Page 1 of 1

Need to find the ideal Capture Device

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 4:34 pm
by dorpy
My Dazzle DVC90 is currently degrading as I speak. The audio recording is completely done for and the signal is weakening.
The reason I bought it is that it gives a nice clear picture and doesn't pause or freeze on degraded video (like new capture devices on Amazon do)
I don't really want to bother with a Capture Card you plug into the computer itself but it seems like the majority of devices are rubbish besides a few brands.
Does anyone have any ideas? Should I get a EasyCap, or a newer Dazzle? 64-bit Windows Drivers is a must really so I do not need ancient devices.

Re: Need to find the ideal Capture Device

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2026 7:07 pm
by bigfish
If you are going for USB, get a newer Dazzle or adjacent Pinnacle device...some of them even work for time-base correction (so you can capture tapes with dropouts,without complete signal death) i can't recommend any of them to you personally since i have not done USB capture since i switched to a PCI card.

For ancient devices...the main problem is the lack of PCI-slot in modern motherboards without having to get a pcie-to-pci riser card. I don't know where to find such cards other than weird Chinese websites :lol:

Drivers for such old cards are available for 64-bit Windows , especially those based on Conexant BT878 chips (which you can pick up for $12USD) and Philips chips (SAA713x) <-- the latter is still supported under linux but it takes some work.... A handful are STILL being manufactured.

TL;DR
- If you're just doing console /gameplay capture (with tape transfer being a side thing) do get a Dazzle!
- If you're mainly doing tape transfer, you might want to invest in a capture card with time base correction (in case any have severe tracking/alignment problems)

Thats aaaaalll...............