Netbook FPV ground station
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EasyCAP USB interface :
The EasyCAP is a USB capture device that sits between your AV cables and your netbook or laptop. They are available for around $10 from DealExtreme (+ free worldwide shipping), and work as well as the big brand USB capture devices for a fraction of the price. You can also use the EasyCAP to transfer your old VHS movies to your computer!
VirtualDub (it’s free!) :
VirtualDub is a very powerful yet lightweight video capturing and editing application for Windows (98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7). Get it at www.virtualdub.org. It’s totally free, and has great documentation to help you get started.
PICVideo M-JPEG Codec (only required for recording) :
Not many netbooks are capable of recording full uncompressed video, especially while previewing the video at the same time. Netbooks also have limited storage, so recording uncompressed video would fill up your drive very quikcly. The way around this is to use a fast codec to compress the video as it’s being captured – basically, this makes it easier for your netbook to keep up with the stream of video coming in from your video receiver. There are several good codecs that can be used, but after lots of trial and error, PICVideo M-JPEG codec seems to give best results. It’s not free ($99), but they do have a trial version available.
If you’re after a free codec, then try Huffyuv. Download the pre-built dll here
Once you’ve got EasyCAP installed, read the VirtualDub instructions to find out how to select capture mode and use your desired codec. The only other things you may want are a fast SD card to record your movies onto, and a sun shield for your screen (very easy to DIY using a plastic folder).
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