TI4400/4600 TV-in/capture specs & general quality?

S

spoox

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Can someone PLEASE tell me what the specs for the video capture (TV/Video IN) capabilities of these cards are??!

I've read countless tests and reviews, and NONE of them (MSI specs included) mention A SINGLE WORD about technical specs for the capture abilities.

IE:

- what FRAMERATES does it support? (25/29.997/?)

- what RESOLUTIONS ..? (352x288 ? 704x576 ?)

- what output formats? (ie are you forced to use some weirdo MPEG2 format they've decided is nice for you, or can you actually use 3rd party applications to save .avi's
of your own preferred settings .. ie VirtualDUB, Premiere, ..)

Also, I'm a bit curious about the general quality of the captures done by these cards.. Are they any good? Or are they moderate, since the main features seem to be 3D/games galore..?

Ie, if it supports full-size captures (704x576), are you haunted by interlacing (every 2nd line is updated every 2nd frame), or does it actually produce a full-size clear picture?

I'm considering getting a TI4400, partially because it has video/tv-in, but since there's no specs available or the reviews just drown in 3D benchmarks it leaves me with a cry for help :o
 
Hi,

I can only give you info from a GF3 POV, but there shouldn't be much difference between them (gf4) as they both use the Phillips chip to get the Video in.

All framerates are supported
All resolutions are supported though recommended not in the higher brackets. Tweaking can yeld good results in higher resolutions, but I never go above 640X480 with high audio.

The card comes with a program called wincoder for the capture, and this outputs in mpeg2. But I have no problems using VirtualVCR or VirtualDub for capture and editing, and you can capture using any codec you can try. You will find with most middle of the range capture cards that the programs supplied are OK, but you get better results from thirdparty programs.
Wincoder has sinc issues with high resolution.
I use HUFFYUV codec for capture, then output into Divx4.

The quality is good. For a chip that is middle of the range(next step up being dedicated firewire cards) it has no trouble for everyday use.

Interlace is only there if the medium you use is interlace. ie TV, Video etc. The only thing I can test this with though is cable TV(fine) and DVD with PS2(fine)
VirtualDub can remove interlace from TV dubs.

For a 3dcard that does Video in, is a good thing. Best of both worlds. Just make sure if you do buy the card, that the rest of the computer is upto scratch, ready for a Gf4.

Hope this helps, and if theres any more question just post :D
 
Thanks for the reply..

My future setup will be a P4 2.0ghz I845G/DDR333 system, so I don't think it would have any problems coping with G4.. (In fact, the I845G has integrated G4 compatible graphics on the mainboard, but something like 1/6-1/7th of TI4600 performance..)

I've been testing this Radeon AIW 7500 card today, and it seemed to have no problems and not dropping frames even at 640x480 25fps full audio .. 15mbyte/s.. (P4 1.7ghz rambus sys).. The Radeon video capture seems quite ok (apart from the software being totally sucky, so I used VirtualDub).. Anyone have any opinions how the video-grab features on the TI4x00's compare to it? I hear people into video capture praise the Radeons.. (might not be the best forum for this question hehe)
 
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