[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Nvidia video capture -- Hauppauge WinTV PRV150 for $62.99 shipped ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

Let's end the debate, get an add-on PCI card with at least
MJPEG, if not a full MPEG-2 encoder.  For the most part, the
video overlay works flawlessly in Linux today with just about
any video card combination.  DealNews.COM just passed along
the Hauppauge WinTV PVR150 MCE for $62.99 shipped.  

http://dealnews.com/deals/Hauppauge-Win-TV-PVR-150-PCI-TV-Card-for-63-shipped/94259.html


I don't know how much of a variant the "MCE" version is (I
think it just means "Media Center Edition"), but it still
uses the Linux supported Conexant-416  MPEG-2 encoder (which
should also be able to capture MJPEG as well).  So I assume
it will work with the full suite of support software (e.g.,
mjpegtools, mencoder, etc...) and GUI front-ends in Linux.

You will _not_ find another NTSC TV tuner or other
video-in/video-out (VIVO) capability built into video card
that has a MPEG-2 encoder.  The nVidia's do not (simple
add-on video-in/video-out), and the ATI's use a partial
hardware, Windows-only software combo that is only reverse
engineered (and not well?) on old versions.

Without at least MJPEG, you're NTSC video stream is much
greater 30MBps, and you will lose frames or quality
regardless of your CPU because of the limited I/O
interconnect (and total over 120MBps in full route up the
memory-to-CPU-to-memory-to-disk route -- which is almost
always legacy PCI at several steps).  MJPEG shrinks this to
under 6MBps, MPEG-2 to under 1MBps (let alone goes straight
from card to memory to disk).

Years ago, the only one I knew of that did was the Matrox
Marvel G200/400 series which came with a Zoran MJPEG codec. 
Matrox also had a higher-end, professional editing card for
>$1,500 -- back when MPEG-2 codecs were a grand just for the
IC, but the MJPEGs were under $100.  I have both a Matrox
Marvel G200 and IOMega Buz (PCI).  But today, hardware MPEG-2
codecs like the Context make the point moot, as they have
dropped to $10 or so.

If you want HDTV 1080i or 720p, then that's a different
story.  HDTV is either "raw" analog signal over 3-cable
component, or more commonly HDMI or other digital signal via
ATSC (terestrial broadcast) or QAM (cable or extra-terestrial
broadcast).  I won't get into the encryption aspect (long
story), but I don't know of any "hardware" tuners that encode
the "raw" signal that is affordable.  At the most I only see
HDTV in on add-on cards and the rare "raw" analog HDTV VIVO
that is 100% software (and not what I'd push over my system
interconnect).


-- 
Bryan J. Smith                | Sent from Yahoo Mail
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