you to turn video to DVD in an easy one-step process at High Resolution (up to 720x480) ! You can also re-edit the previously recorded video and re-burn it onto the same DVD It also allows you to perform basic editing functions, like add titles, audio overlay on to your video clips, and much more!

Real-Time Recording
Enjoy your DVD, instead of waiting for it to burn. Save your time by allowing you to actually record in real-time. It is the fastest way to burn a DVD. By the time other software has finished encoding, you could have made copies of your video to share with your friends and family.

Re-Edit Recorded DVDs
Want to update or make changes to the previously recorded DVDs? Now, you can do it using AVerDVD EZMaker with neoDVDstandard 4.0 software. You can add or delete clips and burn the video onto the same disc. No need to recreate or burn another disc.


* Convert Analog Video to Digital Video:
- Capture Video From your Analog Camcorder, or VCR/VHS onto a CD, DVD, or PC
- Save Analog Home Movies to a Digital Format
* DVD Authoring Capability:
- In a Simple One-Step Process, go Directly from Analog Video Devices to DVDs or CDs
- Allows you to Import DV, AVI, QuickTime, and MPEG files Directly into the Application
* Real-Time Video Recording
* Edit Originally Recorded Video Scenes on the DVDs
* Write DVD Format to Optical Media:
- CD-R, CD-RW
- DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, DVD+R
* Burn DVD or VCD Videos onto CDs
* Play Captured Video on DVD Players
* Basic Video Editing Functions:
- Audio Overlay onto Video Clips (MP3 or .wav files)
- Add Titles and Transitional Effects
- Create your Own Background for the DVD Menu Page
- Automatic Menu Creation for Easy Access to Video Content
- Thumbnail Image Automatically Created for Each Chapter
- Menu and Thumbnail Titles are Editable
* Automatic NTSC/PAL Conversion
* Full Screen Resolution Capture (Up to 720 x 480)
* Compatible with all DV, miniDV Camcorder, VHS/VCR, and Analog
* Camcorder
* DVD Writing Formats:
- MPEG-2 VBR (5Mbps Average, 8.1Mbps Maximum)
- PCM Audio 48KHz/16 bits 2 Channels
* VCD Writing Format:
- MPEG-1 Video 1152 kbps
- MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio 224 kbps

* CPU: 1 Gig or Higher
* Operating System: Windows 98SE/ Me/ 2000/ XP
* Interface: PCI Slot
* Audio: Line-in from Sound Card
* Video Card: AGP Graphic Card with 8MB Memory minimum
* CD or DVD Burner: Required for Recording CDs or DVDs (not included)
* Package Includes:
- AverDVD EZMaker card
- Installation guide
- neoDVDstandard 4.0 software from MedioStream
- RCA-to-Phono jack
* Warranty: One year manufacturer limited warranty

 

[k000]

Card is included in the box

 

[mccall]

Card is included in the box

The OP knows that, that's why he posted.

I don't see any mention of what format this card captures in. Trikster2 - do you know? If it captures in MPEG it might be worth spending $10 to try it out.

 

[garsh]

Yet another piece for my PVR-to-be. Thanks!

 

[tk149]

Amateur Reviews found at dvdrhelp.com.

One of the reviews also mentions that the card is found in the Software section at CompUSA.

CompUSA link. SOLD OUT! DOH!

Maybe B&M still have them?

 

[mccall]

tk149 - right on that same CompUSA page you can input your zip code and it will tell you if your local stores have it in stock (or more accurately if they had it in stock as of close the night before IIRC)

Thanks for the review link. The reviews say it will capture MPG1 & 2 as well as AVI, and you can use other software besides that which is bundled with it if you download and install the tweaked drivers they mentioned.

I'm going to pick one up next time I pass teh store.

 

[k000]

Cool... I just installed it and it is working great... converting one VHS right now... I was trying to convert it directly from my Panasonic Camcorder... and it was VHS-C format.. duh ! Of course it won't get anything from VHS-C.. ! VCR is working fine !

