HDTV Capture Card

[Cyrus]

So I was sitting there in disgust at the low quality picture my capture cards (Gamebridge & Radeon All-In-Wonder) output and I realized that if I were to input a signal from a Failstation 3 (or whatnot) that's HD it would still look like shit. That's assuming they had HDMI ports (or whatever) which they don't anyway so for any sort of HD input I'd have to buy a new capture card.

So at this point I'm looking around to find a good quality one but here is the dilemma, I'm looking for one that wouldn't have ANY delay so I would be able to properly play games on my monitor. That's the whole reason I bought a Gamebridge, the All-In-Wonder Radeon had a small delay making it impossible to properly play games. Is there an HDTV capture card out there which has no delay at all? Or are there any capture card models you guys would recommend looking into? Any info would be appreciated.

Edit: I don't suppose any modern video cards like the Radeon HD38XX series or GeForce 8800 cards would do the job?

[funkyass]

get a LCD monitor with an HDMI port.

[sweener2001]

a dvi adapter would work, too, wouldn't it?

then the sound would get routed somewhere more favorable.

these days, it's a lot easier and you get a much better picture just by going straight into the monitor.

i play my 360 through the vga cable on my 24" samsung 1920x1200 monitor (i love black friday). before that, i still played on my monitor at 1280x1024, and a lot of games still gave me a 720p picture, which was still perfectly fine.

[funkyass]

an hdmi to dvi adapter would not work with a PS3.

the PS3 will allow you to use either the multi-out with the Digital jack, or the HDMI connector, not the HDMI connector with another output. So you'd get video but no audio with the DVI adapter.

you could hook the PS3 via the HDMI cable to a receiver with an HDMI port, then from there to the Monitor.

most LCD's with HDMI have either speakers or an audio jack.

a better question is this: does the PS3/2(the use the same multi-out) have a vga multi-out?

[Gil_Hamilton]

an hdmi to dvi adapter would not work with a PS3.

the PS3 will allow you to use either the multi-out with the Digital jack, or the HDMI connector, not the HDMI connector with another output. So you'd get video but no audio with the DVI adapter.

Unless you sprung for an HDMI adapter with an audio tap.

But there's still another issue...
As I understand it, HDCP support is required to use the PS3's HDMI port, even for games.
LOT of DVI monitors don't have HDCP.

a better question is this: does the PS3/2(the use the same multi-out) have a vga multi-out?

PS2 has VGA capability. But it's wonky and pretty much supported by nothing.
Dunno about PS3.

[Cyrus]

an hdmi to dvi adapter would not work with a PS3.

the PS3 will allow you to use either the multi-out with the Digital jack, or the HDMI connector, not the HDMI connector with another output. So you'd get video but no audio with the DVI adapter.

Unless you sprung for an HDMI adapter with an audio tap.

But there's still another issue...
As I understand it, HDCP support is required to use the PS3's HDMI port, even for games.
LOT of DVI monitors don't have HDCP.

a better question is this: does the PS3/2(the use the same multi-out) have a vga multi-out?

PS2 has VGA capability. But it's wonky and pretty much supported by nothing.
Dunno about PS3.

Buying a new monitor didn't sound like the greatest idea anyway considering good quality ones don't come cheaper than $300 and HDTV capture cards start at $80. My current monitor is a quite good quality and I don't plan on replacing it for a while. And do you mean by VGA capability? A converter to directly connect a PS2/3 to a VGA port?

Buying a video card which can take HDMI input might be the best solution... though like I said I don't know if these current video cards take input or just do only output.

[Gil_Hamilton]

And do you mean by VGA capability? A converter to directly connect a PS2/3 to a VGA port?

Exactly.

The PS2 can output VGA signals through the existing RGB/component video pins.

But it's sync-on-green. And nothing supports it except PS2 Linux and Soul Caliber something-or-other.
I doubt it's available in PS3 mode.

Buying a video card which can take HDMI input might be the best solution... though like I said I don't know if these current video cards take input or just do only output.

Same rule you'd use with a 2x DVI, 2x VGA, or VGA/DVI mix.
Assume it's output unless it specifically says otherwise, because video cards are traditionally one-way devices.

[funkyass]

the entire point behind HDCP is prevent people coping stuff, so I doubt you'll see cards that can do video capture via HDMI

either get a monitor or a cheap tv. That being said, the PS3 doesn't look that bad on a composite connection.

[Gil_Hamilton]

the entire point behind HDCP is prevent people coping stuff, so I doubt you'll see cards that can do video capture via HDMI

either get a monitor or a cheap tv. That being said, the PS3 doesn't look that bad on a composite connection.

I hope you meant component.
The PS2 looks that bad on composite. Hell, the SNES looks that bad on composite.

[sweener2001]

there is no ps3 vga cable. the cable box thing sounds like a good workaround, though.

the reason i push for going directly into the monitor is that my card made my old xbox look like crap, even on s-video, and there would sometimes be controller lag.

BUT for a decent hdtv card, i'd look into hauppage. i know they're pretty top of the line. ati's new capture cards MIGHT be decent, but i have no clue.