VGA Capture

Introduction
This article will explore methods used to capture VGA and DVI signals from sources
such as PCs, servers, medical devices and embedded machines.

Once the VGA signal is captured, one can broadcast it over the web, archive it for
later viewing, or even edit the captured images/video. The main advantage of
having a VGA capture solution over a “screencasting” or screen recording software
is that no software must be installed on the source machine, and the captured
signal is a 1:1 copy of the VGA or DVI output. Many solutions exist for the capture of
VGA signals ranging from simple inexpensive solutions to high-quality diagnostic
capture devices.

VGA is used in a variety of computerized equipment, including PCs, servers,

projectors, radars, medical equipment, scientific equipment, ATMs, and more. This
article will thoroughly examine and evaluate methods that can be used to capturing
the video signal from all these devices.

Terminology
VGA – Video Graphics Array: Connector interface for transferring analog video
signal. Also known as D-SUB and RGB.

DVI – Digital Video Interface: Connector interface for transferring digital video
signal.

HDMI – High-Definition Multimedia Interface: Connector interface for transferring

digital video signal, audio signal, and has support for copy protection.

Frame Grabber – Device used for capturing a video stream and transforming it into
a format that is readable by a PC. Also referred to as framegrabber, VGA grabber,
VGA capture card, VGA capture device, RGB capture card, and others.

Capture Card – Similar to frame grabber. Internal PCI device that allows for video
capture.

Devices Used for VGA Capture

Depending on the price range, there are many ways that one can capture a VGA
signal. We will review wide range of solutions from average quality home use
consumer devices up to high quality external frame grabbers that are suitable for
recording VGA signals for educational, legal, industrial, commercial and military use.

For a low-priced solution with marginal quality and frame rate, one can use a VGA-
to-Video Converter. This device takes the VGA signal and converts it into a video
signal (RCA, component, or S-Video) which you can view on your television. You may
then use any video card, such as those from Nvidia or ATI with video-in to record the
VGA signal (now converted into an analog video stream) onto your computer.
Alternatively, you may use an external capture device such as those from Pinnacle.
In fact, since you have a standard video signal, you may just use a standard VCR
(video cassette recorder) or a DVD DVR (digital video recorder) to record the output.
All of these solutions would yield marginal quality with fairly low resolution of
640x480, but at a price point close to $100.

While the low quality VGA-to-video capture solution is satisfactory for some, more
expensive solutions exist for high quality, high frame rate, and high resolution
capture. Prices range from $300 to $3000, depending on the manufacturer and
desired quality. These devices are commonly referred to as frame grabbers, as they
“grab” an analog VGA signal and convert it into a digital USB stream that can be
interpreted by a computer.

There are two types of VGA and DVI frame grabbers in existence: external (over
USB) and internal (over PCI). To date, Epiphan Systems is the only manufacturer of
high quality compact external USB-based VGA frame grabbers.

EMS Imaging, Foresight Imaging, Unigraf, PixelSmart and Ncast all manufacture
internal PCI-based solutions. These devices all grab the VGA signal and have the
ability to save it as a series of pictures (JPEG, PNG, etc) or a video file (AVI, MPEG)
on the target computer. Some devices even support third party applications such as
Windows Media Encoder or QuickTime Broadcaster in order to let the user share and
broadcast the acquired VGA stream over the web. Frame grabbers are generally
capable of capturing really high resolutions (up to 2048x2048) with very sharp
colors and at high capture rates (up to 60 frames per second), and are deisgned for
high quality capture applications.

Which Frame Grabber to Use?

The choice of frame grabber depends highly on the capture requirements of the
user. Internal PCI frame grabbers need to be fitted into a desktop and are therefore
difficult to move across different computers. They all require specialized driver
software to be installed using administrative accounts. While suitable for home and
consumer needs they might not be the best choice for corporate, industrial and
secure environments where access to internals of signal source is limited or not
possible. External USB frame grabbers, on the other hand, are very portable,
lightweight, easy to move across different devices. They consume little power and
are easy to move around. Some external VGA capture devices, such as entry model
of VGA2USB grabber from Epiphan Systems, does not even require power source at
all.

Some applications in which external frame grabbers are the only solution include,
but are not limited to, medical device capture, air radar and marine navigation
equipment capture, scientific and military equipment capture, and the capture of
annotated courtroom evidence.

Of course, if the quality of the capture does not matter and the user has tight price
restrictions, the VGA-to-video solution described at the beginning of this article
would be optimal. In all other cases, USB and PCI frame grabbers are preferred.

In general, external frame grabbers are usually preferred for high-quality capture to
internal ones because they are easy to store and integrate into computer systems
such as a rackmount servers easily due to their small size, ruggedness, and
portability. What’s more, installing a frame grabber does not require modification of
the source device, which makes the VGA capturing proccess 100% secure. For
example, during the Torino 2006 Olympics, Epiphan Systems’ VGA2USB series of
frame grabbers were used to capture output from GE LOGIQ Book XP ultrasound
machines used to diagnose athletes and broadcast the captured signal to
radiologists over the web.

Below is a quick table summary of the different offerings:

Device Maximum Maximum Internal/Exte OS Support

Resolutio Update rnal
n Rate
EMS Imaging 2048 x 40 fps Internal Windows
XtremeRGB 1536
Epiphan 2048 x 60 fps External Windows, Mac OS X,
Systems 2048 Linux
VGA2USB Pro
Foresight 1600 x Not Internal Windows
Imaging I- 1200 specified
RGB 200
Unigraf UFG- 2048 x Not Internal Windows, Linux
03 1536 specified
PixelSmart 768 x 512 30 fps Internal Windows
Video
Extreme
Ncast DCC 1920 x 60 fps Internal Windows, Linux
3.1 1200

Overall, the Ncast DCC 3.1 has the best specifications compared out of the internal
PCI frame grabbers on the market.

Epiphan Systems’ VGA2USB Pro has the best OS support and is the only VGA
capture device that supports Mac OS X. Epiphan Systems’ solution also has the
highest maximum supported resolution.
Conclusion
For those that rarely capture VGA signals and do not need a high quality lossless
picture, the combination of a VGA-to-video adapter and a simple video capture
device would be a sufficient and low priced solution for their needs.

However, those that would like to capture lossless and diagnostic-quality images
and video from any VGA source, including secure computers, laptops, military
radars, marine navigational equipment and medical devices, require an external
VGA frame grabber. While Ncast’s DCC 3.1 device seems to be the best available
internal PCI card device, Epiphan Systems’ external VGA2USB Pro surpasses all
other VGA frame grabbers in terms of capabilities and is the best frame grabber on
the market to date.