Camcorder as web cam also saving as mpgs

[liketa2s]

I am wanting to use my camcorder as a web cam and would also like to save movies as mpgs, could anyone give me some information on a pci card or some way to hook it up through a usb.
I have been looking at Dazzle but I don't think it can be used as a web cam.
Any information would be apriciated.
Thanks

[NDC]

You will need to buy an MPEG Encoder. The prices range from $400 ~ $2500 for a decent MPEG Encoder, the difference between the cheap ones and the pricy ones are the resolution that the video can be converted to and the encoding speed.

The encoded output on a low-end MPEG Encoder is about 304 X 332 MAX, as for high-end encoders, you can get over 800 x 600 MAX. But in my opinion, if you are going to be using these videos for publishing them on the web, 304 x 332 should be more appropriate since the file size won't be so big. You might also want to convert the MPEG files to ASF format for more compression. But more compression usually means lower picture quality.

We have an MPEGator 2 at work on our video editing system, and it works very well. The max video capture resolution is 720x480 for NTSC or 720x576 for PAL.


http://www.bernclare.com/mgator2.htm

[Rat]

If your'e not looking for something real high end, just for home use, I'd recommend something like WinTV by Hauppauge. I use WinTV myself, it captures videos in MPEG and allows you to add any sound you want like music voice etc.. The end quality is fairly good and the files aren't so big.

Rat...

[NDC]

Keep in mind that most TV tuner cards, ATI Wonder, low-end encoders have time barriers of about 10 minutes max when capturing from a video tape source. If what you're going to be capturing is less than 10 minutes or so and you can be satisfied with thumbnail size MPG clips at 160 x 120 (256 colors), you can just get an inexpensive TV card that also has "Video Capture" features, but you will see heavy frame drops. You will see that the picture is really jerky, not smooth.... Software MPG encoder can never come close to hardware MP encoder....

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-23-2000).]

[jad1097]

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/homevideodivision.asp has some stuff you may be interested in.

Also the WinTv products might interest you. http://www.hauppauge.com/ I have a cheap WinTv to go PCI card and it works great for capturing video for me.
Video Clip Capture
Save continuous video at 320x240 at up to 30 frames per second. (Actual save capability is determined by the speed of the PC and the hard disk drive.) Creates Microsoft Video for Windows compatible AVI files in an uncompressed YUV format.


The Dazzle does not look like a very good product unless you want to spend $249.

[NDC]

Video Clip Capture
Save continuous video at 320x240 at up to 30 frames per second. (Actual save capability is determined by the speed of the PC and the hard disk drive.) Creates Microsoft Video for Windows compatible AVI files in an uncompressed YUV format.

Trust me, it's all BS, just a sales pitch! LOL

Perhaps you haven't compared a MPG Encoder Vs. TV Tuner Card, Jad1097. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but.... TV Tuner Card Vs. Hardware MPG Encoder is not comparable in any circumstances.. But for the price difference between the two, I guess we can compensate. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

I've used TV Tuner cards on my Dual P3 733Mhz with SCSI 10,000rpm Ultra 160 HDD, 768MB RAM and trust me, I didn't see anything impressive when I saw the results with a TV Tuner Card for capturing videos to MPG format. Nor did I see it impressive on several other Dual CPU systems at work... So I could definetly say that CPU speed, HDD speed, and RAM wasn't the cause of this "not so impressive performance"

That is why we decided to buy a MPEGator 2 MPG Encoder Card for almost $2000. If we thought that we could get away with using even a $300 TV Tuner Card for capturing videos, we would've been more than happy to use that rather than spend the $2000. And besides, if TV Tuner Cards worked so well, I don't think MPG Encoder manufacturers would be able to keep their businesses going, wouldn't you agree? http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-23-2000).]

[NDC]

I'm assuming that when you say "Home User", you are basing that on the price of the MPG Encoder Card, correct? Well, if that is the case, I would agree with you 101%, that it would be rather over priced for most users. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif But for home video enthusiasts, I wouldn't say that it's over priced at all... And to be honest with you, $2000 MPG Encoder Cards are not exactly professional models. But I get the point you're trying to make, Jad1097. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 11-23-2000).]

[jad1097]

Yes that was what I was trying to say.

[Rat]

Here's a couple links on setting up a home webcam: http://www.internet-95.com/company/starship/webcam.htm http://surveyorcorp.com/webcam32/

Rat...

[jad1097]

Well it works fine for me as a home user. If it did not work fine for the average person then I am sure they would be out of business and I would not recommend it.

I don't think most people are willing to spend $2000 for a decoder card since most home users do not even spend that much on a PC. Would the low end card for $400 allow the video camera to be used as a web cam?


I think you are comparing something a pro would use to something a home user would use, I don't think this person is a pro. Now if you want to give me that $2000 card I am sure I would agree with you but you would not be willing to do that. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif