I am just starting out and am wondering what people think of USB Instant Video from ADS Technologies.

I intend to use it to capture analog home videos and then burn to VCD andI have heard that i should be able to expect VHF quality on a TV. Is this true?

I am getting a lot of conflicting info and would appreciate your guidance but i can't afford too much.

-- Neil (baylis.neil@saugov.sa.gov.au), August 30, 2001

Answers

Don't expect too much from this external USB device. The VCD quality will depend a lot on how good & how consistant the source video is. Captured video from Sony Hi-8 makes a better quality VCD than those captured from a rented or a copied VHS tape. As a general rule, remember that VHS/tape quality (not VHF) is any time better than VCD quality. You will immediately notice the loss in quality (VCD playback) when watching fast moving scenes (panning / zoom-in / zoom- out)

-- Chetan Umarje (elegance@giaspn01.vsnl.net.in), August 31, 2001.

Many thanks for your thoughts. Are you generalising on USB devices or have you experience with this actual device? I know others like Belkin are not good in quality.

I know it doesn't always count for much, but I did contact the company and they have advised that this device is more advanced that previous attempts at USB capture devices and that I should get VHS quality on TV - basically no loss in quality.

-- Neil (baylis.neil@saugov.sa.gov.au), September 03, 2001.

I am generalising on hardware encoders irrespective of internal or external/USB etc. and one thing is certain...THE LOSS IN QUALITY IS FOR SURE. ..maybe less or more ..it depends. Basically you are converting analog to digital (in real-time) & most encoders cannot differenciate between video and noise (wanted & unwanted) resulting in visible 'Mosaic noise' or 'Artifacts' or 'Blockiness' during VCD playback. There are other ways to get rid of this noise but first ensure that ADS USB device allows AVI capture WITHOUT DROPPING FRAMES.

-- Chetan Umarje (elegance@giaspn01.vsnl.net.in), September 03, 2001.