Need some help with Video Capture Cards

Hi. This is Greg, I'm not coming here to post anything, I just need help with one quick thing. My friend and I are trying to record PS2 game footage onto our computer, and I tried to order one through Dell(Capture Card)...and I asked them like 5 times if it was compatable with PS2, they said yes. So I got it, and it's not. So..my question is...Does anyone know of any good capture cards that will record things from my PS2/TV playing PS2 stuff onto my computer? If so, how much does it generally cost? And lastly, what should I look for when browsing for some kind of capturing device to check if it has PS2 compatability? I need to get one that doesn't require red/white/yellow prong things, but one of those screw in cable things. I really appreciate any help, as I have nowhere else to ask about this kind of stuff. So yep, thanks in advance.

It should be compatible, you just happen to have the wrong connector or don't have a converter to plug them together :p The TV signal data is standard on a country by country basis, so it's unlikely to be not compatible, you just need the right converter/splitter to plug them together.

What do you mean by screw in cable things? Only cables I know that you screw in are digital ones for computer displays, and not for devices that output for use on video recorders and TVs, which the PS2 falls under, so perhaps you're trying to use the wrong socket on the card?

I've not heard of the card you mentioned, so I don't know what input and output sockets it has, but whatever it has, you should be able to get an appropriate cable converter at your local electronics store.


EDIT: Come to think of it, I do know one screw in cable for TVs/videos, and that's the aerial. If you can't find a converter, next best thing to try is plug the PS2 in a video recorder, then plug the video recorder into the aerial on your capture card, since most video recorders will support that connector directly.

When I recorded footage off my PS2 onto my PC, I didn't even use a capture card since I don't have one. I plugged the PS2 into a camcorder (with appropriate converter) and the camcorder into a USB port on my PC instead, and recorded that way :D It's just a matter of finding a path to plug the PS2 into the PC with whatever's available, using whatever converter cables you need :p

Well, to be more specific, I ordered WinTV, which Dell told me would allow me to do so..I currently still have it installed on my computer and everything, but when I called the company that makes WinTV for tech support, they told me it's unlikely to work since the PS2's framerates can frequently cause the program to freeze or something? The main problem I had is I had no way to tune my card into the Auxiliary channel, which is the only channel I can get my TV to play my PS2 on. So I never even really got to try it. I can get a hold of all of the plugs and junk at a local electronic store..but is there any way I can get my PS2 to show up on a regular antenna channel like channel 3 instead of Aux? Because for some reason the software for WinTV has no option for video/aux channels. I'd rather not buy a new card if I don't have to. The actual hardware part of WinTV that I put into a USB port haasss...screw thing(You know old SNES RF adapters how you had to screw them into old TVs that don't have red/white/yellow prongs? One of those), a single yellow prong input thing, and that's about it.

I know none of that probably helped, but if I can get away with using this one I'd like to. But yeah. I guess my questions are then:

How do I get my PS2 to play on anything but an Aux or Video channel?

What plugs are necessary if I don't have a camcorder to hook it directly to the PC? Would I need to connect the PS2 or the TV to the computer?

Thanks again. Sorry if that's all confusing, but it's the best descriptions I can give pretty much.

WinTV has all you need (I had one).

You PS2 should have a yellow/red/white connector, so you need to put the yellow in guess, the yellow input of your usb device (with the composite adpater that was given to you, I think), and the white/red with an adpater in the audio line in.

Now start WinTV.
Click on "suite", then set up the tuner (ntsc, I suppose), then validate.

Then, to quote the manual:
"To set up an external video source, go into channel configuration (click on Suite on the WinTV2000 or click on Configure/Channels on WinTV-32) and click on INPUT sources. Highlight COMPOSITE and click ADD. Pick your video format and give it a name, then click ADD. Now you have an external video channel."

Haha. That was so easy. I feel dumb. Bah, thanks. I appreciate it. Thought I would have to get a new card. Freeze my ass! That lazy bastard just didn't wanna help me. No audio yet, but i'll figure it out.

Audio's usually simpler than video in my opinion, just plug the red/white phono leads into the line-in on your sound card with an appropriate converter if necessary, and almost all sound cards, even cheap ones, will have such an input.

Just make sure in Volume Control (use the little sound icon in your tooltray), the Line input isn't muted, and the computer is set to record from that input rather than from something else your sound card is capable of. You might need to go to Options > Properties in the menu to change the recording settings as well as the playback settings. Note the Line input and Microphone input are usually different on most cards, and Line is also stereo while Mic tends to be mono.