Television Video Clips

[KarmaHappens]

I want to edit and make video clips of my favorite tv character. The clips will then uploaded to a fan site for other fans to view and download. I'm going to buy a new computer in the next 2-3 days. What hardware/softwear do I need on my new computer to have these capabilities. Can any one give me breakdown of the process?

[Deja Q]

1. Avoid:

Anything from ATi. They have macrovision detection. If you're taking clips from store-bought VHS (which is a far worse crime than murder), yon ATi card will not let it go through.

Make sure there's a good return policy (Best Buy, likely CompUSA too) and try out any product from Pinnacle Systems. I have the (now discontinued) DV500+. Good stuff, though I am in the biz for cleaning and archiving my VHS tapes.

[RoyGBiv]

2. ATI ...

OnEdit: I stated this poorly and so will rewrite...

I use an ATI AIW 9600XT, and I have no problem capturing clips from video tape. The issue isn't ATI specifically. The video tapes that are designed to prevent copying add a carrier signal that ATI cards, and its software, simply will not sync with and thus filter out. Use any graphics card that does not filter this signal, and you'll have the same problem. IOW, it's not a problem of ATI cards doing something. It's a problem of most video cards not doing something, i.e. removing the scrambling signal.

So, it becomes an issue of either getting a card that syncs with this signal, or getting software that does this. Both are possible with the software solution generally being the easiest in my personal experience. The cards that do this are of limited use for anything but video editing, unless you can find some juiced-up video card with this capability specifically added. I'd guess these are rather expensive. There's a fairly inexpensive device called a macrovision remover that will do this, but, again, it has no other purpose and so still requires a graphics card for system functionality.

Do you know if NVIDIA cards remove the signal? I didn't think they did -- nor do I know if any are capable of video capture -- but I could be wrong.

Anyway ... just my two cents.

[Deja Q]

4. Weird...

ATi always intercepted the signal. As I recall, it was more of a driver issue as the really early drivers didn't have the problem. (that was 3.5 years ago, of course.)

I recall a VCR dubbing hookup that somehow didn't see the signal and allowed me to copy the tape (though the macrovision went along with it!) That was pure serendipity, however...

I don't know of any Nvidia cards that have capture mechanisms, but unless it was made specifically for video capture, I doubt quality would be worthwhile. I know ATi and Pinnacle Systems both do and that it is well known ATi's capture cards' software will intercept the signal and prevent one from digitizing store-bought tapes. Pinnacle may have changed its tune by now, but didn't incorporate the intercepting code in 2002.

Heck, I'm tempted to replace my 3 year old Pinnacle DV500+ just to see what the new stuff has to offer in terms of digitization quality. (though if that software can intercept the macrovision signal, I'd promptly return it. My current setup is not bad, and virtualdub allows me to remove the digitization artifacting with no visible loss of quality.)

My original writing was also poor. It's not much a matter of removing the signal as it is the driver or capture hardware not intercepting the macrovision signal.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Basics ...

Assuming a "PC" system and not a MAC, the basics:

Over a 1 GHz processor for MPEG-2 capture, which is what you want if you want the clips to have any quality at all. I'd recommend at least 1.8GHz or thereabouts.

A large, *fast* hard drive, preferably with a good sized buffer. The raw clips, before compressing into an AVI or MPEG or whatever file can be enormous. I'd go with a 120GB to start. The Seagate ST3120026A is good, not top of the line, but a reliable 120 GB drive with an 8meg buffer. I would also recommend a dedicated drive for your clips if you plan on doing this much. The process can fragment a hard drive quickly, and if you're using the same drive you use to boot your system and store other programs and data, you'll end up slowing everything else down over a period of time.

A good graphics card with capture abilities or a good graphics card and a video capture card. ATI makes an ALL-IN-WONDER version that is both, but another respondent indicated there may be problems. *I* haven't personally experienced those problems, but then I've never used ATI's codecs nor their software. One key here is that with what you say you want to do, you can capture directly from a television signal with this card without any problems.

You could get a different video card and a third-party capture card, but I'm not familiar with them and so can't give specific advice. Some cards include circuitry that effectively removes the copy protection from those VHS tapes that include it, thus removing the need for software that deals with it. Again, I can offer no specific advice here other than what I've said elsewhere. I have no personal experience with these devices.

As always, the more memory the better. Again, make it fast memory. I wouldn't try much video editing without at least 512MB, but if you can afford it, get a Gig or more.

Then there's the software. Worry about that once you have the system. Simply know that what you need you will not be getting from a mainstream computer hardware dealer, so don't even bother to ask. Avoid Microsoft and all of ATI's proprietary software. For best results, after you get the system, get some optimized drivers for your graphics cards. Omega Drivers are good, and they also have updated drivers specifically for video capturing that will help tremendously.

You'll probably also want a CD/DVD burner to save your work off your hard drive eventually.

Now, having said all that, I'm sure a MAC user will tell you that MACS are the best solution for video editing. I can't disagree, but I don't own one and so cannot offer advice there.

[Deja Q]

5. I use two systems, for one reason only: (and why Pinnacle)

My capture system (WinXP) hsa 1GB of RAM, 1GHz Athlon CPU. It is used solely to capture and store.

My processing system (WinXP) has 1GB of RAM, Athlon XP 2.7GHz CPU (2100+ @ 2700+ rating, overclocking). It is used to clean up and then burn the resultant image onto a DVD disc.

The reason why I have two machines is simple: I hate having to put more software on a computer than is necessary. Extra software takes up disk and registry space which in turn affects performance and available disk space. It may be overkill, but it works for me. (besides, I like keeping the digitizing computer on its own clean electrical channel to prevent interference showing up during the digitizing process...)

I'd recommend a separate video card and capture card (in the computer industry, ANYTHING that promotes itself as "all in one" has all in one but all is low quality crap). Any video card will do. But for a capture card, especially if you're archiving store bought tapes, the capture product and/or driver has got to be able to ignore the Macrovision signal or else it is useless. Macs don't have the macrovision intercepting software. ATi cards DO, making them useless to me.

www.videohelp.com (foremerly ww.vcdhelp.com) has much more on capturing.

For more on why I prefer Pinnacle because of macrovision: http://www.aluminumstudios.com/digitalvideo/advanced/dvd.html (do a search for "Pinnacle" and you'll get taken right to the money)

BTW: I don't want to spend $3000 for one Mac when two $600 PCs will do the job just as well, and for their own dedicated purposes. It makes me look more cool too and I learned more concepts in the process, such as networking. (useful if I wanted to find a job in IT about 3 years ago.) :D