VGA and its extensions are based on almost all video cards used on PC. At the same time, the video card supports a much higher color mode and resolution than VGA. The VGA standard is used in a wide range of solutions applied to engineering, medicine, science, education, etc. For a variety of reasons, most users handling this device must be able to capture images. Time-critical tasks need to be executed through image processing. You can record images, broadcast to the web, view from the remote or edit them. The ability to digitize captured images is an important function for the user of the device. The final choice must be selected according to the facility being used and the purpose of the user.
The video converter is located at the lower end of the price range among video capture solutions. The VGA converter connects the VGA output to the video input of the TV. With Svideo's VGA 2 Video you can watch videos from your computer synchronously on a TV or VGA monitor. Sewell's PC to TV converter also provides the same function.
Converters and graphic boards
In a low-cost solution for capturing video signals, you can choose a video card that supports video capture. All of these cards are offered by all major manufacturers (Matrox, ATI, NVIDIA, ASUS etc). For example, the ATI Radeon VIVO graphics board provides 3D resolution (32 bit color) and 64 MB video memory at a very competitive price. The external conversion unit allows you to connect the analog video device to the computer and the user can perform the video editing operation. Grass Valley's ADVC 110 can be connected to all digital and analog cameras. This unit does not require a power supply and there is no driver to install.
For several reasons, low quality video capture may not be convenient for the user. For example, you might need to capture video from a multi-camera system with a camera with an overall data rate higher than 100 MB / s or a high data rate camera.
Internal and external frame grabbers
If you need to perform VGA capture from military equipment or scientific equipment, high resolution and practical quality are required. For these purposes frame grabbers are used. Frame Grabber is a fairly expensive solution that provides VGA capture to USB. They capture the video signal and convert it to a digital stream. In the market there are many VGA and DVI frame grabbers with advantages and disadvantages, respectively. Frame grabber is more complicated in operation than graphic boards and converters, and it can perform a wide range of functions. The market has internal and external frame grabbers.
The internal frame grabber is a PCI card attached to the computer. Capture the video signal via the VGA port and convert it to a video file or series of images. This content will be saved in the proper format. VGA capture cards usually come with special software that may support third party applications.
XtremeRGB - Ex1 by EMS - Imaging is a PCI Express card that captures images of either VGA or DVI source. It has input mode detection function, supports 7 RBG modes, has a maximum analog RGB capture resolution of 2048 x 1536 and synchronous detection and on-card processor in real time mode. With special options you can directly select whether to transfer data to the card via system memory or affect performance. Data path VisionRGB-PRO1 captures the VGA output and displays it as an independent application. This card guarantees high performance using special dual port video memory. Capture data with a resolution of up to 1600 x 1200. PixelSmart's VGA Master is a built-in PCI card with a resolution of up to 1280 x 1024. The card comes with its own software that allows you to snap screenshots. This card supports Windows 2000. Dalsa's PC 2-Vision Express is a PCIe image acquisition board. It interfaces with standard (RS - 170 and CCIR), non - standard (progressive scan), RGB and dual channel analog cameras. PC2-Vision Express has 6 inputs and high digitization rate. The NCast digitizer DCC 3.1 card has VGA, DVI, S video, composite video input, and it works on both Windows 2000 / XP and Linux PC desktop. TopDomain XI 102 AE video capture card saves captured data in various formats (WM 9, REAL, MPEG 4) and supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1440. This PCI - E card supports multiple card operations with one PC, enabling streaming or broadcast over PAL / NTSC network.
External frame grabber is a portable and standalone solution that provides VGA capture to USB. They can connect to the PC directly to USB input or Ethernet. In this case, the remote user can view the captured stream and record it on the PC.
iPORT Connectivity Solution streams imaging or video data from analog cameras in real time over Ethernet. It converts the data into an IP packet and sends it to the GigE link. Packets are continuously transferred to the PC connected to the Ethernet. In this device, you need to install multiple software packages on PC. Microvision's MV-U 2000 external frame grabber box is a portable USB color / monochrome frame grab box with a resolution of up to 768 x 576. VRmagic 's VRmFAVC - 1 OEM frame grabber is available in both internal and external versions and has a 64 MB ring buffer to prevent loss of image data. The maximum resolution is 720 x 576. VGA 2 USB frame grabber is a workstation that works on various types of equipment equipped with Windows, Mac OS, Linux, VGA output, and can capture signals from any VGA source. The VGA 2 USB supports 13 VGA modes at frame rates up to 28.0. It captures video at a very high resolution up to 2048 x 1536. With the VGA 2 USB software you can display and save the captured data in real time and copy the captured data to the clipboard. VGA 2 USB is compatible with DirectShow on Windows and QuickTime on Mac OS X.
Make a final selection
When choosing the appropriate VGA capture solution, you can take into account the following considerations: Determines the purpose of capturing the video signal. If the image resolution provided by the video converter / capture video card is satisfactory, you should not look for expensive solutions. If you need a solution for capturing high quality images, please look at the frame grabber.
Internal frame grabber is suitable for consumer and home needs. Of course, it is not appropriate when portable equipment is preferred. You need to open the PC each time you need to install the device. This often causes concern for end users.
When installing the frame grabber, you do not need to change the source device. This provides complete security of the VGA capture process. This device is ideal for work requiring advanced data reliability. It is widely used for digital multimedia recording, webcasting, streaming media, security and surveillance, remote viewing applications.
