Best capture card to record retro console gameplay?

[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?

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.

Great stuff! The quality is excellent! Just out of curiosity, could you tell the model of your DVD recorder? Also, how much footage can you put on 1 DVD? Do you use Rewritables?

[Ghegs]

The recorder I use a Sony RDR-HXD870. That one's an older model so you probably won't find it in stores anymore, but I imagine the later models will do the trick just as well.

I use rewriteable DVDs yes, in fact I've used the same single one for over five years now I record the footage on the highest quality setting and burn it on the highest setting as well, that way one DVD holds about 60 minutes which is quite enough for the games I play (shmups, action-platformers, racing games...). Of course I could just burn it at lower quality and could easily fit more, with NES games you wouldn't even notice. Or split a high-quality recording into several parts and burn them separately.

[Cronozilla]

You can just use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1192-HV ... ywords=PVR

The difference is, it doesn't do any local recording (it streams to HDD on the computer) and it doesn't record in HD. But, it does support analog and digital signals, it seems.

And if you want a capture card, like a card for the computer, you're not going to find one for cheap. It's actually the same or cheaper to get dedicated external hardware and you don't have the video processing load on the PC (So you can still use it) And it's much easier to set up a split connection so it goes to a TV as well as the capture device. (Passthrough, and internal storage is why PVRs cost so much). You can split the source with various splitters and adapters and extra cables ... all in all, if you use Amazon and PCH Cables, it'd be about $30 for all of that so you can see what's on the TV as well as record it (Doesn't consider anything you'd also have hooked up to the TV, or any sort of splitter box setup you may have)

But all that together, it's about $110.

[RetrolutionGaming]

The recorder I use a Sony RDR-HXD870. That one's an older model so you probably won't find it in stores anymore, but I imagine the later models will do the trick just as well.

I use rewriteable DVDs yes, in fact I've used the same single one for over five years now I record the footage on the highest quality setting and burn it on the highest setting as well, that way one DVD holds about 60 minutes which is quite enough for the games I play (shmups, action-platformers, racing games...). Of course I could just burn it at lower quality and could easily fit more, with NES games you wouldn't even notice. Or split a high-quality recording into several parts and burn them separately.

I really your setup man! I can't find this particular DVD recorder of yours but any decent DVD recorder would do the trick I'm sure. I'll try to find a good bargain online! Thanks for your help!!

[RetrolutionGaming]

You can just use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1192-HV ... ywords=PVR

The difference is, it doesn't do any local recording (it streams to HDD on the computer) and it doesn't record in HD. But, it does support analog and digital signals, it seems.

And if you want a capture card, like a card for the computer, you're not going to find one for cheap. It's actually the same or cheaper to get dedicated external hardware and you don't have the video processing load on the PC (So you can still use it) And it's much easier to set up a split connection so it goes to a TV as well as the capture device. (Passthrough, and internal storage is why PVRs cost so much). You can split the source with various splitters and adapters and extra cables ... all in all, if you use Amazon and PCH Cables, it'd be about $30 for all of that so you can see what's on the TV as well as record it (Doesn't consider anything you'd also have hooked up to the TV, or any sort of splitter box setup you may have)

But all that together, it's about $110.

Is the Hauppage really better than the Pinnacle counterpart? It's more expensive but the reviews are not that great!

I'll continue looking for reviews on the Hauppage device, it looks like a viable option for sure.

Thanks!

[Cronozilla]

The advantage of the device is it's a dedicated hardware renderer and it preps video for the computer. If there's hardware issues, I would say avoid it ... however, if the complaints are software related, be aware you do NOT have to capture video in the supplied software. As long as you have a driver for the device, any capture software should be able to grab the stream and there's plenty of great free and open source ones out there.

On DVD Recorders, the cheapest ones seem to be in the $90 range, but they quickly jump up to $150 and $200 range.

Just do some research (not just amazon reviews, for example) and start weighing options ... I don't think you're going to find stuff much cheaper.

[RetrolutionGaming]

The advantage of the device is it's a dedicated hardware renderer and it preps video for the computer. If there's hardware issues, I would say avoid it ... however, if the complaints are software related, be aware you do NOT have to capture video in the supplied software. As long as you have a driver for the device, any capture software should be able to grab the stream and there's plenty of great free and open source ones out there.

On DVD Recorders, the cheapest ones seem to be in the $90 range, but they quickly jump up to $150 and $200 range.

Just do some research (not just amazon reviews, for example) and start weighing options ... I don't think you're going to find stuff much cheaper.

Will do! I know I'll probably have to pay around $100 for a decent device and I'm fine with that... As long at it works properly with my consoles!!

I do like the fact that the Hauppage does not rely on a single piece of software (If I understood correctly).

I'll be keeping you posted!

[Unleaded Logic]

I have the Hauppage PVR and while it's great for anything 480P and above using component cables, it absolutely sucks for anything using the composite or s-video. I've had nothing but issues with captures with those inputs. The captures will stutter, drop frames or just lose signal altogether.

At first I thought it was a driver issue or a windows 7 64 bit issue, but I had problems when using it on a 32 bit system too. Never tried it on XP though. I tried contacting support a few times with no luck. After hours spent changing cables, among other stuff, I finally gave up.

The only reason I kept it is due to how great the captures look for ED and HD stuff. For my live streams for retro stuff, I use a pinnacle capture card and while it's not the best quality, it gets the job done.

[fastbilly1]

Thats odd Unleaded Logic. My HD PVR doesnt have trouble with composite sources. It had some audio sync issues initially but that was fixed via driver. Which one do you have?

[Unleaded Logic]

Thats odd Unleaded Logic. My HD PVR doesnt have trouble with composite sources. It had some audio sync issues initially but that was fixed via driver. Which one do you have?

I'm using the model 01212 model, blue led. Prior to them releasing the gaming edition with the green LED. Are you using total media extreme to capture that footage? I believe I'm on the 1.7.1 driver.