Best capture card to record retro console gameplay?

[RetrolutionGaming]

Hi guys,

I want to record some retro console (NES, Genesis, N64, Dreamcast) gameplay on my computer to post on Youtube. I'm looking to buy a capture card but I have no idea which one to get! HD is obviously not a must but I'd like 480p quality at least and ideally nothing over $100-150 if possible.

I've been looking around and the cheap products that comes up the most are the EzCAP and the Pinnacle Dazzle. I also stumbled across other, more expensive, products like the Hauppage HD PVR and the AVerMedia Game Capture HD... but it is worth it for retro gameplay videos?

What would you guys recommend??

Cheers!

[Cronozilla]

The PVRs are just a better idea all-around. They can go as low as $120 or so and can upscale an image stream in hardware before passing it to the computer where you can record it.

You should be careful with straight capture cards, their quality largely depends on the chipset they choose to use. And you have a lot of additional issues to consider.

A PVR makes things really easy, it upscales, you can still play the game on a TV while you record the video, etc.

[RetrolutionGaming]

The PVRs are just a better idea all-around. They can go as low as $120 or so and can upscale an image stream in hardware before passing it to the computer where you can record it.

You should be careful with straight capture cards, their quality largely depends on the chipset they choose to use. And you have a lot of additional issues to consider.

A PVR makes things really easy, it upscales, you can still play the game on a TV while you record the video, etc.

Thanks for your feedback!

Do you know any good cheap PVRs?

Also, I've heard that HD PVRs don't render 8-bits and 16-bits gameplay properly. Do you know if that's true?

[Ghegs]

I use a DVD recorder for capturing footage from non-HD systems. Everything's in RGB and it works great, though you need to split the the signal in order to play the game without lag on your TV while recording.

[RetrolutionGaming]

I use a DVD recorder for capturing footage from non-HD systems. Everything's in RGB and it works great, though you need to split the the signal in order to play the game without lag on your TV while recording.

How does it work? You just record your gameplay on DVD and transfer it on your PC?

I don't have any tuner or capture card on my PC so it needs to be USB or Firewire I guess. Or DVD...

[Ghegs]

I use a DVD recorder for capturing footage from non-HD systems. Everything's in RGB and it works great, though you need to split the the signal in order to play the game without lag on your TV while recording.

How does it work? You just record your gameplay on DVD and transfer it on your PC?

Yep, that's it. Very easy, just hit Record when you start playing so the footage is saved to the device's internal hard drive, then burn it to DVD afterwards. My sig has a link to my videos, you can check them to see the quality as almost all of them were recorded this way.

[Hazerd]

This thread needs more links to said products! im interested in doing this too, i prefer buying from Amazon or Newegg!

[Cronozilla]

Thanks for your feedback!

Do you know any good cheap PVRs?

Also, I've heard that HD PVRs don't render 8-bits and 16-bits gameplay properly. Do you know if that's true?

No problem.
You'll have to go looking on Amazon, I know Haupagge is pretty good. But, I don't know anything about issues in upscaling from a very low resolution that the older consoles used. It's possible.

It could be something really simple, like the hardware doesn't support non-filtered upscaling, so the pixilation you want would be removed and it'd look blurry instead. But I can't think of much else. And the specific features of each unit depends on the device.

Sadly, I don't actually have one to try out and tell you, yeah this works well, but this doesn't.

[Key-Glyph]

I bought a Pinnacle Dazzle DVC back in 2003 and it still works great in my old laptop -- but I would not recommend buying their products today. I bought their newest hardware/software capture combo days after I'd bought a new laptop this past winter, and after I installed it and it failed to work properly (hanging during launch, freezing, requiring hard shutdowns, etcetera), the new laptop went haywire. I take insanely good care of my machines and I can guarantee you that that laptop's harddrive corruption had nothing to do with misuse on my part. The machine was either damaged when I bought it (it was new, but a floor model), or the Pinnacle hardware/software screwed it up. The internet is unfortunately filled with horror stories regarding current Pinnacle products on modern computers, so I've decided my experience was likely part of that pattern.

I still use my old Pinnacle Dazzle DVC and old laptop for recording footage, but I transfer the captured files to my current laptop for editing in Corel VisualStudio X5. The new software can export the footage in modern resolutions and formats, and the finished products come out looking good enough for my purposes for now.

[RetrolutionGaming]

It's good to get some feedback from Pinnacle Dazzle products user since it is one of the main devices I am looking to buy these days. The main reason being that the device is inexpensive (for a capture card) and is low quality enough for retro gameplay footage.

Have you heard anything about their new model, the Pinnacle Dazzle DVD Recorder HD?

I am just not willing to pay $200+ for unnecessary features like on the Hauppauge HD PVR.

Do you know any decent and reliable capture cards under $100?