Video Capture Recommendations

[AmSci]

I'm new to video capturing, and am looking for some more information on capture cards. Like I said in my other post, I'm looking to spend <= 200 dollars US. The Rainbow Runner G series caught my eye because I have a G400 MAX, but from what I have been reading, its a few years old.

Can someone please point me in the direction of some websites that review/give information on capture cards in the price range I'm looking for? My main concern is decent picture quality, and not many dropped frames. (I'm looking to convert my captured video to DivX/VCD/SVCD).

Recommendations of specific hardware would be great too. (how are the USB capture cards?)
I appreciate any feedback
Thanks,
Terry
--
My setup:
-P3 500 MHZ@600 (unstable above that)
-Windows ME (2000 after my hard drive upgrade)
-soon: Western Digital WD400BB 40gig 7200
-ASUS P3V4X motherboard
-256MB PC100 RAM
-Matrox G400 Millennium MAX
-Creative DVD-ROM 1241e
-HP CD-Writer Plus 8100i

cdr trading: http://elvis.rowan.edu/~quinto/trade.html

[KRSESQ]

Terry:

Although I can't offer specific recommendations, I'd like to offer two tips:

First, whatever card you consider, search the manufacturer's website to make sure they offer Win 2K driver support.

Second, browse the user forums for each manuf. to see what kind of probs other users report and the solutions offered. For instance, browsing this forum reveals that Matrox driver support for Win 2K is embryonic at best (unless you want to invest in an RT2000).

These tips may seem obvious, but it's amazing how much you can learn about a product just from the user forums!

Have fun

Kevin



[This message has been edited by KRSESQ (edited 23 February 2001).]

[This_Idiot]

Terry,

You missed on what inout you are using - 8mm/VHS, S-video (Hi-8/S-VHS), DV (various incl D-8)/

This could make a big difference to your answer.

Cheers

Chris
(T_I)

[AmSci]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by This_Idiot:
Terry,

You missed on what inout you are using - 8mm/VHS, S-video (Hi-8/S-VHS), DV (various incl D-8)/

This could make a big difference to your answer.

Cheers

Chris
(T_I)</font>

Hi,
My main inputs will be composite VHS, and would also like to capture straight from a television broadcast (so a TV tuner with the card is also something I am looking for).