video copy question

[NightRayne]

i heard about a device you could get that u hook up to your vhs deck or ld deck and copy videos onto cd's or dvd's does anyone know the name of it or a device similiar to it

[kakomu]

Video Capture Card.

YOu hook the capture card into your computer and it will record the video from an array of inputs (RCA, Composite, Cable, etc) and you save it as a video format (typically something very uncompressed and easy to encode into)

From there, you have to choose your encoding method (DVD, SVCD, VCD, DivX, etc) and you do that manually with the tools that are typically free. I have a Video Capture Card right now. THe V-Stream PVR TV878, which is the exact same as a KWorld Card as well. It's a relatively inexpensive card at around $35-$50. There are pro grade cards which are around $500, which is what I was using when I used to work for a company that transfers film (usually 8 and 16mm) into digital transfers.

[Zagatto]

I've also seen a few USB connected peripherals for under $100 that do video capture as well.
I haven't used one of these myself but I know they are out there.
In the past, I've had a lot of troubles using cheap video capture cards. The software that came with them was very substandard and I also had lots of problems capturing sound along with the video. Of course, this was three years ago and I'm sure that things have improved since then.

[kakomu]

the conextant 878 Chipset is rather good. There's one other chipset that is used in most of the other non-878 VCCs that is good too. I can't remember what it was called. THe 878 has a large amount of support, so you can go and read up over at the Doom9 forums about what you want to do with the chipset (whether you want to connect cable directly and watch TV, or just watch stuff from your VCR/DVD/LD/etc player). It is rather versatile and apparently easy to program with or at least has good tools.