Best Capture Device for recording Amiga

Djay · 09 December 2011, 18:56

hey all...

i need to capture video and sound from my A1200... and so i need a USB2.0 Capture Device probably using composite (ouch, but only choice), i tried an easycap device which was completely horrible, not just bad because of video quality but the software supplied is utter rubbish also, no other software can detect the device... the worst fail was 1/3 of the screen was missing from the bottom, i tired NTSC and PAL signals...
no joy

i have seen quite a few youtube clips, which claim thats it direct footage from a real Amiga and the quality has been pretty good!

so does anyone from experience know what is a good capture card

please, any suggestions

CritAnime · 10 December 2011, 02:03

I got a pinnacle dazzle. Does composite aswell as s-video. Quality is fair to average depending on source and recording conditions. i have a couple of videos I recorded on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/critanime) which are a test done with Ghost in the Shell on the PS1 and Galactic Attack on Saturn. Plus some intro's recorded from various systems.

orange · 12 December 2011, 09:29

if quality is so important, why not try doing it with emulator like winuae? so you avoid D/A, A/D conversion.

cosmicfrog · 12 December 2011, 23:28

If you must use a USB2.0 Capture Device and a real amiga how about getting S-Video an external adapter for the video port is cheap enough and it will be a great improvement over recording composite. I got mine off kipper

saying all that though I would go with oranges suggestion for the reasons he points out and the conveaniance of not havein wires every where

Djay · 13 December 2011, 00:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

If you must use a USB2.0 Capture Device and a real amiga how about getting S-Video an external adapter for the video port is cheap enough and it will be a great improvement over recording composite. I got mine off kipper

saying all that though I would go with oranges suggestion for the reasons he points out and the conveaniance of not havein wires every where

ok... sounds good!

Where can i buy one and do i have to mod my A1200?

i was thinking about winUAE, however no matter what codec i choose i get very bad slow down, both graphics and audio...

also tried screen captures stuff.. like (HyperCam = no sound and Movavi = slow down, sometimes?)

cosmicfrog · 13 December 2011, 17:42

Give kipper2k a nuge thats where I got mine from but there are other ppl out there who can make them too

Theres no modding of the amiga just plug in to the rgb port and connect/record away

Djay · 13 December 2011, 18:45

Thanks cosmicfrog, I have sent him a pm... Fingers crossed!

Retro1234 · 13 December 2011, 18:54

Although I do record from real Amiga using my Archos I also wonder what orange asked?

lifeschool · 13 December 2011, 20:04

I make all my playguide videos using my PC and WinUAE in a very small re-sized window (600 x 480) - not full screen - using Camtasia Studio V7 from Techsmith. It records audio and video at just about 24 frames per second. The smaller the capture window, the higher the frame rates are acheivable.

orange · 13 December 2011, 20:13

i'd use some lossless, non-compressed format with winuae, and later encode it. surely there must be some fast codecs out there.

Retro1234 · 13 December 2011, 20:16

s2325 found a good Codec that hes been using to do all his recording - ill give it a try sometime.

Djay · 13 December 2011, 20:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boo Boo

s2325 found a good Codec that hes been using to do all his recording - ill give it a try sometime.

Any idea what the codec is called?

Djay · 19 December 2011, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by lifeschool

I make all my playguide videos using my PC and WinUAE in a very small re-sized window (600 x 480) - not full screen - using Camtasia Studio V7 from Techsmith. It records audio and video at just about 24 frames per second. The smaller the capture window, the higher the frame rates are acheivable.

got hold of CSV7 and its pretty good...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boo Boo

s2325 found a good Codec that hes been using to do all his recording - ill give it a try sometime.

its xvid and s2325 said it does slow down... but the finished movie is fine... makes it a bit difficult for play throughs etc

--

still need a usb capture device....emulation is great and everything, but i want to do as much as possible without it

Amiga1992 · 19 December 2011, 20:01

I'm using the EasyCap thing, the cheap chinese clone of EazyCap. It works well!
Sinc eit's so cheap you can buy it and see if you like the quality. if you don't, just throw it out :P

Djay · 19 December 2011, 21:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akira

I'm using the EasyCap thing, the cheap chinese clone of EazyCap. It works well!
Sinc eit's so cheap you can buy it and see if you like the quality. if you don't, just throw it out :P

yeah got one of those... the composhite picture is horrible and missing about 1/4 of the screen at the bottom... my CD32 thru s-video is of course, much better

also it only works with the honestech VHS to DVD 2.0 SE, which is totally crap as well

i wonder if a pinnacle device would be that much better thru composite

Amiga1992 · 19 December 2011, 23:19

The missing part is because you are choosing the wrong video input mode. Set it o PAL accordingly from the device properties.

Any composite ouput will be shit no matter the quality of the capture device. Use svideo.

As for software, i use ubroadcast which is free and cool

Djay · 20 December 2011, 00:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akira

The missing part is because you are choosing the wrong video input mode. Set it o PAL accordingly from the device properties.

Any composite ouput will be shit no matter the quality of the capture device. Use svideo.

