Newb to Capture Cards

[underthebus]

Hi,
I've been using FC for quite a bit now on dv projects always through firewire. In the near future I'll be working on HD material. I've always known about capture decks and cards but have never used one. If someone would be so kind as to give me a quick idea of what one of them does I would be eternally grateful. If it's too much I would understand.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Fourth Line]

Capture cards let you capture footage using cables other than firewire (although firewire is still possilbe when you have a capture card.) They will convert analog signals to digital (like component or S-video) and allow for input from high end signals like HD-SDI (of course you need to pay for those features.)
In addition to input, they also allow output to a deck or monitor. So I capture HDV footage via firewire, but monitor it through an HDMI cable coming out of Blackmagic design Intensity Pro to a monitor.

 

[underthebus]

That's a great start thanks. What about uncompressed footage? Let's say that I've imported my dvx footage via firewire using the dv pulldown preset. Am I working with the best possible image? Or would it be possible to get an even better image(uncompressed) with a capture card? I was led to believe that using firewire with dvx footage and the dv preset gives you the best native image resolution. I have to admit I'm a bit confused:huh:
Thanks

 

[adkimery]

Let's say that I've imported my dvx footage via firewire using the dv pulldown preset. Am I working with the best possible image?

Yes*

Or would it be possible to get an even better image(uncompressed) with a capture card?

No*.



*If you capture via SDI there is a some chroma smoothing applied that can help a bit in keeping the colors from appearing blocky. You can also achieve a similar result using the Nattress color smoother filter. If money is no object and you absolutely need the footage to look it's absolute best then capturing via SDI will give you a bit of improvement over capturing via FW.


-A

 

[underthebus]

Got it. Thanks adkimery. Kind of thought that was the case. As far as HD goes, is it the same thing? Would firewire be able to handle anything that big? I would think not. I know I can work with certain codecs over firewire but what about when i want to do my final online edit?
Is there a card anyone can recommend under 1K? I'm investing in an HVX in the next couple of months and would like to be prepared. I'm not looking to go the way of 2K footage just yet so I don't need anything too awesome. Just a bit awesome works for me.
I've been trying to do a lot of research and it can be a bit overwhelming but it's also quite exciting