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	Note: Virtual Dub is no longer supported. It has been superseded by the new mediaTV.

		Click here to learn more about the newer mediaTV

Digital Signage Capture / Tuner devices

MediaSignage fully supports Capture and Tuner cards. This allows you to connect Live analog signal from composite, RCA, S-Video, Cable or antenna devices directly onto the SignagePlayer. The Live video is assigned to specific screen division (zone) to display the Live content (for example Live TV).

The SignagePlayer also supports USB WebCam so you have the option to assign a screen division with a live camera. We will cover the requirements, hardware options and provide links to products and video tutorials so you can learn how to configure this onto your own mediaBOX.


	Why do I need a Capture device / tuner device ?

A capture / tuner card (device) allows you to input an external device such as a DVD, Cable box, tuner box, Satellite dish, game console, camcorder, security camera or any other device that outputs a signal via analog output; onto the Digital SignagePlayer. There are two options when it comes to Capture / Tuner cards: USB
or PCI/E. PCI/E capture cards are installed inside your SignagePlayer case.
USB on the other hand connect externally and we prefer USB capture devices as they are easier to work with and perform very well. Our mediaBOX already comes pre loaded with the correct drivers for the USB capture cards that we recommend. However, you may choose any capture / tuner card you like and install the supplied drivers onto the computer that you will use as your Digital Signage Player.


	Capture card vs Tuner Card. What should you use?

A Capture device only pipes through the signal of your analog input (RCA. S-Video, Composite etc.) through the capture device, passing the CPU (so if offloads any processing from the CPU) and displays it directly on the Video card. The capture device does not have any tuner decoding capabilities. In other words, it must be connected to an analog video signal (such as an external DVD). So if you wish to use Live TV from Direct TV or Dish Network for example, you will still need to use a Set top box (provided from your cable or dish provider) and connect the Capture device to the RCA / S-Video / Composite signal coming out of the set top box. If you use a set top box, you will need to flip and select channels using the remote control provided from your cable or satellite provider.

Tuner cards on the other hand can decode the TV or cable channel output directly and do not need a set top box. You will be able to choose the desired channel to tune to through the software application used in our SignagePlayer. We recommend using a capture card over tuner card as it allows an easier way to select the desired channel, provides better image quality (since the set top box usually does a better job decoding the feed) and it is simpler to configure.


	AVerMedia DVD EZMaker USB Gold MEZUSBGDR USB 2.0

	The DVD EZMaker from AVerMedia makes it easy to provide Live analog input into your Digital Signage presentation. Just use the included cable to connect the player to your computer and the software will do the rest. And best of all, our mediaBOX already comes pre loaded with the drivers for this card for both Windows XP embedded as well as Ubuntu Linux. The card is very reliable and gives a great images. It supports RCA Video and Audio as well as S-Video. For best results use this capture inside a screen division of 720x480 although the content will auto scale to fill any screen division size with NO INTERLACING (interlacing is a major problem when converting from Analog into a PC, but we have already resolved all interlacing issues using custom compiled de-interlacing drivers). The AVerMedia card can also be removed from its original plastic casing. This will reduce the total size of the capture device so you can integrate it into the front of the mediaBOX and other standard size PC cases.

	Pros: - Inexpensive - No frame drops, No interlacing - Supports Linux and Windows - Casing can be removed to a 4mm thickness

	Cons: - Does not support direct cable (requires set top box)


	AverMedia Gold EZDVD




				Buy at Amazon.com Buy at NewEgg.com Info at AverMedia


	Each capture / tuner card comes with OS specific drivers. The card posted above ship pre load and configured on the mediaBOX we sell. If you decide to use your own capture / tuner card or not use our mediaBOX you will be required to configure and install the drivers for the device you own. For Linux, we use an application called TVTime. You should review the Ubuntu Linux video tutorial below to learn more about the configuration of the Linux platform. For Windows, using the AVerMedia Gold EZMaker we use a custom compiled and enhanced version of Virtual Dub for the . The application was optimized to clean interlacing issues, provides long duration reliability through enhanced memory management and more. You should review the Windows Capture card / External Application video tutorial below to learn more about the configuration of the Windows XP / Windows 7 and Windows XP embedded platforms. For Windows, using the AVerMedia AVerTV DVR HD we use the Aver MediaCenter which ships with the original card. Be sure to select it under the External application component in the SignageStudio.

	Physical connection. How do I connect the Capture card?

	The following diagram demonstrates the physical connection between the mediaBOX and the LCD screen (television). You should connect the Audio to the TV using an earphone to RCA cable. You will connect the back pink audio output connector from the motherboard to the TV using RCA (Red/White) cable. If you are use HDMI (which also carries sound with it) you should set the TV to disable the HDMI sound input and receive its sound through the RCA Analog input instead. You can also use VGA or DVI which eliminates the need to disable the HDMI digital audio on the TV set. Note that it is recommended that you run the capture screen division at a size of 320x240 or at 720 x 480 for best performance when using SD. HD can scale up to 1920x1080.

	Other videos to checkout:

	Tutorial using TV Time and Capture Card (Ubuntu Linux)

	Tutorial using build in WebCam (AKA Capture) component (Windows Players)


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