Absolute Beginners Guide to Upgrading and Fixing Your PC

Upgrade #5: Adding a Video Capture Card or Device

If you plan on using your PC to edit home movies, there's another upgrade you might need to make. To connect a non-digital camcorder to your PC, you'll need to install an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) card also called a video capture card. You plug your camcorder into the jacks in this card, typically using standard RCA connectors, and the card converts the analog signals from your recorder into the digital audio and video your computer understands.

If you don't want to go to all the trouble of installing a new card, you can use an external video capture device instead. Most of these devices connect via USB or Firewire, which means they're easy to install and configure just plug the unit into your USB or Firewire port and you're ready to roll. Performance is no different from an internal card.

note

If you have a Digital8 or MiniDV camcorder, you don't need to install a video capture card. These digital camcorders connect directly to your PC via either Firewire or USB.

Here are some of the major manufacturers of video capture cards and devices:

  • ADS Technologies (www.adstech.com)

  • AVerMedia; (www.aver.com)

  • Dazzle Multimedia (www.dazzle.com)

  • Hercules (www.hercules.com)

  • Pinnacle Systems (www.pinnaclesys.com)

To install an internal video capture card, follow the steps in Upgrade #4. To install an external video capture device, just connect it to the appropriate port on your computer.

THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM

When you want to upgrade your system's video, keep these points in mind:

  • Upgrading a monitor is as easy as disconnecting the old one and reconnecting the new one.

  • You can choose from deep-but-cheap CRT monitors, or thin-but-expensive LCD models.

  • A bigger monitor lets you display more stuff onscreen as long as it's capable of displaying a higher-resolution picture.

  • To speed up the display of moving and high-resolution images, consider upgrading your video card.

  • For game use, go for a card with 3D acceleration and make sure it connects to an AGP slot in your computer.

  • If you want to use your PC to watch television broadcasts, you'll need to add a TV tuner card which operates independently of your normal video card.

  • To connect a non-digital camcorder to your PC, you'll need to add a video capture card or external video capture device.

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