hallo, I would like to know the best solution.. To buy mpeg2 card like Hauppague WinTV PVR 150 or to buy dvd recorder like vivax imago dvd-r300? I have lots of family movies on hi8 tape and I would like to transfer it on dvds. What to do? What do you suggest? Thank you for support and advices, hipp
It's a matter of if you want to make custom DVDs or just do it quickly. With a DVD recorder it is faster because you just start the camcorder and then start recording on the DVD recorder. The Hauppage capture card you have to capture the video and then use a DVD authoring program to make the DVD and then a DVD burner to make the physical DVD. This option is much more flexible though because you can edit the captured file if you desire.
Destra, what about the quality ? I'm also asking exactly the same question and i know a capture by a standalone dvd recorder is more straightforward, simple and faster than by a capture card on PC. However, don't know (never compare) which one is better in quality: standalone recorder or PC+capture card ? (i'm thinking of a plextor device: ConvertX PX-M402U) thanks
Well technically the capture card could produce better quality because you can edit the video (colour correction, noise reduction, ect.). If the original movies are of good quality though than a DVD recorder maybe a better choice because it is faster and easier to use.
Since you mention video quality is there a certain level that different disks can produce? I've read a few times that DVD-RAM has the best video quality among all the recording disks. Frank C.
If this were true I doubt it would have to do with the media format. tI probably would have more to do with the quality of the media, such as the dyes used to make the DVD. As far as I know DVD-RAM is more suited for backups of data and constant re-writing of the discs. The data is stored like floppies and can be written to just like a floppy drive (no special software needed). Also they can be rewritten over 100,000 times (DVD±RW can be rewritten approx. 1,000 times). I think this is why they are commonly found in camcorders and such.
