DVD-Software.info

[NaTaS]

Hello to the group,

I am not sure what newsgroup to put this in, but any of the video
capture groups have no activity.

I have been looking at usb 2.0 Pvr/video capture units. I mainly want to be
able to capture tv programs in a tivo sort of way to my computer and back
them up to a dvd-rw for my wife to watch when she gets home from work. and i
also want to back up our family videos to dvd. I have been reading around
the net about usb 2.0 devices, and I have seen some complaints about some of
them about copying video and audio out of sync on old vhs tapes.

I build computers for family and friends so i am not opposed to cracking
open the case, but the back of my (main) system is a wiring nightmare in the
back, and I don't want to have to pull it out to plug in what ever device i
want use at the time. I have been looking at the Plextor Convertx pvr
px-tv402una. It seems to have a lot of features, like divx certified, mpeg
4,2,1, titan tv for tivo like tv scheduling and so on and so on.

My question to the group is, does anyone have any experience or opinions
with this device, Yay's or Nay's, or maybe a similiar device. I really want
a quality but not way to expensive unit.

Thanx in advance
James Johnson

[Billy Joe]

I have 2 Hauppauge devices, USB2 less than 2 years old &
H250-pci about 4 years old. Very satisfied with both under
WinXPHE-sp2. Since I convert many MPEG2 captures to divx for
viewing after the episodic season ends, I encouraged a friend to
buy a Plextor (which was somewhat pricier than the Hauppauge
units).

1) product support:
H - 4*, excellent, courteous, knowledgeable. Same day email
response in the few cases I've asked for help.
P - 0*, clueless about the 3rd party software they use to
drive the product

2) common sense features:
more difficult to compare, as P & H are close in their MPEG
feature list.
The Xvid feature seems to be an add-on that poorly
integrates with the software.

An example: the 4 mbps on-the-fly xvid capture produces
files that are larger than 1 gig for most and larger than 2 gig
for many shows. There is no way found, by myself or their
product support staff, to entice the software to split the file
during capture so that one may simply write the files to DVD
media, should one's player support MPEGISO reads. And one
should absolutely have an MPEGISO savvy player, if one wants to
do PC TV capture. The Hauppauge capture software (not 3rd
party) checks registry settings for file splitting during
capture. A small collection of .REG files makes it a simple
task to select file segment sizes or restore to the default
single segment file.

3) picture quality
I saw no discernable difference between MPEG2 pictures
captured at the highest bit rate supported by these devices -
despite P=15 mbps, while H=12 mbps.

The P's on-the-fly 4 mbps Divx picture, however, is mediocre
when compared with one-pass xvid conversion of the Hauppauge 12
mbps captures at 1.3 mbps or better

4) sound
No synch problems noted with either source, but the Plextor
unit seems to use layer 1 sound - at least in the divx
captures - whereas Hauppauge uses layer 2. I only noticed this
because the PC to which the Plex was attached at first played no
sound in its divx files. The stand-alone MPEGISO savvy player
had no difficulty with the divx nor its sound.

Similarities:
Both units support input composite or S-Video + l/r audio,
as well as coax antenna.
Both USB2 units have the awkward design of connectors on two
opposing edges.

User controls:
Switching among the connectors is as simple as changing
channels on the Hauppauge unit. Doing so is more fiddly on the
Plextor.

Utility:
The Hauppauge capture software supports a command line
interface, facilitating use of your own programming (if that's
your bent) or the use of desktop icons to initiate quick capture
functions.
If Plextor has such a feature, its manual and support staff
are unaware.

BJ