#Video capture??
8 messages in this thread
I need some advice as to which board to buy for video capture. I only want
still frame capture in color. I've read the ads in Amiga World but not
much help in determining what's available. Price is a big factor. I do not
have endless pockets like most of the CIS amigans seem to have.
I would like the capture to have relatively high resolution. My system
is an unaccelerated A2000 with 1meg video ram and 5 megs ram, SCSI board
with 120meg hard drive.
Also, I think I'm going to get a used 486 dx 50, with a Stealth 24 bit
vidio accelerator board. Its available cheap, and I'm getting a bit
disgusted with C=. I wonder if anyone knows what video capture boards are
available for IBM or what forum might have that info?
Bud
well you can get DCTV for the Amiga. It will allow decent still pictures from a
video camera (not from tape!, direct!) It requires an NTSC monitor to view em
on, though you can convert them to 24-bit Iff's if you want. Comes with a
decent paint program and lets you animate these pictures in almost real time.
The drawback is that it's really not up to broadcast quality output, and has
some fringing. ie Definetly not RGB quality!!!! it is cheap, $299. VLAB looks
interesting, but I don't very much about it
you can get an converter for DCTV that converts it back to RGB but it's about
the same price as the main unit…
hope this helps.
-Tom-
Thanks for the input Tom, I don't quite understand what the capture format
is with the DCTV. Hi-res IFF is what I need so I can make GIFs. I also am
not interested in broadcast quality. I want the images for slow-scan TV
which is far lower resolution than broadcast standard. Also I need the
images to catalog my work. I am a sculptor by trade. I saw ads for VLAB
but don't know what it does.
If you have to buy the converter to make it back to an IFF image, I'll
have to dump that… too expensive. Thanks again.
Bud
No you don't need to buy the converter to get 24-bit iff files. the DCTV box
plugs into the normal 23 pin monitor jack output of the amiga. It also plugs
into the parallel port where the printer is usually hooked up. The DCTV unit
has to video jacks on it. one in, one out. Thes jacks are what they call
"phono" jacks and all VCR's and camcorders have them. the video camera would be
connect to DCTV's input video jack, and the output video jack would be
connected to a "composite" monitor.. that is a monitor that has an video phono
jack input. Most new tv's have this capability but if you have a VCR you can
plug into it's phono jacks run an older tv on channel 3,4(usuallt there's a
button like "video/ant" or something.)
The paint program or the digitize program when run will put up a greyish
picture on the computer's monitor, but put up a nice display on the Composite
monitor (or tv). This is the monitor you use to do everything on (you could
shut off the amiga's monitor at that point, if you so desire).
The converter is a beast that allows the display to come up on your normal
amiga's monitor, you don't need another monitor, or tv, and because your
monitor is better than an off the shelf tv, it looks better!
When you run the digitize program, video from the video-camera will be
displayed on the composite moniter. when you grab the photo, you can change
parameters (brightness,sharpness,color,etc.) and save the picture in DCTV's
format,OR 24 IFF format.. ADPRO or equivalent can the convert the 24-iff format
and translate it to GIF….
The DCTV does not really capture a 24-bit image.. A video camera puts out only
about 3900 colors and has a resolution of approx 640ish by 300 lines (NOT
talking about Hi-8 or S-VHS, but a normal "composite" camera. This resolution
is what DCTV captures and does a decent job. It cannot really capture stuff of
pre-recorded tape though, if you have a really decent pause feature on the tape
sometimes it will work..
All video capture boards, including the ones on the PC, using the composite
video input will limit you to this reslution. (TV's composite is called NTSC in
the usa, and PAl in Europe).
if you need finer resolution, an photograph of the object can be scanned in
using an "scanner" (good name, huh!) The scanner usually has about 300 x 300
reslution per INCH and will give a much sharper image than any video capture
device.
A slow scan TV can be much finer than NTSC composite video as that's what they
used for all those NASA pics on mars, the the voyager probes.
Boy what a long msg! You might whant to pic up the mag "desktop video" as it
covers IBM,MAC, and still AMIGA video cards!
Hope this helps more than it confuses! -Tom-
Yeah! that was a long but appreciated memo. I can't thank you enough. It
gave me a really clear concept of what the DCTV board does and how it does
it. You're probably right, I should photograph my stuff and scan it. That
would give me the resolution. I was trying to avoid a two step process,
I'm naturally lazy by nature……<g>. I have the Migraph hand scanner,
maybe they'll let me trade up to the new color scanner. Anyway thanks a
lot. I didn't know what the board did. You see the ads but they don't tell
you anything you need to know except price….. Many bows of thanks….
Bud
You're welcome.. Glad it helped!
DCTV digitizes in Hi-RES so that should not be a problem. You can
save the images in 24 bit, DCTV, or any Amiga format (not AGA). The
images have to be captured from stills. It can not capture from tape
unless your vcr can give rock solid freezes, ot you have a TBC to
freeze an image. If you are pointing a camera at an object for
capture, you will not have a problem. DCTV digitizes an image in 10
to 20 seconds. You do not need the RGB converter to save the images.
Just use a 24 bit to GIF converter like ADPro. To see the DCTV
screens you will need a composite video monitor, some of C='s
monitors had a composite video input.
Jim R. Ollick
Using AP from Bergenfield, NJ
Thanks Jim… I got a really detailed explanation from Tom, appreciate
your input….
Bud