Video in to T23 possible?

[Ted_E]

I would like to copy a VHS tape to DVD. There is a SVHS connector on the machine that will deliver video out but I can find no reference to video in. Has anyone found a way?

[bhtooefr]

You'll have to get a PCMCIA capture card, or a PCMCIA USB2 or Firewire card and a USB or Firewire capture card. The T23 uses USB1.1, IIRC, which is why you need a PCMCIA USB2 card...

[Ted_E]

You'll have to get a PCMCIA capture card, or a PCMCIA USB2 or Firewire card and a USB or Firewire capture card. The T23 uses USB1.1, IIRC, which is why you need a PCMCIA USB2 card...

Thanks. I 'd like to go via the USB2 route since it would have additional uses. Now I have to find out what hardware will work properly under OS/2-eCS. (I avoid Windows as much as possible.)

[Nolonemo]

Any VHS capture has to be converted to some flavor of .avi (i.e., converted from analog to digital). The easiest way to do it is to use an external converter, or use a digital video camera with analog pass-through. The cheaper alternative is an analog video capture card that does not convert the video, but merely provides a means to get it into the computer. I've seen these in PCI, but don' t know if PC Card versions exist. (a USB2 or firewire card doesn't convert, it just lets you connect to a USB2 or firewire device).

You can do the conversion in the computer as you capture, but the T23 processor speed plus the 4200 rpm hard drive could make that problematic, because you have to be able to keep up with the video stream coming in or you will start dropping frames. If you are only capturing to VHS resolution (240x320) that might not be a problem. If you want capture at a higher resolution, it may be.

BTW, video uses an amazing amount of disk space. Even compressed .avi footage (when you capture, the raw video is compressed using one of several codecs by default (but this is different than rendering the video into a VCD or DVD compliant mpeg stream, which results in further compression)) runs about 13GB per hour of video for 720x480 DVD spec resolution.

Lots of information on this can be found at DVDRhelp.com, if you are new to video capture, I strongly recommend a couple hours browsing the site and the forums.

Bottom line is you really want to think seriously about an external capture device.

[The Weissman]

For anyone NOT running OS/2 , Circuit City is selling the Hauppauge WinTV USB2 capture device for $40 after a $40 mail-in rebate this week. This is probably the lowest price yet for this contraption.