Question Basic Graphics Card Question - Are they really needed?

[mr19th]

I have been converting VCR tapes and other video camera tapes using a Elgato Video Capture connection. It seems to work fine, but I wanted to find out if my computer had a "decent" Graphics Card, would the quality of actual conversion change or just the speed/image shown on the monitor? We do edit the video after with Movavi Video Converter and then have to resave afterwards.

Would a high quality video card change the quality of the video being converted or just the speed and the video shown on my monitor?

I don't use the computer for any graphics, I'm just wondering if it would have any effect on the converted video quality.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[USAFRet]

Coming from a VHS tape, the "quality" is already bad.
A good GPU won't make it better.

But, what components does your system have?

 

[mr19th]

Coming from a VHS tape, the "quality" is already bad.
A good GPU won't make it better.

But, what components does your system have?

Well to connect the VCR to the computer, we use a Elgato Video Capture. It does a good job. From the past, I've learned that when you record over and over on a single tape, the video quality drops, but... Some camcorder tapes I convert are sharp videos because they aren't too old.

Just wondering - Thanks,
Sean

 

[USAFRet]

Well to connect the VCR to the computer, we use a Elgato Video Capture. It does a good job. From the past, I've learned that when you record over and over on a single tape, the video quality drops, but... Some camcorder tapes I convert are sharp videos because they aren't too old.

Just wondering - Thanks,
Sean

Right.
Repeated recording loses quality with each iteration.

When speaking of camcorders, "sharp videos" is a relative term.

A better GPU won't introduce better quality.


Record it as is, and don't worry about trying to make it "better".

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

would the quality of actual conversion change or just the speed/image shown on the monitor?

if you were doing very heavy image/video processing and trying to create altered video with many filters running, a more powerful dedicated graphical processor could help speed up the process a bit.
but it wouldn't actually make the results any "better" than an integrated GPU.

 

[NedSmelly]

Intel CPUs with an integrated GPU have a video encoder called QuickSync. Most video editors can use this to accelerate processing, but it depends on the software package.

Sounds like that would be sufficient for your application. Quality is determined by bit rate and compression settings, and not whether it’s CPU or GPU driven. In fact some GPU encoders produce worse quality (eg old AMD Polaris-class GPUs).

Postscript: link to turning on QuickSync in Movavi

 

[hotaru.hino]

If you want to try to touch up the videos you record from the VHS tapes, then whether or not a GPU matters depends on if the software you're using supports GPU acceleration for those touch ups.

Otherwise, I don't think it matters, since I prefer using the software based x264/x265 codecs. They take longer, but they result in a good compromise between quality and file size.

 

[mr19th]

Thank you for all of your replies and help. I think we're fine then. I just see some "bad" video quality, but realize that's it not the converting, but the tapes themselves. Just wanted to make sure.