[AG-TECH] Video Capture Card Misery

[Proshanta Saha]

Hi Zsolt,

About 4 months ago I was going through the same problem. I had purchased 4
WinTV PVR 150s thinking that it would be a very good solution for the AG
cosidering its hardware MPEG2 and less load on the CPU and all. The problem
however is however that with hardware mpeg capture cards there is no readily
available solution to decode on the fly. Even if you do find any you'll be
faced with a significant lag since a software will first have to buffer the
video then transmit that video. If you do find a solution please to this do
let me know, I would love to use PVRs.

What I did instead was hunt for WinTV 401 model with the BT878 chipset,
unforunately those are out of production, and you'll find only WinTV 401
models with the cx8800 chipset. Since I don't quite enjoy selecting video
sources each time I enter a different AG room, I prefer linux. The cx8800 is
supported under linux using Video For Linux 2(V4L2), which AG does not ship
native tools for, most likely because older video cards and webcams that use
V4L may break. However it does work, a little quirky, loosing video
sometimes, but it does work.

Now, in order for you to find a capture card with the BT878 chipset, is
quite a challengin game. Since the demand is still there for the BT878
chipset, the Osprey and Winnov Cards still make manufacture a few of their
lines with it, but make sure you use the correct drivers usually the much
older drivers. If you are in my situation, you're most likely gonna have a
tough time getting an authorized vendor to sell those antique cards. But if
you are willing to pay out of your own pocket, you can get cheap BT878 cards
for about $10 from places such as newegg.com <http://newegg.com> or ebay. I
do not endorse these vendors, but after an exhaustive search it seems to be
some of the few places still selling such antique cards at a reason able
price. A few of my university approved authorized vendors still sell the
older cards but at MSRP prices from 1996(~$150-$200)!

Good Luck,
Proshanta


On 11/3/05, Nagykaldi, Zsolt F. (HSC) <Zsolt-Nagykaldi at ouhsc.edu> wrote:
>
>   Anybody, ever installed a Hauppauge WinTV video capture card on a WinXP
> Pro SP2 that actually WORKED with the AG Venue client??? I have spent days
> with this thing and I am desperate here. What other cards do you have for
> this particular setup that works for you?
>  THANKS.
>    _ _ _
>  Zsolt Nagykaldi, PhD
> Research Associate, Clinical IT Specialist
> University Of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
> Department Of Family And Preventive Medicine
> Oklahoma Center For Family Medicine Research
>  900 NE 10th Street
> Oklahoma City, OK 73104
> Phone: (405) 271-8000 Ext.:1-32212
> Fax: (405) 271-1682
>
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