i've wanted to make a post about my setup for capturing 4:3 video for a bit even though i've finished very few posts actually using it, but i'm writing some, trust me lol
the setup consists of:
- a sony digital8 handycam (DCR-TRV320)
- a yamaha AV receiver (HTR-6090) (don't leave stuff on top of it like i did, the vents are there for a reason, it gets Pretty Warm)
- some random PCIe 1x firewire card with 600 6-pin and 800 9-pin input (the one in the photo is not that exact one since i'm not opening my computer to get a photo)
i've seen quite a few recommendations over time for these cheapo radioshack / no-name RCA splitters that end up costing $25-$30 after shipping and taxes, and the tradeoff of poor (or sometimes no) amplification for a smaller unit is only really worth it if you are absolutely struggling for space, or don't care about your video quality that much. use an AV receiver instead, hook up your capture card to the "VCR OUT" or anything else with "OUT" on it, then hook your game console up to any other input besides the "VCR IN / [x] IN" and you got a whole lotta watts of signal splitting baby
the handycam is the centerpiece of this whole operation, though. no drivers needed, no manual installing software, completely plug-and-play with windows 10 that records 30,000kbps (completely overkill) 720x480 at 60fps (technically 30 but it's interlaced so it's actually 60, blahblahblah), the only problem is that it saves in .AVI but it can be worked around (and also i needed to test 4 different TRRS to three-RCA plug cables to find one that didn't have ground as the sleeve, cause the input it wants is AUDIO-AUDIO-GROUND-VIDEO, respectively)
look at the huge amount of palette-cycling going on in the background in that vectorman 2 footage to represent a tornado! the bitrate handles it like a champ!
also the kicker is that all this kit cost me ~$6? way cheaper than even the cheapest USB capture card and no-name unamplified splitter lmao. when thrifting hits it fucking hits