Video Capture Card Sale

[TonyNo]

A good deal?

4-port - $89

http://www.smarthome.com/7782B04.HTML


9-port - $179

http://www.smarthome.com/7782B09.HTML

Anyone know these cards?

 

[electron]

You can find them a little cheaper on sites such as these:

http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?src=FG&item=36660

It looks like it has a BT878 chipset, so it should work with most webcam software, but it only has 1 'cpu', so the bandwidth is shared by all 4 inputs. This means only a few frames per second per input, which isn't too big of a deal to most people, unless you want to record smooth video. I think you can find these type of cards much cheaper on eBay tho, you just have to be sure that it will work with the software you want to use.

 

[jrfuda]

The other problem with a single chip being shared by muliple inputs is that it'susually impossible to access more than one port at a time unless you use proprietory software.

I have a 4-port card made by GrandTek, which I'm 99% certain uses the same (Conextent BTCI or something like that) chipset as those cards. Using GrandTek's sofware, I can view all 4 inputs, but using and webcam software, I can only view 1 input at a time, and chaning inputs can only be performed via the WDM or DirectX driver interface.

I recently purchased 6 factory refurb'd DLink DCS900 IP cameras and are very happy with their perfomance. Since they have a built-in server, they run all by themselves. I'm getting rid of the other cameras I currently use with webcam software, with the exception of the "teddy cam" we use as a baby monitor (which is interfaced via a wireless adapter to one port on my 4-port capture card). I **may** expirement with retrofitting one of those DCS900's into the head of a teddy bear and ge rid of the wireless teddy cam all together (the low-light performance of the COLOR DCS900s are better than the B&W teddycam.)