Video Capture Devices

PCI Video Capture cards are usually 4 or 8 way PCI cards that plug directly into a spare PCI slot on your PC machine. Once
plugged in they allow you to connect a number of composite video sources to them e.g. CCTV cameras, camcorders etc. and the
video is then transferred into to the PC.

Once it has been converted from the analogue video signal into the digital format the PC needs, you can use all sorts of software
to allow you to set up a dedicated CCTV recording and monitoring system, stream multiple cameras over the Internet, set up a
Digital Video Recorder etc. and do all the functions, and more of a dedicated DVR but on your PC.

There are 8, 9 and 10 bit cards and the higher the number of bits the higher the resolution and
performance of the card. Cards always come with their own specialist software but some also
have drivers so they can be used with programs other than those dedicated for the card e.g. webcam
programs. Some cards use on board hardware compression which eases the PC processor strain too.

USB video capture devices usually come in single or quad versions. Single versions are best if you want to use them with
webcam programs etc. as the 4 channel versions work well with their own software but struggle with compatibility with third
party programs.

Another thing to remember when using USB devices is that there is a bandwidth limitation on your PC
so you have to be carefull not to exceed this by using too many devices at once and using up all the
bandwidth as performance will then suffer.

All that said, USB video capture devices are extremely flexible and compact and provide excellent
performance at a low price and are ideal for portable or small 1-2 camera projects, or use on a laptop.

At camsecure.co.uk you will find a superb range of PCI capture cards in all formats and also some good USB capture devices
too.