h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Since a portable mp3 player has been put to the wayside while I search high and low for a dining set I like... I'm looking into the other major toy that we really do *need*: a video capture device.

I'd really like one of the external devices, preferably one which can utilize a USB connection. Barring that, I do have a 13-in-1 media card reader, so a video capture card which is compatible with one of those connections would also suit me fine.

Has anyone any experience with video capture devices? I'm looking for thorough reviews, especially technical and compatibility issues.

Price isn't a big deal- though I don't see a point in spending more than maybe $100 or so.

If any of you lot know someone with some expertise in this area, please point them in this direction?

I like my digital camera that doubles as a video too...I dunno if that helps any...

When you say 'video capture device'...do you mean:
a. something that will capture TV signals to your disk?
b. a video camera that will plug into the computer?

If a. you want a TV card. I don't think they're expensive.
If b. - most cameras, I'd have thought.

I should explain better. I do not need a video camera- my digital camera has a video function and I can plug it straight into the computer. Nor am I worried about recording TV signals- the number of times I've wanted something off TV isn't great enough to warrant that kind of purchase, at least not now.

What I want to do is copy our immense video collection- in part, if not in its entirety- onto my hard drive so I can back movies up on DVD (obviously, I realize I may be doing one movie at a time, and that's fine). Many of our video titles are old and out-of-print, and we don't want to wear videos out if they'll be difficult to replace. I'd like to purchase a video capture device which plugs into an analog player using RCA cables- which will capture both video and audio signals- and send them to the computer via USB connector. I think there's something called "Firewire" or something like that, which does something to keep the video and audio signals in sync.

Ah. Right. I *think* you still need a TV card. I'll do some digging.

Yes. A USB video capture card like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009YUPS/ref=pd_cp_e_title/104-8027550-7439143?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282 will cost less than $50. I've not seen a firewire one, but I imagine they're out there. Some USB TV cards also have video-in sockets for about the same price.

By the way...Firewire is just a way of plugging things into computers. Like USB, only faster.

Yes, this is along the lines of what I would need. I think I looked at one similar to the one you linked to yesterday.

Now, I wonder if I can find someone here who's actually *used* one who can recommend a specific brand/model. Though Amazon's return policy is generally pretty fair, if you replace the faulty equipment with something else.

I'd bet that they're all pretty much the same. No need to stress over comparison shopping. And I'm guessing that they'll have some kind of conversion/ editing software bundled with them.

Oh ok, I misunderstood...

Well, to be fair, I didn't explain what I wanted to accomplish, and it does seem that most people who are using/reviewing these things are using them to edit video they've shot with a camera.

I assume that if I purchase a decent video capture device, I'd also be able to use the bundled software to edit any video I get with my camera. Looks like I could also use it to edit in music or sounds. That could be fun do with video of Herman. I could hunt down a track of that sound cartoon characters' feet make when they're running (there's a couple different kinds), a "boing" and a "splat", and edit those in.

I've never tried video editing. For a start, my FrankenPC would probably fall apart under the strain. However...one thing to be aware of is that the bundled stuff may have only basic functionality and you might have to 'buy' something else to make it easy.

If I do ever get into it, there's bound to be something for free in Linux

The computer I purchased is supposedly designed with "high-end entertainment" in mind, and it has five or six different movie-playing programs, three of which appear to have editing functionality. I'm sure that if I play around enough, I can make things work.

I expect I will need software for the actual capturing, though. Most of the devices listed for sale at Amazon seem to come with software. I'm a bit annoyed with Amazon at the moment, but if I find one I like, there's always a Comp-U-Center or something along those lines.