Video Capture Cards....why???

C

chocblu

Member
Hi All,

so what im wondering is two fold.

1. In an All digital (ie no tape, like P2 or straight to disk like the SI-2k) what is the point of an Analogue I/O card like a Decklink or an AJA? what advantage does it give you? is it just better output to a monitor without strain on CPU? will FCP still downsample it like crazy?

2. With those kind of cards, will it output in any format to a monitor? Or do you generally have to use a specific codec? Like do the Blackmagic cards need to use the Black magic codec?

Cheers

Mark
 
Output to a monitor...PROPER monitor. A computer monitor connected via DVI will not by any stretch of the imagination show you a proper image. And you cannot adjust one to bars. A capture card not only allows you to capture footage from tape (and there are still PLENTY of formats that are shot on tape), but also output TO tape. Many deliverables are to HD and SD formats...HDCAM, D5, Digibeta. And for that you need a capture card. And capture cards are both digital (SDI) and analog (Component, Composite).

It will output certain formats to your monitor...pretty much the ones in the Easy Setup list. Uncompressed HD, SD, Pro Res, DVCPRO HD...but not Animation or H.264. The editing codecs.
 
Alright,

So with that out of the way, is there a real difference between the Brands, AJA looks like its more closely alligned with Apple so could be good in that way. Blackmagic seem alright, tho quite a bit cheaper than AJA. Are there any else that i should look at?

Cheers
Mark
 
AJA is the best if you can afford it. An IO HD or a Kona 3 will have you set for life. Then get a great monitor.

Noah
 
The ioHD is great, but you are restricted to ProRes (I like the codec, but some clients may be weary). The Kona 3 is great, but lacks analog in/outs. Kona LHe is good, but doesn't have hardware conversions. They're all compromises, but I am definitely leaning towards the ioHD.
 
I could be wrong, I generally am, but I don't believe ioHD is restricted to ProRes, I believe it also does DVCProHD.
 
It will playback DVCProHD timelines, but it transcodes everything to ProRes to send it to the ioHD.
 
It captures to DVCPRO HD as well, it isn't ONLY limited to ProRes...it just, as of now, cannot capture uncompressed HD or 4:4:4 HD.

But who needs that anyway other than VERY uppity film peeps?
 
What do you use Analogue inputs/Outputs for? Most monitors have HD-SDI in dont they? IS analogue only for things like BETASP output etc?
 
JVC's HDV decks don't have HD-SDI. Plus if you needed to "live capture" from an HVX or something. Most digibeta decks will read betasp, so you can get away with that over SDI.

My friend was leaning towards using a JVC 200u for our next project, so not have a digital output on the deck other than HDMI seemed like an issue for us. The ioHD really seems like "everything" box as long as you don't need true uncompressed and aren't doing 2k.
 
chocblu said:
What do you use Analogue inputs/Outputs for? Most monitors have HD-SDI in dont they? IS analogue only for things like BETASP output etc?
Click to expand...

HD SDI options on monitors are expensive, and the component ins work just fine. I have Component on my HD CRT and it looked identical to the HD SDI ins. And yes, the analog ins and out are for dealing with non SDI formats, like betaSP and most HDV decks (if you don't capture via firewire).

I myself am REALLY eyeing the I/O HD.
 
The ioHD really seems like "everything" box as long as you don't need true uncompressed and aren't doing 2k.
Click to expand...

Not doing 2k? whats the ioHD's limitation for 2k? I will certainly be doing 2k.
 
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