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: tk149
Amateur Reviews found at dvdrhelp.com.

One of the reviews also mentions that the card is found in the Software section at CompUSA.

CompUSA link. SOLD OUT! DOH!

Maybe B&M still have them?

have them at my store Nice find

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: mccall
Card is included in the box

The OP knows that, that's why he posted.

I don't see any mention of what format this card captures in. Trikster2 - do you know? If it captures in MPEG it might be worth spending $10 to try it out.

Well the instructions in the box are not much beyond plug a cable in here and put the CD in the drive to load the driver when we tell you to.

The box states that it can write VCDs in MPeg 1 and DVDs in MPeg 2 at 5mb/s average 8.1 mb/s max . But that sounds more like a feature of the NeoDVD software?

The box claims it can do full screen resolution capture at 720x480 but makes no reference at how man FPS or maybe that is part of the NTSC/PAL supprot. I have no idea. No knowthing about video capture thought this would be a good way to "play" withouth sticking my fiscal neck too far out..

Requires a 1 Ghz CPU so I suspect my CPU will be doing most of the work. Maybe MPEG is totaly software?.

The chip on the PCI card is a: Conexant Fusion 878A

From the Conextant descrition of the Fusion 878A

Fusion 878A addresses the current analog PC TV requirements
since it is pin for pin compatible and software compatible with the current
Bt878.

NTSC/PAL/SECAM decoding
Supports capture resolutions up to 768 x 576 (full PAL)
Supports HDTV/audio/MPEG2 transport data across PCI bus


I believe the Bt878 is the popular chip that is used in a lot of the low cost video capture cards. Plus side is it may work under Linux...

 

[wfay]

Originally posted by: mccall
I don't see any mention of what format this card captures in. Trikster2 - do you know? If it captures in MPEG it might be worth spending $10 to try it out.

uhhh this was in the specs list:

* DVD Writing Formats:
- MPEG-2 VBR (5Mbps Average, 8.1Mbps Maximum)
- PCM Audio 48KHz/16 bits 2 Channels
* VCD Writing Format:
- MPEG-1 Video 1152 kbps
- MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio 224 kbps

and it says 'AVerDVD EZMaker is a complete package that allows you to create DVD quality home videos on a CD or DVD in real-time [no encoding step needed]." therefore i would assume (???) it captures in MPEG, unless it does some on-the-fly conversion to MPEG as it writes the DVD while ripping (all in real time)...?

 

[k000]

Well... just to say the least. I completed my test VCD... and the quality of the output is unacceptably bad. I did MPEG1 as MPEG2 created by it's s/w gave me some errors.

I tried making the VCD both from VCR's VHS tape as source and then the DVD as source from DVD player (I used the composite wires for bpth) and the quality is equally unacceptable to me (tastes differ)... so this is definitely going back too

 

[Jack159]

Are there any cap cards (including this one) that will let me back up my macrovisioned protected tapes?

thanks

J

 

[trikster2]

Originally posted by: k000
Well... just to say the least. I completed my test VCD... and the quality of the output is unacceptably bad. I did MPEG1 as MPEG2 created by it's s/w gave me some errors.

I tried making the VCD both from VCR's VHS tape as source and then the DVD as source from DVD player (I used the composite wires for bpth) and the quality is equally unacceptable to me (tastes differ)... so this is definitely going back too

I've been researching this thing before installing it.

TK149 Has a great link up there to a thread discussing the card. The problem with poor direct to VCD seems to be a software, not a hard ware issue and does not seem to carry over in capturing direct to DVD.

Getting a good VCD out of this thing may be more trouble than it is worth though (ripped from the above forum):


bought at Fry's Electronics ($49 list, $29 after rebate). Follow the suggestions from one of the previous users and the result is just like he said. To get the best quality on VCD from VHS tapes:
1.) capture video in DVD mpeg2 mode.
2.) Use TMPGEnc to read the mpeg2 file and convert mpeg1.
3.) Use the enclosed Nero software to burn. The result is very close to the original.
4.) This approach costs one extra step in 2.) and so take more time. For those who do not care much about quality (pixelized effects, etc..) can just capture directly in mpeg1 at step1, but the result is a lot worse.

