I'm currently using an Optibase Moviemaker Plus and Future Tel Duet cards based on the C-CUBE chip sets.

How does the ATIs RADEONs quality compare? What quality settings does the RADEON have for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. Does it come with SVCD software?

-- Anvil (anvil@san.rr.com), February 19, 2001

Answers

Well, I'm new to video capturing, but I bought an All-in-Wonder Radeon recently, and the quality seems excellent. There are lots of MPEG options, most of which I don't understand yet; I suggest you look at the manuals, which they post online.

VCD software is another story...they include "ULead VideoStudio", which is a dismal video editing package. It supposedly supports Video CD, but I can't see how. It's unintutive, crashes all the time, etc. However, I found a converter from www.tmpgenc.com that seems to support every VCD format in existence. Still need to make sure it works, though.

-- Jeremy (noone@nowhere.com), February 22, 2001.

if what ive read is true, optibase cards are the best. so wouldnt a radeon be a step down? way down?

-- ndumu (ndumu@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.

I'm interested in getting a video card for another computer. Also, I'm interested in trying to make some SVCDs.

My Optibase only does MPEG-1, I hear the Radeon does MPEG-2.

That's all,

-- Anvil (anvil@san.rr.com), February 22, 2001.

Yes, the ATI All in Wonder Raedon captures MPEG2 and AVI. The MPEG2 quality is quite good - I would be satified if it didn't take up so much space. 45 minutes of MPEG2 requires 2.8 gigs. I can get that down to a 460 meg MPEG1 file (in order to get it to fit on a CD-R), but the quality isn't that great.

The AIW Raedon does NOT capture MPEG1. (I have been looking for inexpensive MPEG2 editors with no luck. MPEG2 utilities are very expensive.) The AIW Raedon comes with Ulead's Video Studio 4.0, but I agree that it is a terrible piece of software.

Do you have any hints on increasing quality of MPEG1 files?

-- Curt Wvong (curt.wvong@poboxes.com), March 05, 2001.

I got the ATI Radeon recently. I have been using these video capturing devices for a while. I found ATI to be very good.

There is some options in the setup where you can specify the image quality to have better quality.

NOTE: Don't expect a good quality image if your video source quality isn't good.

Regarding the comment i saw about the file size, i felt the same way initially, but after using another tool call sonic, i found, it takes 1.4 GB to create a 2 min video in AVI format (worst quality ever saw). ATI took 1.2 GB for a 27 min video in mpeg-2 format.

-- Ramesh (ramesh_aar@yahoo.com), June 28, 2001.