| Pinnacle's PCTV series |  |
Getting Screens from
a Game Console
Part 1 - Get a Video Capture Card
Part 1 - 1-16-2004, Part 2 -1-17-2004
Ever wanted to get screenshots of your favorite moments or achievments from your console to your computer, or take movies of your awesome gaming skills? Being able to hook up a game console to my computer and take screens and movies is something I've always wanted to do. There doesn't seem to be much info on this subject from my searching on Google, so with the headaches and things I've learned from my experiences, I'll try to write out a basic guide and tips about getting game console footage to your computer. I'm in no way an expert on this subject, I mainly set out to write out somethings I thought would be helpful to people interested in taking game console footage like I was.
- Mak
- Choosing a Video Capture Card or "TV Tuner"
To get video from a source like a game console, vcr, or tv, you will need a video capture card and your computer will need 1 PCI slot for the card. Another possibility is to get a Video Graphics Card with Video In to eliminate getting another card for video capture. There are also USB capture devices that eliminate the need to open up your computer case and install, but I believe the advantage of a PCI card is the speed it has, and this is a must for playing video games. The cards will vary in price, and you basically get what you paid for. A good or decent card with good features will cost around $70-$90. For video connections, make sure to get a card with S-Video, the difference between an S-Video signal and the standard Composite (Yellow input) signal is noticeable. Video on the computer is going to not look as good as on the TV, but it helps to have the best image quality possible with an S-Video Connection, as well as getting quality screenshots. Composite video signals will leave a lot of crosshatch lines over the edges of the graphics, which S-Video eliminates, and the picture quality won't be as sharp or vibrant as with S-Video. For recording options, you'll probably want to have the ability to record Mpeg-1 and Mpeg-2 movies, which offer good quality for small file size. You can even burn Mpeg movies to a CD and play them on a DVD player that can play burned CDs.
My current video capture card is a Pinnacle PCTV Pro which runs for about $90. There are 2 lower models in this line that I believe contain the exact same card, and quality, but lack the features of the PCTV Pro for their cheaper price. The Pinnacle PCTV Rave lacks Mpeg-2 recording for example. I think the regular PCTV has Mpeg-2 recording and a remote over the Rave, and the Pro version has ANT stereo sound and FM radio. The selection of video capture cards in my area was limited between ATI's TV Wonders and Pinnacle's. My first video capture card was a ATI TV Wonder VE (Value Edition, $50), which had great recording features, but with only a Composite input, the quality was lowsy. I don't know if getting a better ATI TV Wonder with S-Video would make a difference, but I've been happy with my PCTV so far. Be sure to check out reviews online of cards before you buy.
| Pinnacle's PCTV series | |
Where to buy
Comp USA - Check online and
at your local store. My local store carried ATI TV Wonders and
Pinnacle PCTVs.
Best
Buy - sells video capture cards,
but seems limited to just ATI TV Wonder at my local store
Hauppauge
- a company that makes video capture cards that I've heard are of
good quality
Composite vs. S-Video comparison
Below are 3 comparisons of using the standard Composite video inputs vs. the higher quality S-Video with the Gamecube game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. The screens were taken with my Pinnacle PCTV, and the excellent 3rd party TV viewer, Dscaler. Nintendo's standard A/V cables that are packed with their systems was used for the Composite screens, and a $7 3rd party S-Video cable was used for the S-Video screens. Noticable in the Composite screens on the left are the cross-hatch lines that make any straight line or outline messy, while the S-Video screen is clean from that. The S-Video connection also gives a much more vibrant and rich picture by default than the Composite input with only plugging the cables in and not tinkering with the video settings. This of course also applies to TV connections, so having a TV with an S-Video connection over a Composite will make for much sharper and vibrant visuals (I wish my TV had it).
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Where to get S-Video cables
All video game consoles come packaged with standard Composite Audio/Video cables (sometimes called "RCA" cables), so a S-Video cable will have to be purchased seperate. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft all have their own S-Video cables for sale, which can be bought either from their websites or in stores. There are also 3rd party S-Video cables available that can range from cheap $7-$10 ones, or higher quality cables like Monster makes for $20-$30. You'll be able to find something at your local Gamestop, EB Games, or Best Buy. Nintendo has provided S-Video cables since the SNES, and every system afterwards has used the same Composite and S-Video A/V cables, so if you buy something for your Gamecube, it should be compatible with the N64 and SNES.
Monster's website on S-Video connections:
"S-Video is the preferred high-performance connection
because it sends the video signal in separate Chrominance (color)
and Luminance (brightness) channels. The result? A brighter
picture both sharper and richer in color. It also cleans up
“dot crawl”–that annoying flickering along object
edges."
S-Video Cables at EB Games S-Video Cables at CompUSA S-Video Cables at Gamestop S-Video Cable from Nintendo Monster video cables
Audio
In order to get the sound from your console in to your PC and out it's speakers, for regular playing on your PC or recording movies, you'll need a Y adapter. The Left (White) and Right (Red) audio cables are plugged into it, which outputs to a 1/8" stereo jack, that you plug into the Line-In jack on your sound card.
My old ATI TV Wonder VE came with one that I still use. If your card doesn't come packaged with one, like my PCTV card did, you can find them at your local Best Buy or Radio Shack.
Y-Adapter from Radio Shack (Gold Plated) Y-Adapter from Radio Shack
Resources
TV-Cards.com
- a European based review site for video capture cards.
They have reviews for the 3 PCTV models.
DVDRhelp.com
- large resource site for video editing needs
Dscaler.org
- the TV viewer application to use,
providing much greater quality than most bundled TV viewer
software. A must for games, and its free.