PM>Hello everybody!
Hi Peter!
PM>I have been instructed to set up my computer to allow us to perform
  >inhouse video editing.  We manufacturer several small products, and we
  >need short instructional videos (10 to 15 minutes) containing video
PM>        1:  What equipment is needed? (video capture card, which one do
  >you recommend? - I have been looking at the cards which include software
  >also, i.e. Intel smart video recorder Pro, Aitech, Orchid Vidiola
  >Pro,...).
  >        2:  What type of sound input system is required - just a basic
  >CD-ROM with speakers and microphone?
  >Any input would be appreciated.  Our needs are rather basic, so we are
  >looking to keep our expenditures under $1000.00
We have been looking into the exact same thing for my business.  The $1K
limit is going to be tight though...  Most of the reasonably priced
video capture boards suffer from either speed or resolution.  The
hardware can only run so fast and you can either have the full 340x680
but skip frames ( or run slow ) or you can go the full 30 frames/sec but
for a small postage-stamp sized screen.
I am leaning towards the miro DC1 which lists for about $700 which looks
good, gives smooth video *but* the resolution is only 240 by 320.  The
loss of image quality is very noticeable and small details ( text ) gets
lost in the blur.  For general scenery shots though, it looks great,
just poor on sharp-edged details.
I am assuming too that you already have the camcorder and lighting
equipment and software ( you wanna do titles? gotta get software! )
Anyway, there are a ton of magazines out there that cover this subject,
Digital Video, Computer Graphics News as well as "standard" hobbyist
video magazines such as Camcorder and Videography
TTYL - Dave
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 * QMPro 1.53 * Taglines: the restroom wall of BBS'ing
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