SD Gaming Capture Card

[grandta13]

I am wondering if anyone knows of a fairly priced capture card compatible with Windows 8 that is fast enough to allow gameplay with SD output from consoles. Basically, the minimum that I would like is a card that can accept composite input (preferably PAL and NTSC) that can send the image to the monitor fast enough that input lag isn't an issue. I can use most interface methods. The most that I am willing to pay at the moment is aout $50 USD, but I would prefer cheaper. While it would be great if I could get a card that has these too, I don't really care about HD capabilities, only SD. I I would appreciate any advice.

EDIT: I should note that I am using a desktop setup, supporting PCI, PCI-E, USB 3.0, and IEEE-1394 [FireWire 400])

[BRIK]

I use an Elgato Game Capture HD for all my retro recorded gaming activities as it can record through composite. It doesn't however, record in real time to a laptop but you can wire it up with Y adapters so you can play through a TV in real time. I use this with my Windows 8.1 laptop and I've had no compatibility issues so far.
I'm not sure what the going price is now (I bought mine over a year ago) but Elgato just released another model (which unfortunately doesn't support composite any more ) so hopefully that will drive the price of the Game Capture HD down, especially if its second-hand.

[grandta13]

It doesn't however, record in real time to a laptop but you can wire it up with Y adapters so you can play through a TV in real time.

Unfortunately, my setup won't allow for the addition a TV, which is part of the reason that I would like a real-time feed.

[Fragems]

Are you looking for something to capture video or mainly just to play on your monitor?

Most lower end cards are going to have a noticeable amount of lag + a large drop in picture quality if you plan to use their previewer to play while recording.


Edit:

Here are some of the cheapy options I have tried in the past.

If you are just wanting to play on your monitor there are a ton of adapters that do a pretty decent job of converting Composite video to VGA or DVI.

Brainydeal DVD VGA RCA S-video to Laptop Computer PC VGA LCD Monitor Converter Switch Adapter
I picked up one of these a while ago and it worked pretty well. Will give you about the best picture possible for under $50 going from composite video or s-video to VGA. Obviously there is no audio though so you would need a second adapter(these are fairly cheap $3-4 usually) or a speaker system with RCA connectors to output audio.

If you are looking for capture while you play I have tried these two in the past.

Diamond VC500 USB 2.0 One Touch Video Capture Device- This will let you play while you capture but the image quality goes to crap with a bunch of blocky textures/blur and it's picture quality isn't to amazing to begin with. Games were playable while capturing with the card but there was a little lag here and there.

Also tried one of these
KWorld KW-PC134-A PCI Analog TV Card II
It actually worked very well although there was still a noticeable drop in picture quality when recording. It also lacks s-video input but does have a coaxial input which was the main reason I got it so that I could play some Atari 2600 stuff. Still have it hooked up in my computer but its just taking up space now that I've moved onto the elgato HD like everyone else .


Like everyone else said though for the best picture quality while playing/capturing you might want to just look into a pass through system with a tv hooked up. That is eventually what I ended up doing got a 10 inch Sony Trinitron for $15 that is now camped out on my computer desk.

[the7k]

AVerMedia ExtremeCap U3


Apparently the video quality is not so good, but it is apparently lag-less.

Would probably still have to use an SD to HD converter of some sort. I personally use this:

Plus SCART cables for whatever I'm playing, which currently is just the Saturn.

I am aware that this isn't exactly ideal... but neither is my budget.

[grandta13]

Brainydeal DVD VGA RCA S-video to Laptop Computer PC VGA LCD Monitor Converter Switch Adapter
I picked up one of these a while ago and it worked pretty well. Will give you about the best picture possible for under $50 going from composite video or s-video to VGA.

I would like to have the option to record, but I mainly just want it for playing on a monitor. If I do decide that I want to record, I'll probably just set up a pass-through system as you recommended. As for the adaptor you mentioned, do you know if it supports both PAL and NTSC input?

[Fragems]

I'll have to check when I get home from work think I actually threw away the box which is rare for me but I'm not finding it in my closet . Don't have any Pal systems but luckily I ended up with a weird converter from Brazil that converts a Playstation NTSC signal to PAL M so that should be able to check for functionality.

[grandta13]

I'll have to check when I get home from work think I actually threw away the box which is rare for me but I'm not finding it in my closet . Don't have any Pal systems but luckily I ended up with a weird converter from Brazil that converts a Playstation NTSC signal to PAL M so that should be able to check for functionality.

Tell me how that turns out, but PAL M is kind of a weird signal, as it uses the PAL colour coding, but the NTSC resolution and refresh rate, so it shows up as a grayscale image when broadcast to an NTSC monitor. Though if you have a way to boot burnt discs on your Playstation, you can use Import Player Light, which has the option of forcing your system to boot the game in PAL.