Can anyone recommend a capture/edit solution that lets me make VCDs and/or SVCDs from MiniDV camera and SVHS VCR? I am just getting started having at this time a JVC HR-S3800U S-VHS VCR, JVC GRDVL805U MiniDV camcorder and computer (733 P3, 512mg, 2 x 30gb disks, SB Live and NVIDIA GeForce2). Especially interested in solutions that worked effectively for you.

Thanks ... Tim

-- Tim (godzilla_tan@go.com), January 10, 2001

Answers

For Digital Camcorder please check out Ross's website at http://www.geocities.com/aussie01au/. He's the best on this subject.

For Capture with SVHS go to www.vcdhelp.com or www.pcphotovideo.com.

Check out the forum section on capture in vcdhelp for evaluation of capture cards.

Check out RichA's site on the ATI AIW 128 products.

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), January 10, 2001.

If I started now, I will splurge on either a Pinnacle DV500 or a Matrox RT2000. But since both were not in existence in 1998, what I currently use for good effect is a Matrox MarvelG200 for analogue capture, and ADS Tech PyroPro DV for DV in. I use mainly ULead Media Studio full ver. that came with the Pyro; I also have Premiere 5.1c. The Premiere has a Panasonic MPEG encoder 2.5 plug-in, which I also have separately stand-alone, as well as TMPGenc 12b, then Nero and VideoPack4 to author my VCDs.

-- MT (turk690@yahoo.com), January 11, 2001.

Thankyou for your thoughts. I too would like a better card like the DV500 or RT2000.

In reading the questions/issues asked by owners of these cards on the Pinnacle and Matrox sites, it seems like the Matrox is compatable with more systems and cameras and less troublesome to get up and running. The number of complaints on the Pinnacle site was disconcerting. Also, the Matrox lists my computer (Dell 4100) and camera (JVC DVL805 which is essentially the same as a DVL505) as being compatable. However, with Matrox, I'd have to remove my NVIDIA GeForce2 and replace it with the video card bundled with the RT2000.

Do you have knowledge or these two cards? Pinnacle seems to be more mainstream but Matrox seems more compatable with my system/camera.

Thanks ... Tim

-- (godzilla_tan@go.com), January 15, 2001.