PVR-250BTV mpeg encode quality?

[Don]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I see all these glowing reports of using this card for a pvr. Has anyone done
any analysis of the quality of the hardware mpeg encoding as compared to what
you get from an off line encoding with the system processor?

Maybe some kind sole has posted some mpeg files created from something like
tmpgenc and this card for comparison?

If its really as good as they claim then this should be great tool for all
those wannbee conversions from vhs to dvd without all the pain.

comments?
Don

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Don wrote:

> I see all these glowing reports of using this card for a pvr. Has anyone done
> any analysis of the quality of the hardware mpeg encoding as compared to what
> you get from an off line encoding with the system processor?
>
> Maybe some kind sole has posted some mpeg files created from something like
> tmpgenc and this card for comparison?
>
> If its really as good as they claim then this should be great tool for all
> those wannbee conversions from vhs to dvd without all the pain.
>
> comments?
> Don

My opinion is that it's better than any software encoder I've tried with the added
benefit of being real-time. Granted, it's not a scientific analysis, just my
opinion.

And yeah, I've used it to convert more than a few VHS tapes to mpeg-2. Like you
said, it's painless. "Just push play" and burn the file.

 

[Don]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Keith Clark wrote:
>

>
> My opinion is that it's better than any software encoder I've tried with the added
> benefit of being real-time. Granted, it's not a scientific analysis, just my
> opinion.
>
> And yeah, I've used it to convert more than a few VHS tapes to mpeg-2. Like you
> said, it's painless. "Just push play" and burn the file.
>
I assume that audio capture is also part of the card as opposed to the separate
audio on the pc itself. How is audio sync and missed frames when the video is
coming from old fashioned maybe not so good homemade video tapes?

Would you have some short clips of generic video compressed with the 250 vs
normal sofware encdoding that you could share? If not you, anyone else?

tks
Don

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Don wrote:

> Keith Clark wrote:
> >
>
> >
> > My opinion is that it's better than any software encoder I've tried with the added
> > benefit of being real-time. Granted, it's not a scientific analysis, just my
> > opinion.
> >
> > And yeah, I've used it to convert more than a few VHS tapes to mpeg-2. Like you
> > said, it's painless. "Just push play" and burn the file.
> >
> I assume that audio capture is also part of the card as opposed to the separate
> audio on the pc itself. How is audio sync and missed frames when the video is
> coming from old fashioned maybe not so good homemade video tapes?
>
> Would you have some short clips of generic video compressed with the 250 vs
> normal sofware encdoding that you could share? If not you, anyone else?
>
> tks
> Don

I have no place to post video. Do you know of a site where I could post a clip? I would
be willing to post a clip captured with the PVR-250 card but I'm not willing to take the
time to use any software encoders, it's just too painful.

I wish I could feed DV from an NLE directly into the PVR-250 card...this is a source of
real frustration for me, burning DVDs from my DV camcorder footage, but that's OT.

Audio is captured by the card. If you use CBR then there are no sync issues. I haven't
ever encountered dropped frames although one of my VCRs didn't work too well for this. I
ended up using my JVC S-VHS deck for this.

 

[Don]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

>
> I have no place to post video. Do you know of a site where I could post a clip? I would
> be willing to post a clip captured with the PVR-250 card but I'm not willing to take the
> time to use any software encoders, it's just too painful.
>
> I wish I could feed DV from an NLE directly into the PVR-250 card...this is a source of
> real frustration for me, burning DVDs from my DV camcorder footage, but that's OT.
>
> Audio is captured by the card. If you use CBR then there are no sync issues. I haven't
> ever encountered dropped frames although one of my VCRs didn't work too well for this. I
> ended up using my JVC S-VHS deck for this.

For the compression comparison for it to be meaningful it would be necessary to
see both versions. Maybe I can buy one of these from best buy or something and
return it if it doesnt' work well.

I agree, DV input would be very nice. Too bad they didn't provide a 1394
connector on the card.

For my application I could live without the tuner. My TV set and my satellite
all have svhs output so I'd rather apply the tuner money to something that makes
for an even better mpeg encoder. Maybe that product is in the works. I
couldn't find a version like that on their website. They do have a sample video
clip on their website but I'm sure that it was very carefully selected to result
in an mpeg file with no artifacts.

As you can tell I am a bit suspicious of the quality since this card sells for
less than the pure capture cards like the Pinnacle Studio deluxe and Canopus
ACEDVIO etc. As the technology evolves it is just a matter of time before
dedicated hardware can compress just as well and better than the general purpose
SW encoders. Its just a matter of how long do I wait. I checked my 20 year old
vhs home movies, and surprisingly they still look good so I am willing to wait
some more. While I know that using a DV camcorder or ACEDVIO will give good
results I'm not sure that I have enough time (unless I retire) to compress all
these home movies in software.

tks for your thoughts.

Don