You generally want a sound card with signal-to-noise ratio over 100dB, but the best sound cards are in the 124dB range, which is a significant improvement. Channels - A lot of decent, budget-friendly sound cards typically support 5.1 channel audio, but you can spend a little more to get one that can handle 7.1 surround sound. Any Windows compatible video card should work with Helix Producer. Real recommends Viewcast's Osprey 210, 220, or 2000 series capture cards. Any Windows compatible sound card should also work, but Real recommends using the Osprey 220, SoundBlaster Live or AWE 64, or Midiman Delta 1010 for best results. Niagara Systems; Osprey Cards. Padarsey PCIe Sound Card, 5.1 Internal Sound Card for PC Windows 7 with Low Profile Bracket, 3D Stereo PCI-e Audio Card, CMI8738 Chip 32/64 Bit Sound Card PCI Express Adapter 3.8 out of 5 stars 187 CMI 8738 Chip.
..once upon a time, I was happy with my video capture card.. it is based on the Philips SAA-713x chipset, has a 9-bit ADC, 4-line adaptive comb filter, could capture uncompressed.. and it's better than ones based on BT8X8 chipset!
Then, also thanks to this forum, I discovered that there are much better video capture cards around.. Simple step driver.
The requirements:
- MUST capture uncompressed YUV 4:2:2 (and, if possible, HuffYUV too)
- MUST have a REALLY good comb filter ALSO for PAL signal
- MUST capture PAL and NTSC
- 10-bit ADC and over preferred
- PCI highly preferred; then PCI-E, USB 2.0, FireWire
- Composite and S-Video input - RGB and/or Y/Pb/Pr are welcome
- TBC will be appreciated, but absolutely not mandatory
- VirtualDub capture really appreciated, but not mandatory
- No TV tuner whenever is possible
During my usual internet searches, I found some interesting products - in no particular order:
overly exagerated for laserdisc captures, price out of many pockets.. has a 12-bit ADC, but only a 3-line comb filter; could capture audio too, but analog is XLR balanced..
Seems very good, but have not find deep info about it. The 4-channel capture cards of the same brand have 3-D + 2-D comb filter, so it's highly probable that this one has it too.
10-bit ADC, 24-bit analog audio input, price not too high.. maybe the right compromise; but it seems that SD capture is there as a 'bonus feature'!
IIRC used by the X0project, and works well with DScaler too! But was not able to spot anywhere used..
ATI Theater HD 750 -> Asus My Cinema ES2-750 -> Diamond TVW750PCIE
12-bit ADC, 2-D 5-line and 3-D comb filter (will the latter work with PAL too?!?), and NO hardware MPEG2 encoder like the 650.. Someone thinks that its AGC has problems.
I'm thinking to buy the Pixel Magic PDI Deluxe - if only I could find one! - or the Blackmagic Intensity Pro.
Viewcast Sound Cards & Media Devices Drivers
What do you think?