As for software, i use ubroadcast which is free and cool

i have tried all the different PAL signals and NTSCs (just incase)

i wanna get a RGB to Svideo adapter, cosmicfrog pointed me too kipper2k, who hasn't replied to my PM

i will try out ubroadcast

Amiga1992 · 20 December 2011, 10:52

Well I am having problems with the Easycap as well. I guess it's just not the best option P

Photon · 20 December 2011, 13:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by lifeschool

I make all my playguide videos using my PC and WinUAE in a very small re-sized window (600 x 480) - not full screen - using Camtasia Studio V7 from Techsmith. It records audio and video at just about 24 frames per second. The smaller the capture window, the higher the frame rates are acheivable.

Yep, this is the way to get pixel perfect graphics. 720x576x50 fps is no problem on a PC from 2007. Download the .mp4 videos on RecordedAmigaGames.org and make up your mind if you want this perfection or record from a real Amiga. Some software can have artifacts in WinUAE, but generally it's less hassle. Remember that Youtube supports HTML5 videos now, if you want them to host the videos.

AmigaFriend · 20 December 2011, 21:01

Fraps always worked well for me. It captures any screen or overlay window with ease, even your desktop.

Then reencode the video with your preferred encoder frontend and codec.

From easy to complex i use
Freemake Video Converter (excellent for such a simple tool)
Handbrake 0.95 with VidCoder frontend (more options)
Me-Gui (to have full control on every aspect of an encode)

For ultimate quality encode everything in h.264 (x264 codec) with aac audio.

Best of luck.

All these tools also work well with Camtasia, which is also an excellent tool.

09 December 2011, 18:56	#1
Djay 95th User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Brighton/UK Age: 48 Posts: 3,120	Best Capture Device for recording Amiga hey all... i need to capture video and sound from my A1200... and so i need a USB2.0 Capture Device probably using composite (ouch, but only choice), i tried an easycap device which was completely horrible, not just bad because of video quality but the software supplied is utter rubbish also, no other software can detect the device... the worst fail was 1/3 of the screen was missing from the bottom, i tired NTSC and PAL signals... no joy i have seen quite a few youtube clips, which claim thats it direct footage from a real Amiga and the quality has been pretty good! so does anyone from experience know what is a good capture card please, any suggestions

20 December 2011, 21:01	#20
AmigaFriend Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Sesimbra/Portugal Posts: 1,462	Fraps always worked well for me. It captures any screen or overlay window with ease, even your desktop. Then reencode the video with your preferred encoder frontend and codec. From easy to complex i use Freemake Video Converter (excellent for such a simple tool) Handbrake 0.95 with VidCoder frontend (more options) Me-Gui (to have full control on every aspect of an encode) For ultimate quality encode everything in h.264 (x264 codec) with aac audio. Best of luck. All these tools also work well with Camtasia, which is also an excellent tool. Last edited by AmigaFriend; 21 December 2011 at 02:30.

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10 December 2011, 02:03	#2
CritAnime Registered User Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wakefield/UK Age: 41 Posts: 387	I got a pinnacle dazzle. Does composite aswell as s-video. Quality is fair to average depending on source and recording conditions. i have a couple of videos I recorded on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/critanime) which are a test done with Ghost in the Shell on the PS1 and Galactic Attack on Saturn. Plus some intro's recorded from various systems.

12 December 2011, 09:29	#3
orange Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Belgrade Posts: 567	if quality is so important, why not try doing it with emulator like winuae? so you avoid D/A, A/D conversion.

12 December 2011, 23:28	#4
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	If you must use a USB2.0 Capture Device and a real amiga how about getting S-Video an external adapter for the video port is cheap enough and it will be a great improvement over recording composite. I got mine off kipper saying all that though I would go with oranges suggestion for the reasons he points out and the conveaniance of not havein wires every where

13 December 2011, 17:42	#6
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	Give kipper2k a nuge thats where I got mine from but there are other ppl out there who can make them too Theres no modding of the amiga just plug in to the rgb port and connect/record away

13 December 2011, 18:45	#7
Djay 95th User Join Date: May 2001 Location: Brighton/UK Age: 48 Posts: 3,120	Thanks cosmicfrog, I have sent him a pm... Fingers crossed!

13 December 2011, 18:54	#8
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,780	Although I do record from real Amiga using my Archos I also wonder what orange asked?

13 December 2011, 20:04	#9
lifeschool Local Moderator Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lancashire, UK Age: 48 Posts: 1,598	I make all my playguide videos using my PC and WinUAE in a very small re-sized window (600 x 480) - not full screen - using Camtasia Studio V7 from Techsmith. It records audio and video at just about 24 frames per second. The smaller the capture window, the higher the frame rates are acheivable.

13 December 2011, 20:13	#10
orange Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Belgrade Posts: 567	i'd use some lossless, non-compressed format with winuae, and later encode it. surely there must be some fast codecs out there.

13 December 2011, 20:16	#11
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,780	s2325 found a good Codec that hes been using to do all his recording - ill give it a try sometime.

19 December 2011, 20:01	#14
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I'm using the EasyCap thing, the cheap chinese clone of EazyCap. It works well! Sinc eit's so cheap you can buy it and see if you like the quality. if you don't, just throw it out :P

19 December 2011, 23:19	#16
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	The missing part is because you are choosing the wrong video input mode. Set it o PAL accordingly from the device properties. Any composite ouput will be shit no matter the quality of the capture device. Use svideo. As for software, i use ubroadcast which is free and cool

20 December 2011, 10:52	#18
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	Well I am having problems with the Easycap as well. I guess it's just not the best option P

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