Need help with capture solution / lagless display

Tech Talk
1

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to acquire a very cheap setup to bring around, a monitor + system. I want to go as cheap as possible, so I’m looking at 19" monitors and used systems. I’ve checked digitalversus and search google but they only seem to have lag comparisons for 22" + ones, and I really don’t want to spend the extra $40/$50 to get one when I know I’m not going to use it that often, since it’s an extra set up mainly being used for portability. Does anybody have any experience with their own 19" monitors, or can direct me somewhere where they have input lag comparisons for smaller monitors?

Second, I bought a Hauppage HD PVR because I wanted to capture some video, but it only accepts component and composite input. Unfortunately, component lags a bit more than VGA on the T220HD setup I have at home, and not many people have lag-free component setups… they are most likely running VGA. What can I use to capture VGA signals? Is it better to find something that captures VGA natively, or should I buy a VGA to component converter box? Does anybody have any experience with that? I also don’t mind if I record in Standard Definition but play in High Definition, but I’m not sure how that’s done and whether or not it is cost efficient. The VGA to component box is already about $125, added on top of the PVR at $170.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can give me. =)

2

Extralives.org does captures with this: http://www.amazon.com/Easycap-USB-Video-Capture-Adapter/dp/B001BWU8US/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260717881&sr=8-1

I bought one and tested it (15 bucks is pretty disposable in this field). It works perfectly in Windows XP to do a basic SD video capture. Streaming also works without issue, it’s simply recognized as a separate webcam.

This is important: I have not yet tested it in a dual output situation, with one signal going to an SDTV and another going to the capture device. Theoretically, you can simply split all three signals (video, left audio, right audio) without amplification and it will capture well, but I haven’t actually tested it.

The device is extremely small, but works very well (the machine i tested it on was a 1.3ghz netbook with integrated graphics, no lag). It captures the video raw, so a short clip can easily go into the gigabytes. I would suggest seeking a different capture software to capture it compressed, or study up on video compression because I have not looked into that yet.

3

That’s composite, not component.

I’m looking for a way to get an HD signal from either component cables or VGA cables into something I can capture. I want to play in HD and record in either HD or SD. I understand how to do it with HDMI, but most set ups are done on VGA.