View Full Version : building a computer for recording mulitple cameras


Vince Cuviello
March 6th, 2004, 11:47 AM
I am looking for the right hardware and software to bulid a computer that will use 2 cameras to record at the same time and then be able to simultaneously roll both recordings back in a split screen to compare differrent angles of the subject. I have found the matrox rt.x100 has slow motin capability but is that the only card out there that does slow motion. Plus what is the best software, adobe premiere or another product for the split screen as well as drawing lines and circles around the subject.

Mike Rehmus
March 6th, 2004, 07:52 PM
You are talking about hardware switching and special effects. Not at all cheap. They can now driven by computers but they are out of sight budget wise.

Regular live to tape recording systems only put a single camera (or split) camera images to a recording. Many in's, one out.

Slow motion from a NLE isn't realtime in the sense you mean it.

Best to run two cameras separately and record two separate video streams (to disk if you wish) and then combine the tapes in a NLE in the way you wish.

Stephen Schleicher
March 8th, 2004, 11:45 AM
check out VT3 from NewTek

Cheers

Ron Evans
March 10th, 2004, 09:51 AM
It depends whether you want realtime playback or it sounds like you want to edit later. MOst NLE's will allow you to do PiP and highlight with overlay areas of interest in edit. As an example I have a Canopus DVRaptor RT2 which has record utility that allows up to 3 video feeds to be recorded simultaniously. In premiere these can be placed on the timeline in a 3 picture PiP and played back realtime. IT is easy to highlight a section using a graphic with transparency on the next higher track in Premiere. I usually have tape in the cameras but my Athlon XP2500 has no problem capturing 3 cameras at the same time to hard drive. I believe the capture utility will work as long as there is video input not just tape running.

Ron Evans

Guy Bruner
March 10th, 2004, 11:52 AM
Ask Edward Troxel how he made his Vegas 4 training DVDs. He has multiple views on them and I "heard" he used multiple instances of Vegas to capture several cameras at the same time.