Video input to USB & PCMCIA devices

[Nifty]

Hello all,
Can anyone put me on the right track. I am looking for a reliable Video to usb or pcmcia device, preferably with composite video and S video and no compression. What brands are the most popular. Belkin seems to be popular but I can't find an Aussie source for them.
Any ideas?

Cheers
Nev

[netwolf]

Nev, could you advise what camera you will be using?

Regards
Fahim

[Nifty]

Thanks Fahim
I have been thinking about getting a GSTAR EX which outputs straight video. It's easier to send over approx 10 metres than USB sigs.

Cheers
Nev

[Karls48]

Hi Nev, I’m using AverMedia AverTV Cardbus Plus with GStar for about two years without any problems. On Toshiba Satellite notebook running XP Pro

[allan gould]

Im using an EasyCAP video adapter which takes either VHS or s video to the USB port. It works flawlessly with VirtualDub at max frames and lines. It never has missed a beat and cost ~$30AUD from Melbourne over the internet. Works perfectly with my Watec 120N+ camera.

[netwolf]

Niffty, Do you have a MinDV Camcorder? If so check if it can do pass through A/D conversion. This way you connect your anlogue source to the miniDV and then plug the minidv into the a firewire port on the PC. Giving you pretty good A/D converter. You can also look at the Canopus range of ADVC converters. The TV capture cards like AvertTV (i have owned the PCI and PCMCIA versions) are also a good option but you will need to look at the CODECS available. These cards as i recall use Software codecs to compress the video and this means you will need a decent CPU to use this without dropping frames. Most cheap USB capture cards also use software codecs. To get a good one that does AD conversion external to the PC you will pay more, these two will vary in cost based on the output Digital format/codec used. You can often pickup a used Canopus on ebay relatively cheaply.
This is a good website to compare various products.
http://www.videohelp.com/

Note: with faster CPU's today the USB grabbers maybe just fine for what you need. I have not used one for some time, back when CPU's where still single core.

[Nifty]

Thanks everyone
My video camera does perform that trick, Fahim, so that could be an option.
Do you know who sells the Canopus gear?

Cheers
Nev

[netwolf]

Nev, not sure who the retailers are in Australia. But I have seen them come up on ebay from the US. There are sure to be other similar ones from other companies.

[jjjnettie]

I hook my Gstar to my laptop using a Belkin device, the Belkin is plugged into a USB port on a PCMCIA card.
If you have back graded your laptop from Vista to XP you may have issues with the connection. This is why I use the PCMCIA card.