SCART RGB video capture for PC?

[eastbayarb]

I wanted to do some game reviews (my systems are all NTSC but I currently have SCART RGB cables connected to a 4-way SCART switcher which has VGA on the other end - custom made, not by me) so I wanted to know if there exists a video capture card for a PC that will accept SCART RGB or 15khz VGA input?

thanks!

[NFG]

15kHz RGB capture cards are NOT cheap.  The one I have was $800 USD, and the one I wanted was twice that.  You're really better off getting a good quality S-video unit, as the image quality for $100 is better than what I got for 8x the price.

I don't have model numbers anymore, I haven't looked into it in YEARS.  =(

The one I have sucks and I won't recommend it (data translations DT34 or 134 or something). 

[rolins]

Has any of you heard about the Scart to USB 2.0 video capture cable? I highly doubt it does RGB but then who knows it might. I still haven't found any reviews on this...kinda expensive too. 

[Fudoh]

PixelMagicSystems Sweetspot (UK name) / PDI Deluxe (US name) or Immersive Holo3DGraph I or II are the cards you're looking for. The Holo I can be found dirt cheap on ebay, but from 7 revisions there's only one which can do RGB. Of the Holo II card all can do RGB. You can see a few screenshots taken using a Holo card here: http://yokotate.hazard-city.de/.

Both cards will do perfect RGB (and YUV) capture, no framedrops and recording in any codec of your choice.

[RGB32E]

PixelMagicSystems Sweetspot (UK name) / PDI Deluxe (US name) or Immersive Holo3DGraph I or II are the cards you're looking for. The Holo I can be found dirt cheap on ebay, but from 7 revisions there's only one which can do RGB. Of the Holo II card all can do RGB. You can see a few screenshots taken using a Holo card here: http://yokotate.hazard-city.de/.

Both cards will do perfect RGB (and YUV) capture, no framedrops and recording in any codec of your choice.

So the PDI Deluxe is a worthwhile card?  Have you used one before?  I thought about purchasing one of these, but wasn't sure if it was full of problems (input delay and A/D quality).

[eastbayarb]

PixelMagicSystems Sweetspot (UK name) / PDI Deluxe (US name) or Immersive Holo3DGraph I or II are the cards you're looking for. The Holo I can be found dirt cheap on ebay, but from 7 revisions there's only one which can do RGB. Of the Holo II card all can do RGB. You can see a few screenshots taken using a Holo card here: http://yokotate.hazard-city.de/.

Both cards will do perfect RGB (and YUV) capture, no framedrops and recording in any codec of your choice.

Have you seen a card that has SCART? That's what I am looking for since all my systems (NES, SNES, N64, Saturn, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Neo Geo, PC Engine Duo-R, PSX, PS2, Atari Jaguar, 3DO) use SCART RGB cables

[Fudoh]

@RGB32E: I've been using a PDI Deluxe in one of my workstations for a few years now, yes. The other PC is equipped with a Holo II card. There's no processing done on the PDI/Sweetspot card, so the delay is near zero. It all depends on the software you're using to display or capture the content. A classic "viewer app" for the Sweetspot is DScaler and it's pretty fast with it's "old game deinterlacing". Picture quality of the sweetspot is excellent.

@eastbayarb: You know how large a Scart plug is, right ? So there's of course no card which has a scartsocket on the back of it, but both cards mentioned are 100% scart-compatible. You'd be using 4 RCA (Cinch) plugs for your videosignal (R/G/B/Sync), so you need a small adapter cable from Scart to those 4 RCA plugs. I've used my SFC, Saturn and PC Engine with both cards and it's fine. Just because there's no physical scart socket doesn't mean those cards won't handle the RGBs signal provided by your systems.

You'd need such a cable:

[eastbayarb]

@RGB32E: I've been using a PDI Deluxe in one of my workstations for a few years now, yes. The other PC is equipped with a Holo II card. There's no processing done on the PDI/Sweetspot card, so the delay is near zero. It all depends on the software you're using to display or capture the content. A classic "viewer app" for the Sweetspot is DScaler and it's pretty fast with it's "old game deinterlacing". Picture quality of the sweetspot is excellent.

@eastbayarb: You know how large a Scart plug is, right ? So there's of course no card which has a scartsocket on the back of it, but both cards mentioned are 100% scart-compatible. You'd be using 4 RCA (Cinch) plugs for your videosignal (R/G/B/Sync), so you need a small adapter cable from Scart to those 4 RCA plugs. I've used my SFC, Saturn and PC Engine with both cards and it's fine. Just because there's no physical scart socket doesn't mean those cards won't handle the RGBs signal provided by your systems.

You'd need such a cable:

where would i get that cable and PDI/Sweetspot card?

[Fudoh]

The cable is custom made (doesn't get any easier though). The Sweetspot card can be bought new here http://www.pluggedin.tv/ . That's UK-based dealer, so there're probably cheaper shops stateside. You might want to check PixelMagicSystems' website for a list of distributors. Holo3DGraph cards have become quite cheap as well. Holo I cards can be found for less than $150 on ebay from to time. Just make sure to check their RGB-compatibility before buying.

[eastbayarb]

The cable is custom made (doesn't get any easier though). The Sweetspot card can be bought new here http://www.pluggedin.tv/ . That's UK-based dealer, so there're probably cheaper shops stateside. You might want to check PixelMagicSystems' website for a list of distributors. Holo3DGraph cards have become quite cheap as well. Holo I cards can be found for less than $150 on ebay from to time. Just make sure to check their RGB-compatibility before buying.

I wanted to get the sweetspot if i can find it. Now i have a scart switcher which lets you switch up to 4 SCART components, and on the output is a VGA cable. Now do u think this setup would work assuming the appropriate conveter (VGA to BNC or whatever that is) cable is connected to the card?

[Fudoh]

Sounds to me that this is only an adapter cable. I guess it's highly unlikely that your switch does any sync processing, so my guess is that you've still got R/G/B and a single combined sync line in the vga plug. So, yes, this would of course still work fine.