Roman.CA 0 Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) As i sent my Q-See DVR back to amazon after almost 2 months of using, got my money back. I don't want to go this road no more, instead i want to use laptop i have currently as a media server on my local network. Did someone have experience with good USB based capture card, i need max 4 - 8 channels max price around $50. Tried this piece i got from amazon for $15, but i guess it was either knock off (its common as i read on official forum) or failed out of the box picture was scrambled on every channel. Plus software that came with it was only working on Windows XP. There's not much information on the internet about USB cards, you think if i buy generic 4 channel USB TV tuner i can use it with some standalone CCTV software? Another option i am considering is analog to digital converter if they are reasonably priced? Edited February 4, 2015 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boogieman 1 Posted February 4, 2015 As i sent my Q-See DVR back to amazon after almost 2 months of using, i am looking for new approach. I don't want to go with lack of features and hardware hardly enough to support software that it runs, and sluggish replays and seeking of their cheap hard drive etc. I have laptop i use as server for media files at my home and wonder if someone have experience with good USB based capture card, i need max 4 6 or 8 channels max price under $50. Tried this piece i got from amazon for $15 in the past, but i guess it was either knock off or failed out of the box picture was was scrambled on every channel. There's not much information on the internet about USB cards, you think if i buy generic 4 channel USB TV tuner card + 3rd party standalone CCTV software? Another option i am considering is analog to digital converter if they are reasonably priced? So you want lots of features and smooth playback but only want to spend 50??? No... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roman.CA 0 Posted February 4, 2015 So you want lots of features and smooth playback but only want to spend 50??? No... Point is features (I dont mean PTZ or anything alike just features that on software side like motion detection etc) come from 3rd party software, smooth playback comes from my computer's hardware. I think $50 bucks is okay price for TV tuner or CCTV Card that merely transfers analog signal to digital. Not saying that i need 30 FPS capture 5-10 frames per second okay for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roman.CA 0 Posted February 4, 2015 As no one offers anything i decided to go with this piece, its another china NoName product that been cloned under many names as above card. It goes for $30-40 with shipping and time i will check it asap and return if it does not work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted February 4, 2015 Boogieman. Got it right $50 junk Then you go find cheaper The advice given is from people who have been in the industry for a long time Engineers have seen those usb plugins around for years and honest they are crap No good for security at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Securame 0 Posted February 4, 2015 Did someone have experience with good USB based capture card, i need max 4 - 8 channels max price around $50. There are no good USB capture cards. At all. I would go as far as to say there are no decent USB based capture cards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roman.CA 0 Posted February 5, 2015 I see your point, however all i need camera currently is to catch my neighbors dog crapping at my lawn and show landlord the screenshots, i bet i will get that just fine. Will post my review on this forum once i get that piece. MindTwist I been looking for a professional USB capture solution for CCTV some time ago and did not see anything good either. I have not tried USB TV tuner yet, but i doubt the ones priced $50-100 is same as cheap ones that imitate COM port, say four of them connected to a USB hub could deliver good results. I guess its wiser to buy a analog to digital converter for each camera if you want to go professional, less things to fail and works independent of computer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunnyKim 2 Posted February 5, 2015 Hi, Roman and All USB2.0 standard allows max 480 Mega bit Per second. Converted to Bytes, only 60 Mega Bytes. For stable operation, including delay from system interrupts, around 30 Mega Bytes Per Second could be max bandwidth for USB capture card. In terms of video data, One channel of D1 sized video at 30 FPS and audio can go through over USB interface. Please be noted. There are 2 kinds of USB capture card in the market. The first kind that you showed carries one channel video decoder from old Philips and a USB controller chipset from Somagic. Due to cheap and less components, the solution can go less than U$10 with a small PCB board, shown as thin and small main body of the product. The philips decoder (officially EOLed but its generic can be still on the market) can take in 4 camera for its channel switching capability. When switched, the effective frame rate per each channel go as low as 1 or 2 frames per second. But used for 1 channel camera, it can provide D1 at 30 FPS, in case NTSC. So good for video editing for an OLD VCR tape. But not good for security applications due to low frame rate for multi-channel. I am quite amazed to see the price tag of such kind could be at less $10. Let me tell you that there are many cheaters in the internet. Some are selling that kind at U$50 and above while some others selling it at U$5. High price does not always get you Better quality. And such a low price can be used as Bait, as well. The second kind that you showed carries mostly a 4 Channel Video Decoder (Max 8 Channels when switched at 15FPS(NTSC) or 12.5FPS (PAL)), an FPGA chipset, and a USB controller. So the PCB becomes larger with main body frame as you showed. Due to a rather expensive FPGA chip set, the price of the 2nd kinds product can not go less than U$24, I guess. One of the 2nd kinds is carrying our video decoder (4 Ch CIF at 30FPS each or 8Ch CIF at 15 FPS when switched for NTSC) and a USB controller from Somagic. Our decoder does not need a rather expensive FPGA chipset and does interface the USB controller directly. So its price can go less that U$20. I can bet ours will show the best video quality. But to be honest I do not have any idea that which product carries our chip set. We sell our video decoder only to one Chinese system makers and No idea how many internet vendors that it deals with. But if you buy a lot, I can introduce you to the company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted February 5, 2015 We sell our video decoder only to one Chinese system makers and No idea how many internet vendors that it deals with. But if you buy a lot, I can introduce you to the company. Sunnykim LAST THING OP NEEDS IS TO BUY CRAP IN BULK I have not tried USB TV tuner yet, but i doubt the ones priced $50-100 is same as cheap on THAT IS A TV TUNER STICK YOU CANT CONNECT A CCTV CAMERA OR RECORD OR HAVE FOOTAGE GO to ebay enter your zip code search for used but working DVR IN and around your area Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunnyKim 2 Posted February 5, 2015 Sunnykim LAST THING OP NEEDS IS TO BUY CRAP IN BULK You could be right. But I remember that only several years ago, CIF video have been a main stream for CCTV. But I remember those days Many of us had shouted out " a digital revolution". But now we are getting used to video quality of Full HD1080P. As long as it can catch a rat, it does not matter, whether expensive white cats or cheap unbranded black cats, at least to me. That is not my word. It's Deng ShaoPing who turned China into who she is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted February 5, 2015 Will it catch a rat ........ Take a dvr hard drive is alway going always working With USB DRIVE that triggers laptop or PC hard drive So lag ......... Not catch rat And please don't give me history of cctv ..... It was not China it was USA who started mass production One day I'll post my collection of cameras and fittings To the op ............normal digital photo camera ......... You must have one ?? Spend your $50 on a wifi SD card and put camera in window and have wifi SD send recordings to pc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