My computer uses Athlon clocked at 2Ghz and for a 1hour movie, it costs another 1 hour to do step 2. However, I am more happy with the result.

I actually tried ATI all in wonder 7500 and the result is not as good. The software there also requires many intermediate step. AverDVD wins.
Not sure why some users have problems but I find this thing very straightforward to use. The DVD mpeg2 capture of course is good to excellent.
Watch out for poor VCD head to start with, computer speed, graphic cards, mobo sound card as sourc of problems. Hope this helps some users.

 

[JuryDuty]

I just got back from CompUSA in D/FW and found they had about 30 in stock. Installing now...

 

[Fire17]

Back in stock at compusa.com 1:22 pm April 7.

 

[k000]

OP didn't have that in his P when I replied... maybe OP was edited later. Talk about thnks/gratitude... Anyways...

Originally posted by: mccall
Card is included in the box The OP knows that, that's why he posted. I don't see any mention of what format this card captures in. Trikster2 - do you know? If it captures in MPEG it might be worth spending $10 to try it out.

 

[drgeoffrey]

Bump.
FYI if you have pop up blocker software, disable it before you purchase: I couldn't purchase until I said "no" in some pop-up that appears when you click purchase. With a pop-up blocker on, it just kept me at that purchase page.

 

[JuryDuty]

Wow! OK, I've installed the card and played around with it for a while--and it's the best video capture card I've used to date.

I installed it using the WinXP drivers on the CD that came with it. Then I fired up Windows Movie Maker 2 and started capturing--I captured 640x480 full screen and it looks great. Thank you so much for this deal!

Unbelievable for $10!

 

[Sept1967]

I just bought one at lunch. The store didnt even have any displays showing 10 after rebates (probably why they had 2 still on the shelf).

JuryDuty:

Does the card itself have a sound input? Or do you just grab sound from your soundcard...

 

[JuryDuty]

Originally posted by: Sept1967

JuryDuty:

Does the card itself have a sound input? Or do you just grab sound from your soundcard...

No, the card only has a RCA-video and an S-video input. You grab the sound from your sound card. It does come with an audio double-RCA to single line-in splitter, which is nice. Makes it easy to hook your VCR up to your sound card.

I went ahead and installed the software that came with it to see if I liked it better than Windows Movie Maker 2. It DOES capture to MPEG 2, which is nice, and you can open it in Windows MM2 then to edit it, add transitions, etc.

Curious though--does anyone know where I can download an MPEG 2 codec? It works as long as I use their software, but Windows MM2 wants a separate codec installed for some of the features...

 

[pspada]

OOS for me. :brokenheart:

 

[BigEdMuustaffa]

How does this card compare to the pinnacle pci tv tuner pro card? (for capture that is, tv tuning asside) Are the capture capablilities dependant on the card itself (hardware?0 or available software? I know from testing that the studio software and pc vision software that comes with the pinnacle card is full of problems and short comings, I've experienced many) There is a thread on FW about software where they recommend Dscaler for tv tuning, and another software product for capture. Any thoughts? thanks...

 

[mccall]

k000 - try the tweaked drivers at the review link that tk149 posted. People on that site report that using those drivers along with other (free) software instead of what's bundled with the card made their output much better. I'd give that a try before returning the card. It might solve your problem.

As far as creating CD's or DVD's on the fly, as someone else mentioned, I know it says in their marketing blurb that you can do that, but I can't see how it would work. Capturing the video without losing frames is tough enough for some systems, I can't imagine being able to capture and write to CD or DVD at the same time. The review site mentione in tk149's post says this card will capture MPEG1 & 2 as well as AVI, so there are plenty of options depending on what your output is going to be. You might have to use those drivers as well as diff software to do that though. I haven't been able to pick one of these up yet (we actually got snow today here in Philly) so I don't know the limitations of the bundled software.

 

[Shaka]

1 left in the Santa Clara, CA store.