Intro

I wrote this guide for the all the people who are clueless about how to capture on an Xbox and Xbox 360. Capturing is very easy and this guide will walk you through what you need. Due to the ease of this topic, and the thoroughness of this tutorial, I will not be giving support. This guide is practically idiot proof. Do not IM or PM me regarding this thread as I will not answer you. If you truly want to learn how to capture, you will take the time to read this entire tutorial and learn how.

This tutorial only covers capturing and playing in standard definition simultaneously. Before you do anything, you must realize capturing requires your Xbox/Xbox 360, and computer to be in the same room basically right next to each other.

Equipment

Note: All equipment listed is just an example of what you need, the products listed are not the exact model/company you need to capture or the cheapest price. You may find other resellers that are cheaper and better, however you need all of the products listed below.

Capture Card
- You only need one. This is the most important part of capturing. Without a good capture card, you will not get good quality. If you buy an random capture card and come to the forum and beg how to get good quality, no one can help you. I recommend only the following cards. Most of the time you can buy these on eBay. The following capture cards are ordered from cheapest to most expensive in each category. They are ONLY compatible with NTSC (US and Japan). Not ALL information is listed about each card. Research before you buy.

External

Pinnacle Dazzle 90 (Dazzle DVC 90) - USB 2.0, Average Quality, very good external card
ATI TV Wonder Pro USB 2.0 - USB 2.0 - Great quality, best external card
Pinnacle Dazzle DVD Recorder (Dazzle DVC 100) - USB 2.0 - Great quality, good budget card
Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Plus (Dazzle DVC 107) - USB 2.0, Get this card as a last resort if you need external. The quality is average and they force you to use their terrible capturing program which is a resource hog on your computer.

Internal

ATI TV Wonder Pro - PCI, Installing On Vista - Great Quality
ATI TV Wonder 200 - PCI - Great Quality, basically the newer version of the Pro
ATI TV Wonder HD 650 - PCI, Vista Drivers - Best quality, the HD is referring to the TV tuner. You cannot capture HD with this card.

Xbox/Xbox 360 S-Video AV Cable
- Choose one of the following four cables

Xbox

Universal S-AV Cable - MadCatz $7.99 - Has connectors for Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, and Gamecube. Recommended if you would like to capture on more than one system.

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 S-AV Cable - Intec $14.99

Xbox 360 S-AV Cable with Component - JOYTECH $19.99 - Same as the others, except it includes component output. When recording, set the switch to TV, when not recording, set the switch to HD. Recommended if you will switch between a.) playing in standard and recording in standard, and b.) playing in HD and not recording. This cable is not required and will not allow you to play and/or record in HD while capturing. It is for your convenience so you do not have to switch entire cables when you feel like playing and capturing, but instead just set the switch.

Xbox 360 S-AV Cable - Microsoft $29.99 (Buy Microsoft's brand if your are paranoid about your warranty)

Stereo Audio Cables
- You will need two

Stereo Audio Cable [Picture] - $6.95 - You may have some lying around the house, they are male composite stereo audio to male composite stereo audio. You really only need the white and red audio, but it comes with video and it's cheaper than Monster Audio Cables. Make sure you buy the correct length.

Adapters
- You will need two

Audio Y Adapter [Picture]- $3.99 x 2

Setting Up

Connecting the Wires

-Plug/install your capture card into your computer
-Plug the Xbox/Xbox 360 S-AV Cable into your Xbox/Xbox 360
-Plug the Composite Video Cable (yellow) from your Xbox/Xbox 360, into your TV
-Plug the S-Video Cable (black) from your Xbox/Xbox 360, into your capture card
-Plug the Left Audio Cable (white) from your Xbox/Xbox 360, into the input side of the Y Adapter
~Plug the Left Audio Cable (white) into the output side of the Y Adapter and plug the other end into your capture card
~Plug another Left Audio Cable (white) into the other output side of the Y Adapter and plug the other end into your TV
-Plug the Right Audio Cable (red) from your Xbox/Xbox 360, into the input side of the second Y Adapter
~Plug a Right Audio Cable (red) into the output side of the second Y Adapter and plug the other end into your capture card
~Plug another Right Audio Cable (red) into the other output side of the Y Adapter and plug the other end into your TV

The Picture

Note:

• This picture is shown with a Dazzle 90, the Joytech Xbox 360 S-AV Cable with Component, and an HDTV.
  • The Dazzle 90 was chosen for the picture because the angle of the picture made it clear how to set it up.
  • The Joytech Xbox 360 S-AV cable with Component was chosen for the picture because it shows you how to set up it up if you have an Xbox 360 and choose to play in HD while you are not recording. All of the other Xbox/Xbox 360 S-AV cables do not have the three component video cables (Pr, Y, Pb) so just ignore them.
  • The HD television was chosen for the picture to show how to set it up if you choose to play in HD while you are not recording. If you do not have an HDTV, just ignore the three component video cables (Pr, Y, Pb).

If you want to see my setup in real life pictures, you can click here.

Start Capturing

Continue to this thread to get everything you need to begin capturing.

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nice thread.
i think this needs to be stickied.
nice job!

Thanks, I've seen so many threads like this one, but they are very complicated to understand.

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THanks you now people can stop asking even though it's the same as the xbox

Well Xbox had the Advanced A/V Pack, which some people used. Hopefully this helps a lot of people.

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People think the set up is different only thing is you need ONE different thing to capture in S video.

Someones looking for a sticky.

Anyways, good job. It's a nicely done job. Hopefully some people find help from this.

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wow i didn't know anybody made composite and S-video that is very helpful... Good thread.

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if you have a high def tv like me your yellow cable isn't needed

i have put my yellow,red,white cables in dazzle + the s-video (joytech) and record on compensite bcus then i can do pal 60. (when i leave the s video out it's still very good quality but when i pug it into my dazzle and just record on compensite it looks like it get's better dunno why)

anyway i am happy with my set up i have connected 2 cards with it and get very good quality

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Updates

I updated the text color and change the format a little bit, added some text here and there. The biggest update is the picture. It took me an hour to gather pictures and make one, please do not rip.

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