Let us know the dealio.

You think the slight increase in quality over S-video is really worth $500?

The differance between s-video and vga to my projectors is huge. Id buy an hdmi capture box if it was under a Grand. Gotta spend money to make money...

Itchie, I have the advc 110 as well.. do you think the quality of the twin pact 100 is that much better?
Also, will it allow you to pass the video signal through so I can record the VGA and send the s-vid or composite to a projector at the same time?

I use this:
www.audioauthority.com

It lets me convert DVI to YPbPr. And it is absolutely noticeable.

Please post some samples when you are done. Most AV companies in my area have told me the difference between the two is almost unnoticeable. HDMI is a different story.

for new years I used VGA into over 70 plasma screens at the palazzo here in Las Vegas. I can tell the difference between another venue I played at with s-video connections. Crystal Clear !!!

i got the TwinPact100 today. the capture quality is GREAT. much better than s-video capture. i'm very happy with it. this box has tons of options. i send a VGA signal in; it puts a VGA signal out to my projector (with the twinpact on or off) a s-video or composite to a tv and a dv signal to my editing computer all at the same time. i think i'm gonna start taking one of these to my shows as a signal coverter/monitor splitter. vga to projector without signal loss & s-video to my 8" preview montitor. well worth the 5 hundo

Can you post a capture from it please? Thx

Did you try the intensity Pro from Black Magic for HDMI capture? It only runs around $300.

highly recommended.

Swift,

Are you running your audio through the card or did you get the video only version and using another soundcard? Is there a way to output your video to an external monitor as you are recording?

I don't have a black magic card. Currently lacking a PCIe slot to put it in. My last (and only) demo was recorded all in DV (a real crap codec honestly). In preparation for doing quality captures in the future, I grabbed one of these boxes:

www.aja.com

captures uncompressed 10 bit 4:2:2 video on component or SDI.

To answer your question about monitoring my video mix as i'm recording it, my DV capture box has a pass through that was hooked to my video screen so i could see my mix.

The AJA IO also has a gang of outputs, SDI digital, component, s-video, composite, etc. They are all active all the time regardless of what your input is. Pretty slick.

My only knock on that particular AJA box is SD only. The HD version is available but holy crap is it expensive.

Oh as far as audio, yes. I record audio+video everywhere when I do captures. I didn't always do that but since I don't yes a clapboard and I don't have pro equipment to do sync, the audio helps me line everything up later in fcp.

In my swiftMix, the DV camera that was pointing at me spinning was recording through the mic. The DV box capturing the video output was capturing audio output from the aux of the 57. Having the room sound from the mic made it easier to sync the tracks up in fcp later.

So if you had the PCIe slot would you take the Intensity Pro over the Aja IO.

If you didnt need all the inputs

No, I still like my aja box better than a card. for one, i can record very high quality with a laptop. can't do that with a PCIe. but that's kind of a contrived example.

i mostly like the aja box for the ridiculously flexible input, routing and transcoding options built right into the box. being able to input ANYTHING and get everything out simultaneous has its purpose. the 8 XLR / 1/4" balanced or unbalanced audio connections have a lot of good use cases too.

I just wish it captured HD or even could take an HD source even if it did convert down to SD. When I get an extra $3k laying around I'll get the HD version.