What is the best Hardware Analog Capture Card (2 Viewers)

[BigBuddha]

Is the PQ any better if you use the Hauppauge application to capture the video (where I assume you can control the bit-rate)?

The Hauppage MCE's are an OEM product and as such are only supplied with drivers, no software apps at all (bugger!)

I just downloaded/tried the Hauppage app for the PVR 150 and it doesn't appear to work for the MCE.

 

[Callifo]

I downloaded Hauppauge Wintv (which also came with my Nova-t) and it works fine with both the 150MCE and the Nova-t. Horrible app though

 

[BigBuddha]

I downloaded Hauppauge Wintv (which also came with my Nova-t) and it works fine with both the 150MCE and the Nova-t. Horrible app though

Did you have to install the Hauppage filters? And how do you tell it to display what is coming in to the component input?

 

[Callifo]

I installed what came in the nova-t package, so Im not sure if it uses my Nvidia ones or the Hauppauge ones. Havent used it lately so I cant tell you about the composite inputs. I only used it to test the cards when I first got them.

 

[BigBuddha]

I installed what came in the nova-t package, so Im not sure if it uses my Nvidia ones or the Hauppauge ones. Havent used it lately so I cant tell you about the composite inputs. I only used it to test the cards when I first got them.

The version that I downloaded needs to have the PVR 150 Drivers installed to operate. The PVR 150 drivers do not work with the PVR 150 MCE, and since the app is dependant on it I am guessing that this is why it won't work for me.

I've tried installing the PVR 150 drivers and the Hauppage filters (without them the WINTV app errors on load) and like said above, since it's dependant on the PVR 150 drivers I am guessing that it doesn't know the 150MCE is even there .

And Taipan, I was thinking about what you said about maybe the connection from the HTPC to the Plasma.... the FTA HD channels look absolutely brilliant on the HD Plasma .. Everything crisp and nice.

It looks to me as though the hauppage is compressing the stream too much, having said that though, I have no idea why

Thank you both for your efforts, if there's any more helpful suggestions I would be more than happy to hear them

 

[Taipan]

And Taipan, I was thinking about what you said about maybe the connection from the HTPC to the Plasma.... the FTA HD channels look absolutely brilliant on the HD Plasma .. Everything crisp and nice.

Yes, I would expect that it would be superb with the RGB connection - I just wanted to check that you were not using the Composite connection from the PC to the HD Plasma, too - which would explain the difference in PQ.....

 

[BigBuddha]

So what is the next best (or maybe the best) quality hardware card that is available for this type of application?

Are there any hardware cards that take an SCART input??

Providing of course that nobody comes up with a solution to the prob with the PVR150MCE ;-)

 

[jawbroken]

Well, the main problem is that the foxtel stream you are getting is being decoded and re-encoded multiple times down the line. I mean, foxtel gets it in one form, encodes it to send down the cable, your set-top box decodes it, puts out a composite signal, your capture card encodes it to MPEG2 and then decodes it, probably the picture is deinterlaced for the computer to work with then re-interlaced for TV display (unless you are outputing a progressive signal, but when you say HDTV I presume it is 1080i? could be 720p though). And that is not including any processing your TV does to an incoming signal.

That is so many generations on from the original signal that I am not suprised that you are getting less than acceptable results.

This is why the FTA HD signal looks so much better. Less generations of the video means less noise and picture artifacts (and also there is more information in general on a HD signal, but even the standard definition channels should look a lot better).

 

[BigBuddha]

Well, the main problem is that the foxtel stream you are getting is being decoded and re-encoded multiple times down the line. I mean, foxtel gets it in one form, encodes it to send down the cable, your set-top box decodes it, puts out a composite signal, your capture card encodes it to MPEG2 and then decodes it, probably the picture is deinterlaced for the computer to work with then re-interlaced for TV display (unless you are outputing a progressive signal, but when you say HDTV I presume it is 1080i? could be 720p though). And that is not including any processing your TV does to an incoming signal.

That is so many generations on from the original signal that I am not suprised that you are getting less than acceptable results.

This is why the FTA HD signal looks so much better. Less generations of the video means less noise and picture artifacts (and also there is more information in general on a HD signal, but even the standard definition channels should look a lot better).

Hi Jawbroken,

The TV is capable of 1080i but I am effectively running it at 720p or 1280x720 to be precise. This is because it gets me the best overall PQ and screen position/size adjustments. In terms of pixels it is natively 1024x1024 but the pixels are actually rectangular instead of square. They are 0.5mm H x 0.9mm W.

I was reading about an Adaptec hardware capture card and I noticed that it said that it was able to process live signal at Full D1, I seem to remember seeing something about that in the settings part of the Hauppage "video card setup" in MP, with D1 being the highest setting and this is also what it was set to. I noticed that it was also stated that D1 was 720 x 480 (I think), so now it has got me wondering if this is part of the problem. Maybe capturing and displaying only 480 horizontal lines into a display that is capable of displaying 1024 Horizontal lines is giving the picture the blurry effect that I am seeing?

I of course am only clutching at straws at this point, and if the above is not relevant and your description of too many conversions is actually the problem, then is there a solution?

Thanks,

BB

 

[rtv]

Please try WINDVD 7 Codecs - maybe it is not a "source" problem..

Do you have an amplifier for the antenna signal?