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How to Capture High Quality Industrial Video

This article will explain how to capture high quality industrial video from VGA source using a VGA2PCIe frame grabber. VGA2PCIe is an internal VGA capture card installed in a PCIe slot of your workstation. This solution ranks among the professional video capture cards and is ideal for industrial video capture.

Capture Hardware Required

You will need the following hardware before you start:

PC for Installing VGA2PCIe and Capturing VGA Output

A VGA2PCIe card is installed in the PC’s PCIe slot. PC is used to record video content, monitor and direct the recording process via Web interface.

VGA2PCIe Сard

VGA2PCIe is installed in the PCIe slot on the PC’s motherboard. It captures VGA signal from an external source and provides VGA PCI connection.

VGA Source

A source of VGA signal that will be recorded using VGA2USB.

VGA Cable

A VGA cable connects a VGA output to a VGA port of the VGA2PCIe card.

Step 1: Download VGA2PCIe application and drivers

Download VGA2PCIe application and drivers from the Epiphan Systems’ web site.

1. Browse to /products/ and select the VGA2PCIe product page.

2. Select the “Download” menu item.

3. Depending on the OS type installed on your PC click the appropriate command.

4. In the “File Download” window click “Open”.

5. Select a folder to save an application. The archive’s name (vga2usb) should not confuse you as this Epiphan software is suitable for various frame grabbers.

6. Click “Save”.

7. Click “Open Folder”.

8. Click “Next”. Then select destination for extracting the archive and click “Next”. The files are extracted from the archive.

9. Click “Finish”. The folder with the extracted files is displayed.

10. Double-click the setup file in the folder.

11. Now you are ready to start the installer. Click “Next”.

12. Browse to the folder where the downloaded files are installed and click “Next”. Confirm and start the installation.

13. Click “Continue Anyway”. The installation is complete.

Step 2: Connect and switch on hardware

Now you need to connect the PCIe frame grabber hardware.

1. Install the VGA2PCIe card in a PCIe slot on the motherboard of your PC. As VGA2PCIe is a 1x PCIe card it is recommended to install it into a 1x PCIe slot.

2. Use the VGA cable to connect your VGA source to a VGA In port of the card.

3. Switch on both the computer and the VGA source. Your PC detects the installed card.

4. Start the New Hardware Wizard. The software is installed automatically.

Step 3: Industrial Video Capture

1. Click on Start>All Programs>VGA2USB. The frame grabber software starts.

2. Select “Options” from the “Tools” menu in the VGA2USB application. Select the “Recording” tab.

3. Now specify that you are capturing video signal: set “Record as” to “Video” and click the “Select Codec…” button. Epiphan recommends using ffvfw MPEG-4 Codec for signal capture.

4. Now start video on your VGA source using the program’s interface.

5. Click the “Record” button.

6. Select the location for the recorded video file on your PC and click “Save”. The VGA signal capture will not start unless you click “Save”.

7. To stop recording, click the “Record” button again.

The Result

The steps above explain how to capture high quality industrial video using an internal frame grabber without quality loss. Connecting a VGA2PCIe card to your PC’s motherboard allows you to view and save VGA signal as an image or video at high resolution.

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