Get me a capture card

[Hanniah]

(uh... didn't really know where to put this thread so let's just post it here)

Christmas approches and so does SSBB. Although there will be sort of a video recorder on Brawl itself, I'd really like to own a good capture card. So here are my questions:

1) HOW DOES IT WORK?? I've been looking for instructions on the net but after an hour of unsuccessful research I decided to ask here

Basically it's just a cable which you connect your GC/wii to your DVD player with, no? So you'd just need to connect your DVD to your TV and play right?


2) Are there any specific aspects I should think about before buying a capture card?


3) Quality often costs a lot. Should I rather buy an expensive one or does a "normal" capture card do for personal use (like making vids etc.)?


4) Any good website to purchase capture cards ( I do not like eBay and the like )?


(Yeah I know, my research wasn't useful at all in the end. Whatever.)


I'd be very pleased if you could answer these few questions

 

[Razed]

Sorry that I can't answer your questions, but it'd be alot smarter to post this in the 'GENERAL BRAWL DISCUSSION' forum, which is close to the first thing on the main page.

 

[Puffin]

Here's my card, which works perfectly for $56: http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-Win...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1193964173&sr=8-1

It's fairly simple to set up. Run the Wii or GC red, white, and yellow (RCA) cables to an RF modulator. This will convert it into a coaxial cable (standard cable TV cable). Buy a splitter for that, and run one end to your TV and another to the computer. Then, just run any of the many recording programs on the computer while playing lagless on the TV. Post if you need any more help.

 

[Hanniah]

It's fairly simple to set up. Run the Wii or GC red, white, and yellow (RCA) cables to an RF modulator.

RF modulator?


Thanks for your answer. If yours works perfectly I'm going to order it

 

[phanna]

RF modulator?


Thanks for your answer. If yours works perfectly I'm going to order it

I do a similar idea, of splitting the signal, sending one to my laptop recorder, and one to the television to play without lag. However, my set up is a little different, in that I get component splitter, send 1 R/Y/W cable to the television, and one to my Dazzle, which is a USB device which takes the red yellow white cables, and plugs into my laptop for recording (I use Windows Movie Maker).

 

[Hanniah]

I read several comments about the capture card you own and they're pretty convincing, I think it'll be just fine.

Just some thoughts before the eventual purchase: do I need anything else to run the CC correctly, or will GC/Wii cables do?


Puffin mentionned a splitter; what kind of splitter? RCA / RCA, RCA/USB...?

 

[WaterTails]

I think he meant a Coaxial splitter

 

[Puffin]

Yeah, I was going to go the RCA splitter route since it's a bit cheaper and has very slightly better quality, but the electronics store near me was out of those supplies for some reason and I just wanted to get it over with. Anyway, to recap what you need, here is a diagram of each set-up.

.....................................................................................Coaxial cable->TV
Wii cables->RF Modulator->Coaxial cable->Coaxial splitter<
.....................................................................................Coaxial cable->Capture card

.........................................RCA extension->TV
Wii cables->3 RCA splitters<
.........................................RCA extension->Capture card

On that last setup, here's a bit more information. The RCA extension cords are not strictly necessary, but they make it a whole lot easier. I generally hook one end of the RCA splitter straight to the capture card, and the other to the extension cable and that to the TV. You need 3 splitters since each cable needs one. Here are some very cheap RCA splitters: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SWA20...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192994931&sr=8-27

And RCA extension cables: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Extension...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192997910&sr=8-2

 

[Big-Cat]

How good is the quality on that? BTW, is it any better or worse than a Pinnacle capture card?

 

[Puffin]

I haven't seen a Pinnacle capture card, but this is pretty much TV quality. Unless you're doing professional work, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Big-Cat]

I'm essentially trying to do professional.

 

[Puffin]

Hmm, well, I just said that to not give you false information. I honestly can't see any difference between the capture card and a TV, but I'm no expert. What exactly are you trying to do?

I imagine that there must be a difference between this $50 capture card and the multi-hundred dollar ones out there, or they wouldn't be selling at all. You have to decide if the work you're doing is worth that little bit of extra quality for the large leap in price.

 

[Hanniah]

Yeah, I was going to go the RCA splitter route since it's a bit cheaper and has very slightly better quality, but the electronics store near me was out of those supplies for some reason and I just wanted to get it over with. Anyway, to recap what you need, here is a diagram of each set-up.

.....................................................................................Coaxial cable->TV
Wii cables->RF Modulator->Coaxial cable->Coaxial splitter<
.....................................................................................Coaxial cable->Capture card

.........................................RCA extension->TV
Wii cables->3 RCA splitters<
.........................................RCA extension->Capture card

On that last setup, here's a bit more information. The RCA extension cords are not strictly necessary, but they make it a whole lot easier. I generally hook one end of the RCA splitter straight to the capture card, and the other to the extension cable and that to the TV. You need 3 splitters since each cable needs one. Here are some very cheap RCA splitters: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SWA20...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192994931&sr=8-27

And RCA extension cables: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Extension...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192997910&sr=8-2

Uhm well... looks a bit tricky at first glance, but I'm pretty sure I'll get this done.

Thanks for your informations! I'll order the whole stuff now and see how it works. If I get any problem, I'll be spamming you to death ;P