hey guys! um I want to know if there's any other place to buy a capture card besides the net cus I want to find one that will let me capture my gameplay of kh from my tv to my laptop I need one that works with my silver ps2slim? that is! if color matters! so if anybody has any ideas please post them because I'd appreciate all the help I could get. thanks!
Captures cards work around the RCA/Composite Cables (red, white, and yellow cables; if you have an S-Video cable, most will accept that as well) that hook your game system up to your TV. There may be some that work with HDMI, but they're probably very expensive, and as far as I know you can't use a PS2 and HDMI. So the capture card will work essentially with anything that connects using the Composite Cables -- it's not console specific. There are a lot of options as far as a capture card goes, it all depends on what you're looking for and what your price range is. You could get an internal capture card, I know that Hauppauge makes them, but if you're not comfortable with installing that or paying that kind of money, I'd steer away from them. There are, fortunately, a lot of great products with reasonable prices that will just hook up through a USB port on your computer. Again, it depends on your price range though. The first time that I went looking for a capture card, I came across one of these on eBay: an Easycap, as the labeling on the device suggests. With the shipping I had to pay from Hong Kong, it costed me about $7 (not including the extra things that you will have to buy, which I'll get to later). I would not recommend this. The audio often comes out muffled or static-y, even on the highest settings, and even after cracking the device open to solve heating issues I still wasn't pleased with the audio. It also drops a lot of frames, making the motion in the video not play out very nicely. So if you're on a really small budget and don't mind a little frustration, go this way: it will get the job done. But don't expect anything amazing. Perhaps the most popular solution is the Dazzle DVC, which is what I have right now. (I'm pretty happy with it if you're curious, it's just that my current computer is pretty old so I can't do any good capturing with it. Hopefully I'll be upgrading soon though) You can typically pick them up at Best Buy, near the computer section. If you ask the salespeople they'll probably be able to point them out to you. There are two options for the current model of Dazzles: the DVC100 and the DVC170. The DVC100 is less expensive, but the DVC170 I believe comes with better software and captures higher quality video. But I haven't seen much of a difference between the two in the past, and I'm pretty happy with the DVC100. The DVC100 is priced on average $40 - $50 at Best Buy, but I got mine for $35 on eBay. The DVC170 is also available at Best Buy, and I believe it goes for somewhere around $100. Then there's the Pinnacle Movie Box which, like the Dazzle, has two versions. I have heard mixed reviews about it however and haven't had any hands-on experience with it, so I'm afraid I can't offer much on that subject. Now you can go one of two routes from here: buy your chosen device and be done with it, or get the extra equipment to make the recording experience easier. If you do so choose to get the extra equipment, you'll need two things: Composite Splitters and Composite Cables. You see, when you plug your Playstation into the Capture device, you won't be able to see it on the TV screen. Sure, the device will give you a small preview window as you capture, but the preview is very, very laggy, and definitely not good if you plan to record boss battles or anything besides cutscenes that you just have to sit down and watch. So, first up is the Composite Cables. I only needed one set for my setup in the end, but for whatever reason I bought two. You can literally find these at any store, and they come in a variety of lengths. Depending on how far your computer is from your TV, make a decision based upon that. The cables should have two male ends, like the ones in this picture. Mine cost me about $3 a piece on eBay, with free shipping. Next you'll need Splitters. They come in a variety of styles, and I really don't think it matters what kind you get so long as they're the right kind. Mine cost me $0.99 each, and you need THREE of them. You can probably get these at most stores as well, but I got mine on eBay. The key part to these is that it comes with one male side to two female sides. Mine pretty much look identical to the ones in this picture, but yours may deviate slightly depending on where you get them. Now that you've got everything you need, it's time to set it up. If you need more help, there are tons of videos on YouTube explaining. But I'll type something up anyway. First, make sure you install the driver for your device. It may come packaged with a capturing/editing program, but you can use virtually any video editing program for this. Song Vegas, Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere, Virtual Dub, Movie Studio, AMCap, (and I have this nifty little thing called Video View that is basically a simplified, free version of AMCap). Depending on what you already have or what comes with the device will be what you use. But just make sure you have something. Take your splitters and plug the male end into your capture device. Then, take the RCA/Composite Cables from your Playstation and plug them into the female ports of the splitters. Make sure you go red-to-red, yellow-to-yellow, and white-to-white. Then, take your double-sided RCA/Composite Cables and plug one end into the Splitters, going red-to-red, yellow-to-yellow, and white-to-white. Plug the other end into your television. Turn on the Playstation, and you should be able to see the game. Plug the capture device into your computer, choose your settings, and start capturing! SO THE SHORT VERSION: You'll need: A capture device. I'd recommend the Dazzle DVC, which you can find at Best Buy. Double-sided male RCA/Composite Cables. (Optional, but you should get them) One male to two female RCA/Composite Splitters. (Optional, but you should get them) All of them should be at your local Best Buy, or whatever other technology store you go to.
