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Advice?: Need cheap HD PC capture card, for audio recording too
I need a cheap solution for capturing HD video off of an existing PC box. I originally was considering a Ki Pro Mini since I natively cut in ProRes, and because it has XLR inputs, but the budget for this application dictates something less pricey. In the past, I’ve setup something like this using an Intensity Pro, which recorded uncompressed 8-bit to an internal RAID-0 striped using 2 10K Raptor drives. I don’t think that uncompressed is really the target for this application, so I’m looking for something that can record to a good quality codec for HD. The Intensity Pro using the provided BM capture software only supported MJPEG. I didn’t use this too much, but I don’t remember being too impressed with the quality of it when I tried it out. Can anyone comment on the MJPEG codec supported by BM?
The other issue, is that I need a way to do some narrative recording for videos, I’m pushing hard to get a wireless Sennheiser lav., so I’d need the capture hardware to also be able to input a signal from the receiver, ideally balanced. I’m thinking the UltraStudio Pro would be better suited for this if the budget will allow it, but it appears that this hardware also has the limitations of either 8-bit uncompressed or MJPEG if using the included software. It looks like this will allow for DVCPROHD capture if using Premiere Pro.
Any other suggestions or advice?
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10 Replies
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I found a cheap used first-generation BlackMagic Decklink HD card that records to Prores and has XLR audio input. I can capture 720p direct to the internal drives without RAID. I’ve even had luck capturing straight to an external USB drive.
[Waiving hands in front of my face, eyes wide, hypnotically]
David Roth, you didn’t see ANYTHING…
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Has anyone used the Blackmagic H.264 Pro Recorder?
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Does it allow you to capture to ProRes on a Windows box? I know that ProRes could be read on a PC in the past, but not saved as ProRes.
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Save your money on the wireless lav. A cable is cheap and much more reliable. Although everyone here reaches for the basic three of AJA, Blackmagic and Matrox, have a look at MOTU. They make a really interesting firewire based i/o system for Final Cut with lots of audio inputs and analog outputs.
https://www.motu.com/video-products/v4hd/features/audio-io.html This is their fully featured whiz bang, but there is also a cheaper unit around $900US.
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No idea. I haven’t touched a PC in years.
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Thanks, unfortunately, while I’m working in a Mac/FCP/ProRes workflow, we’re trying to find hardware that will work for capture on an existing Windows box….
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Hackintosh?
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Well, if I were building a cheap PC box from scratch, but my understanding is that you need to select specific components that are Hackintosh friendly, so I don’t know that it would be suited to this application since we’re trying to repurpose an existing built box, like a Dell or whatever.
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Hope you don’t plan on editing h.264 footage!
You need to look into the MXO 2 line if you want to work on a… …PC.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
No! I’d run all H.264 through a droplet to convert to ProRes before editing.
Thanks, the MXO 2 might fit the bill. Do you know, offhand, what data rate the MXO 2 can encode H.264 at?
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