ATI All In Wonder Vs. USB Video Converter

  • Thread starter Thread starter SadTomato
  • Start date Start date
S

SadTomato

I'm planning on buying a new computer soon and would like to do a lot of
VHS to DVD transfers.

I know the ATI All In Wonder cards are the favorite of many people, but
I've read quite a bit about installation problems and the like. And even
when there are no incompatibility issues, I understand you have to plug the
AIW audio output into your audio card input every time you want to
transfer; which sounds like a minor hassle.

Would a USB 2.0 video converter give me comparable results as far as analog
to digital goes? I especially like that the video and audio go through the
single USB port.

Thanks for any thoughts.
 
I'm planning on buying a new computer soon and would like to do a lot of
VHS to DVD transfers.

I know the ATI All In Wonder cards are the favorite of many people,
Click to expand...

Not really, those people typically haven't tried enough other poducts
to make an informed judgement, they're just happy to have a TV-tuner
IF it works OK.
but
I've read quite a bit about installation problems and the like. And even
when there are no incompatibility issues, I understand you have to plug the
AIW audio output into your audio card input every time you want to
transfer; which sounds like a minor hassle.
Click to expand...

You do not plug and unplug the audio, it stays plugged in. Since
modern CD drives support digital audio you could buy or make an
adapter to take the AIW output to an internal sound card or
motherboard audio-in instead of the audio card
Would a USB 2.0 video converter give me comparable results as far as analog
to digital goes? I especially like that the video and audio go through the
single USB port.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Click to expand...

No, you don't want EITHER, they are the two worst solutions.
Buy a PCI video capture card, also with a tuner on it if you need a
tuner, but not ATI, a normal brooktree/conexant card from one of many
manufacturers... compare specs, input and output, and the included
software to guide you in a choice.


Dave
 
No, you don't want EITHER, they are the two worst solutions.
Buy a PCI video capture card, also with a tuner on it if you need a
tuner, but not ATI, a normal brooktree/conexant card from one of many
manufacturers... compare specs, input and output, and the included
software to guide you in a choice.


Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, Dave. I assume you're talking about something like
the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR.

Will look into this.
 
SadTomato said:
I'm planning on buying a new computer soon and would like to do a lot of
VHS to DVD transfers.

I know the ATI All In Wonder cards are the favorite of many people, but
I've read quite a bit about installation problems and the like.
Click to expand...

One really easy solution is to use the "pass through" most DV cams have. It
uses the analog to digital converter in the camera to put the video into
your computer via firewire. DV capture is simple and for most uses has good
enough quality without having to fool with analog video capture settings,
conflicts etc. A lot of people wanting to convert VHS tapes to digital
already own a DV cam! If not they are cheap enough now and you also end up
with a video camera. The USB solutions are a poor route to take.
 
One really easy solution is to use the "pass through" most DV cams
have. It uses the analog to digital converter in the camera to put the
video into your computer via firewire. DV capture is simple and for
most uses has good enough quality without having to fool with analog
video capture settings, conflicts etc. A lot of people wanting to
convert VHS tapes to digital already own a DV cam! If not they are
cheap enough now and you also end up with a video camera. The USB
solutions are a poor route to take.
Click to expand...

Don't think I'll be going the camera route--but it's a good idea.

Two strong nays against USB on this thread thus far.
 
SadTomato said:
I'm planning on buying a new computer soon and would like to do a lot of
VHS to DVD transfers.

I know the ATI All In Wonder cards are the favorite of many people, but
I've read quite a bit about installation problems and the like. And even
when there are no incompatibility issues, I understand you have to plug the
AIW audio output into your audio card input every time you want to
transfer; which sounds like a minor hassle.

Would a USB 2.0 video converter give me comparable results as far as analog
to digital goes? I especially like that the video and audio go through the
single USB port.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Click to expand...
I once had a Hauppauge WinTV-USB but got rid of it because of one annoying
problem. A loss of lip sync. The reason is that the video gets processed
(compressed) in the adaptor then showed down the USB port and subsequently
decompressed in the PC. This all takes some time and as the audio is passed
to the PC in real time (separate audio cable) its always ahead of the video
by quarter to half a second depending on the PC's processing power.
A PCI capture card is a much better solution.

PS: It only applies to analogue TV adaptors. USB digital terrestrial TV
adaptors (that we have in Europe, not sure whether US have DTT) are a
different breed altogether. They just pass already compressed mpeg2 video
with embedded audio to the PC. However, they don't offer analogue video
capture.
 
Back
Top