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VCR to PC

KurnDerakKurnDerak Registered User regular
I'm looking for something that will allow me to use my VCR and possibly Xbox so that the video/audio goes through my PC. I've seen a few things like Dazzle DVD Recorder Plus Video Capture and Encore USB Audio/Video Grabber . I'm not looking to put a lot of money into this, just something good enough so that I can get rid of my old tube TV that is taking up a lot of space.

I'm really not sure what I'm looking for as far as quality for a low price, or if it is just as simple as plug this in and my monitor is now a TV per se. I assume it is that simple, but sometimes technology is deceptively difficult. I'm also not sure what sort of difference there would be between a PCI card and a usb cable for this.

KurnDerak on

Posts

  • ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    KurnDerak wrote: »
    I'm looking for something that will allow me to use my VCR and possibly Xbox so that the video/audio goes through my PC. I've seen a few things like Dazzle DVD Recorder Plus Video Capture and Encore USB Audio/Video Grabber . I'm not looking to put a lot of money into this, just something good enough so that I can get rid of my old tube TV that is taking up a lot of space.

    I'm really not sure what I'm looking for as far as quality for a low price, or if it is just as simple as plug this in and my monitor is now a TV per se. I assume it is that simple, but sometimes technology is deceptively difficult. I'm also not sure what sort of difference there would be between a PCI card and a usb cable for this.
    Assuming it's an Xbox 360 you can plug it straight into the monitor using a VGA cable. I would advise against using a capture card for playing games, as the lag is crippling.


    And your monitor might even have an S-Video or component port for the VCR, too.

    ben0207 on
  • bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    USB is going to have slower transfer speeds in general than a card based solution. The Encore cable you linked is a pretty good deal for what you're probably looking to do. You'll probably have to buy Nero or some other editor to modify it.

    bowen on
    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
  • KurnDerakKurnDerak Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Ideally what I'm looking to do is plug in the VCR somehow and just play it through a media player. I will most likely transfer some VHS over to DVD if they are good enough quality, but I still enjoy the nostalgicness of putting in a VHS.

    I currently use 2 monitors, neither of which have an s-video in and my xbox is the old giant brick, not the 360. I also have an SNES that I currently have hooked up through my VCR, but that will most likely be replaced by one of the nes/snes things from think geek. I don't use either very often and I can move them to the TV in the living room, so they are only a secondary consideration. I'm mostly just looking for a way to get rid of the 32'' tube tv in my room.

    Edit: I should also state that most times I'm watching something I'm also playing a game or doing other things on the computer, often on the same screen as watching a movie. So using s-video on the monitor wouldn't work at least for what I'm looking for.

    Thanks for the help so far, both of you.

    KurnDerak on
  • Rigor MortisRigor Mortis Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ben0207 wrote: »
    KurnDerak wrote: »
    I'm looking for something that will allow me to use my VCR and possibly Xbox so that the video/audio goes through my PC. I've seen a few things like Dazzle DVD Recorder Plus Video Capture and Encore USB Audio/Video Grabber . I'm not looking to put a lot of money into this, just something good enough so that I can get rid of my old tube TV that is taking up a lot of space.

    I'm really not sure what I'm looking for as far as quality for a low price, or if it is just as simple as plug this in and my monitor is now a TV per se. I assume it is that simple, but sometimes technology is deceptively difficult. I'm also not sure what sort of difference there would be between a PCI card and a usb cable for this.
    Assuming it's an Xbox 360 you can plug it straight into the monitor using a VGA cable. I would advise against using a capture card for playing games, as the lag is crippling.


    And your monitor might even have an S-Video or component port for the VCR, too.

    A PCI based capture card should be alright for games.

    I beat Ninja Gaiden on the oXbox using one (ATI TV Wonder) :P

    And it will display in a window just fine... although I can't remember the software I used. I believe (but don't quote me) Media Player Classic can display capture input as well.

    Rigor Mortis on
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