newbee....is it possible to capture the monitor image directly unto the Hard disk?

[leandro7]

hi,
visual artist breaking into the vjrealm.....
i' been tweaking some video realtime......and would like to record what i do onto my hd.
i dunot have a video out on my card.

is there any programs which video capture the monitor image?

also, if i need to get a video out card.....is it wise to (possible) to install it alongside my existing graphics card (hercules prophet 4500)?

thanks,
Leo

[MoRpH]

Its possible, check out apps like Camtasia or Hypercam (I think thats what its called) also some VJ apps have this function build in eg, TZT and resolume. The main problem here is firstly like the first 2 apps they are really more meant for webcam/broadcast screen shots so aren't really fast enough, secondly when your using a VJ app you need as much processing power as possble for the app, while will cripple the frame rate of either your capture or your app.

[leandro7]

many thanks....
so....
is it possible to have two videocards? say my hercules prophet 4500, and some low-budget video out card?

if not, what card would you recommend for both vjam and videogames?

thanks for your time
Leo
:)

[holly]

You may find a scan converter (http://www.vjcentral.com/show/62) a helpful addition to your rig. It allows you to output from your monitor/video card to a standard video cable so you can record onto or play through an external video device.

Holly.

[leandro7]

great!.....
now to clear my mind...
if i had a graphics card with a tv out....
it would serve the same purpose as a scan convertor....
just plug to the back and into a tv, vcr, or projector...
right?

now if a decent scan-conv cost around 200$, would it not be more economical to purchase a new graphicscard with tv out
that way improving my overall system, etc....?

Any comments....?

many thanks
Leo

[MoRpH]

Quite often graphics cards with TV out don't actually have the same functionality as a good scanny. Look @ some of the scanny reviews here, then look @ the TV functions of some graphics cards, you will see some have underscan/black border issues, no zooming functions, plain lousy output (some scannies have these issues too though :p ).

Honestly I think besides a good computer the best thing a starter VJ can invest in is a scanny and hardware mixer. Also consider that oneday you might move to a laptop, where will you AGP graphics card with TV get you then???

[LEVLHED]

The Matrox G450 has an excellent TV-out, you can probably find them cheap enough too...be warned the 3D performance of the card is less than stellar, but for 2D it does the job quite handily..no underscan/border issues either...if you're already focusing on using a desktop (for now) I believe a G450 is sound investment...they come in PCI flavor too.

[LEVLHED]

oh, and look for the 32mb versions, not the wimpy 16mb
and you want to make sure you get the tv-out dongle/adapter with it too...the card has 2 VGA outs, you need a adapter from MAtrox that goes from the second VGA out to composite/S-vid

[LEVLHED]

hmmm..just looked around ebay...I'm not sure the 32mb PCI ones have TVout? I only see ones with a DVI out....
I see 16mb versions w/ tvout though...

[leandro7]

thanks guys,
this has to be one of the best forums i've seen in a while....
:)

this part:
"tv-out dongle/adapter with it too...the card has 2 VGA outs, you need a adapter from MAtrox that goes from the second VGA out to composite/S-vid"
has me spinning a bit.....
dongle..? composite/svid?

i am trying to synch up video i am "scratching" (somewhat like vjamm lets you do) with digital music i am composing.
(when i get $ to fund) I ultimatedly intend on projecting the audio/video onto some painted artwork.

so my consern is not really live mixing (although i really dig it)
but just a way to get my desktop image on to my HardDrive.
then outputting the file with a projector. the prog i am scratching with doesnt have a recording feature.

I like the idea of buying a graphics card, cause that way i also improve my system for graphics, games, etc.....hence, save $

so my final question:

how can i plug the "video out" back into the computer.....
id like to be able to store the feed onto my HD....
do cards come with "video IN", or would i need some other bit of hardware?

nothing like fun toys to take up all your time and money, hugh!
peace, and thank u all.
Leandro

[LEVLHED]

The dual-head Matrox G450 has 2 VGA outputs (the little blue kind you plug your moniter into), in order to use the TV-out (via yellow RCA/composite or S-Video) you need the cord from Matrox that plugs into the second VGA out and has a RCA and SVid jack on the end...
Yes cards also have a "video-in" these are called capture cards, some video cards have them built in and there are also seperate PCI capture cards...not sure how well running a video app and capturing at the same time will work...you may need to first export your video to an external recorder (VHS, Digital8, miniDV camera, etc) and then capture it back in to record it to the hard drive...or just use a seperate computer..
a good source for info on different capture cards is www.vcdhelp.com

[phunkyguy]

Hey man, there's a much easier solution to this whole problem you're facing. It's called Snagit. It's software that records desktop to file, you can specify a section of the screen (x1,y1 to x2, y2) of tell it to record a particular window, or the whole screen. It will also record sound if you like. it's made by techsmith, the same people that created camastasia like morph was mentioning. http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp
so play with that, it's cheaper than a new video card. Just hope your computer has plenty of unph to it, running visuals and recording them is pretty taxing.

Evan

[MoRpH]

ok the last 2 posts pointed out what I was getting @. 1. PC s aren't designed to produce video with and app and capture it @ the same time. 2. Snagit/Camtasia is not designed for full frame rate video. Your best option would be to use PCs one for producing the video stream and one for capture/encoding, or record the output of your PC to another source then sample it back like pixy said. I'm yet to see screen capture up that cuts the mustard @ 25fps when your running a VJ app along side it.

[LEVLHED]

who said?

[MoRpH]

Hahahaha, yeah LEV said...... blah blah :p