Cheap ebay video capture cards question

[tmaly]

There is one seller on ebay that sells a ton of video capture cards that state they work with linux. The user is buy4lulu here are the cards http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbuy4luluQQhtZ-1

Has anyone purchased one and tested it on linux? I am curious as they seller has not responded to my question about the chipset on these cards.

Many thanks

Ty

[sixgunz]

If using the BT fusion 878 chipset, then should be okay as linux has support for this (however, having said that, I'm having a problem getting my 16 pt 878 to work at the moment!!)

If you are thinking of the four card combo deal, which this supplier has, be careful as these cards don't like being installed in the same system.

I have read in these forums that these cards come in four types - A,B,C and D. If you are thinking of putting more than one in your system, make sure they have different types.

[tmaly]

I really only need to cameras, but it is good to know about these cards.
Could you recommed a affordable card that would support two cameras? Also, what type of camera do you use?

[sixgunz]

Search on EBay for "dvr" or "4 port capture card" that will get you loads of matches for cards.

Just make sure the chipset is supported by linux - the best is the BT878.

As for cameras, well any camera supporting a BNC / composite output will be able to connect to the card. You may need an adapter as some cameras have bnc male and some with bnc female. Some have phono connectors, but all of these can be adapted. I have cameras with losts of different types and have managed to connect them okay!

[sixgunz]

Been looking at the card you linked to.

Looking at the markings on the chip, it is indeed a connexant, so would assume that the chipset is bt878.

There is only one chip on the card, so the chip will be multiplexed to the video ports. This means the chip will provide encoding for all 4 ports - effectively sharing the processing between them.

The result is lower framerate - the bt878 can encode up to 30fps I think, so this framerate will be divided into 4 as each port will have a share. That's why it's cheap.

Some cards have 8 chips on for 8 ports, resulting in real time encoding for 8 ports - but they are really expensive!! A lot more than what is seen in that link!

But consider the fact that you will probably be looking over the internet, so your bandwidth will probably not sustain 30fps for 2 or more channels, so this card should be okay for your needs.

[tux]

Is you will record 320x240, and don´t like too much fps, these cards run well with linux, 1 port (about 25fps),2 ports (about 5fps),3(about 3fps), 4 (about 2,5 fps).

[timfishy]

ive been looking at this UK seller selling these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 5870561336

They claim that they are a Philips chipset, but i am interested because they have a chip for each input so should get good fps.

Will i be able to get this going with ZM?

Tim

[zoneminder]

I've not heard of the Philips chipset on capture cards so I would be wary. Ideally you want brooktree or conexant type bt878 or bt848 chips or compatible.

[jameswilson]

I have a philips chipset card and as yet have been unable to get to work with linux. I beleive the newer kernels 2.6.15 and up have support for them though

[Geo99M6Z]

I picked up one of these from eBay



Cost me about $125, but I tell you what. The FPS is awesome. I was buying the 4 channel cards and they are literally 'el cheapo'

this one is awesome, works with FC3 and installs using the BTTV module

modprobe bttv

I am only using 3 channels, and each channel it can max out to 40 fps (not even ready to use that kind of speed)

[timfishy]

I want to try and get what I can from UK sellers.
Having bought things from outside of the EU before and then had to pay 20% import tax and the 17.5% VAT on top of that, a £50 card becomes £70 without the crazy shipping prices.
And then sometimes the post office charge you a handling fee on top of all that.

Tim