Pinnacle Studio 500-USB recommended?
onehapp...@yahoo.com
Best Buy seems to have the Pinnacle Studio 500-USB (Version 10) on sale
for about $80. I'm a beginner, planning on converting home camcorder
movies (analog SVHS) to DVD (and boy do I have a lot to learn).
Is this Pinnacle package good? Does it allow editing of scenes (I
mostly just to remove the white noise between VHS episodes)? I don't
especially care for menu options on the DVD, just want to be able to
convert to DVD.
Lastly, is Pinnacle Studio Linux-compatible?
If the Pinnacle is *not* recommended, what do you guys recommend for a
guy with a budget of less than $200 for video capture?
[CompUSA seems to have a simple video capture device - CompUSA Brand,
for $50 or $60, but no onboard MPEG compression (I think it's done in
software after the video is captured). Any comments on this type of
device, besides the obvious need for a massive hard drive?]
Thanks!
Mark Burns
imho. I also am not too sure about any Linux compatible
hardware/software that has been much discussed.
I would not recommend the Pinnacle Studio 500. It appears to be a DV
capture unit. It will use the computer's processor for mpeg capture.
I have been using a Pinnacle Movie Box USB2 for two years with version
8 of Studio. They no longer sell that model. The replacement is the
Pinncacle Studio 700 USB:
My PMB is not macrovision sensitive, but I cannot vouch nor heard of
the new models as to if they are or aren't. This may never be an issue
with you as you are talking about your own captures, but if you do have
any to convert you might as well be aware of the pitfalls.
That said, there are other options to look at as well, according to
others on this group. the Hauppauge units have been used have done
well. I like the looks of the WinTV-PVR-USB2. More here:
http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/compare_pvr.html
A good Hauppauge PCI capture card can be had for about $100.
Another is the ADS Instant TV 2.0
http://www.adstech.com/products/USBAV702/intro/usb702intro.asp?pid=USBAV702
Both the Hauppauge and ADS have been reported to be insensitive to
macrovision on pre-recorded video tapes.
These should all be under $200, but one should budget another $50 for
VideoRedo to touch up the audio drift problems associated with video
tape capture. This is a hardware issue related to tape strech and
mechanics of the process. VR It is also a great frame accurate editor
for cutting scenes. I also use it to cut adverts from OTA captures.
Another way to go is to use a stand alone DVD recorder, such as my
Pioneer DVR-500s, which I just saw at Sam's for about $200. It is
macrovision sensitive though, as are all stand alone DVR's. A SIMA
CT-2 can be had for another $100 or less that will allow one to copy
their pre-recorded VHS tapes to DVD (someone else may be interested).
One can get less expensive SA units all the way down to less than $100
at Walmart.
I prefer the PC capture and control that I have over it, most others
seem to be very happy with the SA capture.
Other software with either PC or SA capture:
Tsunami DVD Author 1.6 ($50)
VideoRedo ($50)
Graphics program such as GIMP2 (free)
DVD Shrink (free)
DvdDecrypter (free)
I know that you mentioned that you don't want fancy menus, but pleasant
menus with a description of the events on the DVD are nice.
Cheers...
onehapp...@yahoo.com
Thank you for the information. Prevented me from making a very
expensive mistake... !
Image-quality wise, would a stand-alone unit or a PC hardware encoder
provide better image quality? I haven't decided either way which to
pursue... at least an SA unit would allow me to more easily record
TV...
If I use a standalone unit, would I experience a drop in image quality
if I rip the SA-produced DVD to the PC, edit (edit out, say, white
noise between camcorder transitions), then burn a new DVD on the PC?
Thanks again,
Madman
Mark Burns
without losing quality. It can only lose quality if it is reencoded
with parameters that tell it to lower its quality, e.g. lower bitrate.
The standalone unit will provide very good quality, just as good as the
PC capture units, practically speaking.
One doesn't have the same ccontrol over the SA capture though. I
capture VHS with a variable bitrate of 7000. I can see a difference in
7000 vs. 6000. I cannot see a difference in 7000 vs. 8000.
The SA will capture at 8000 or 6000. Also, one is limited to the size
of the DVD-RW. So if we are capturing an hour or less, then I can
capture from my SA at 8000 (XP mode) and have the best quality. OTOH,
if capturing 90 min, then I have to back down to SP mode, with a VBR of
6000. On my PC, I would capture 90 min @ 7000 and use DVD Shrink to
shoe horn the mpeg to the correct size. Slightly higher quality.
Also, I can take sample of my VHS before capturing and adjust my
capture settings to the color hues, lighter/darker, audio up or down,
etc...
But, if I had tried the SA first, I would have probably never gotten
into PC capture. I do PC capture most of the time, unless I am doing
an hour or less at XP mode on the SA. The SA is kinda like the *dark
side*, if one goes down that path forever will it dominate your future.
:-))
I do love my SA for OTA capture though, just like the original
broadcast. For most people, therefore the SA unit is probably the best
choice. One can then drag the DVDRW over to the PC and reauthor with
the software that I had mentioned earlier. I like it so much that I am
planning to get one with a 160gb hard drive if I can talk my wife into
it. She believes that I already have too many toys.
Good luck and may the force be with you!
Cheers....