What is best for video editing?

[iamaboringperson]

I'm wish to transfer analogue home movies to DVD (and other digital formats) for preservation. I was going to buy a video capture card for my x86/Win machine.

Then I thought that I've owned a computer (A4000T) that was basically marketed as a video production workstation for the past 8 years. It would be nice to use that for video capture instead.

It would be good, assuming that the input quality/resolution was reasonable enough.

What I was thinking was that I would capture the video on my Amiga, then transfer it to my x86 machine where I would write a video-DVD.

I'm wondering if anyone can reccommend a good (preferably zorro II/III) video capture card.

Would I be able to capture as MPEG2? And then use that same MPEG2 stream on my x86 for writing the DVD.

If not I might as well just go for the x86/Win option.

However, it would be great to start doing something creative on my (currently unused) A4000T.

[iamaboringperson]

If you go the PC route, don't buy anything from Hauppauge or Pinnacle... Just my opinion, but all too often, I've bought hardware from both these companies only to find that the software is incomplete and/or buggy, with updates nowhere to be found despite hundreds of complaints in the respective forums...

Pinnacle is exactly the brand that I was thinking of getting.

There will be bugs with any software. I hope there are not too many problems.

After reading a bit about VLAB Motion and Toaster Flyer, it seems that they might be too expensive and too much trouble. One of the reasons for considering Amiga hardware was that I might be able to get good 2nd hand hardware cheap. But I might as well go for new hardware on x86.

But if you want to preserve at the utmost highest quality............get a Digital8 or MiniDV video Camera with S-Video input......it can record into the Digital Tapes and captures the best quality!

I don't want a camera.

that [ ADVC55 ?? ] is what you need. you can capture/edit even with movie maker of windows.

Some of those products look very good. But I don't want a USB device. I would prefer an internal PCI version for performance reasons.

[iamaboringperson]

@leirbag28

I think you're making quite a generalization about computer cards versus DV cams and DVD recorders.



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I think I'll probably go for one of those Canopus devices. They look like they're probably a top card for what I want. And not too expensive, too.

I need good software, though.

[iamaboringperson]

Okay, at the moment I've pretty much narrowed my choices down to two options:

- Canopus
- Pinnacle

I can get either well below half-price.

The Pinnacle comes with V9 of its software. And I understand that it might be bugged. But at the price that I can buy it, it might be possible to upgrade to V10.

The Canopus, as far as I can tell. Doesn't come with software.

[iamaboringperson]

adz wrote:
Canopus by far, I've used several with my mac and I've yet to have any dramas, yet I've heard heaps of complaints about Pinnacle. Pinnacle does however have one advantage and that is that the software, albeit buggy, comes with it. You could use Windows Movie Maker with the Canopus ;-) :-D

Dude, who has Windows Movie Maker?

If I do get Canopus, I'll have to get some decent software.

[iamaboringperson]

Are you guys trying to turn my video capture thread into an pro-/anti- Amiga thread?? ;_)