Sintonizador de TV analógica y captura de vídeo

TV Tuner and Video Capture Cards Bring Analog Video to Digital Storage

VHS and camcorder tapes degrade over time. Even if you have not touched them for years, most analog video and storage devices will eventually become unusable, and priceless memories or favorite recordings could be lost without you even knowing it. Transferring these recordings from analog to digital format is one way of solving this problem, and analog TV tuner and video capture devices add this functionality to your PC.

What can you use these video capture devices for?

These devices can be used to record older TV video formats and save them for use on a computer or other devices. While transferring VHS tapes is the most common use of these devices, they can also be used with a variety of older formats. Camcorders sometimes record to VHS tapes and sometimes to proprietary formats that only connect to a TV from the device that recorded them. Video game systems that use RCA or antenna outlets can also be recorded.

These formats and many others videos can be digitally encoded and stored on a PC for use on that PC or any other digital library. Unlike media stored on tapes like VHS, the digital media does not degrade over time. These capture devices often feature an internal tuner for analog signals.

What inputs and outputs are available?

These devices encode the analog video into a digital one for storage on a computer or other digital media. Most devices do this by means of a USB output or directly into the computer's memory via an internal connection. In other words, the output is generally done straight to the computer.

The input accepted for the transfer can generally come over any analog signal. The cords used are the same ones originally meant to connect these items to a TV. This includes but is not limited to:

  • TV tuner antenna
  • RCA cable
  • S-Video

Note that the devices often require the source to be in NTSC format and not PAL. NTSC is predominately used in North America, while PAL was the format used in Europe.

How can you ensure compatibility?

There are two things to consider when shopping for a TV tuner or capture device: whether your computer supports the device's hardware input and whether the software for the device is compatible with your operating system.

TV tuner and capture devices come in many different hardware configurations. The most accessible models feature USB adapters. These devices stay outside of your computer and do not require any hardware installation. You simply plug the USB adapter into your PC and connect it to the device you want to capture from.

There are also internal PC cards that require you to have the correct hardware port. Most of these models are compatible with a PCI slot and plug directly into the motherboard on your computer.

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