Recording NTCS (RCA Cable) video-out to Smartphone?

General Questions
#1

I need to record a video-out signal (NTSC). I don’t need much (only a few minutes at a time) and am trying for something small, battery powered and compact. Is there a way to record this to a Samsung Galaxy (S II), with a usb port? My initial googling hasn’t turned up much, so I thought I’d ask here.

If the smartphone isn’t an option and I resort to a laptop, what will I need in order to capture this? It’s a standard RCA cable video-out (no sound) and I assume I’ll need a converter of some type (to USB). Will additional software be needed?

Thanks for any help on this, it’s an odd problem I guess.

#2

Don’t know about what you need for a smartphone, but for a PC, something like thiswill work.

#3

Thanks TokyoBayer,

I finally found someone who’s done it with a laptop, and a version of the converter cable you linked. He says the software comes with the cable (at least his did) and allows a choice of formats (.avi, mp4, etc.). He also says most digital camcorders have a menu option to accept NTCS format, if I can find the correct cable for that.

There doesn’t appear to be any way to put it on a phone though.

#4

I really doubt you’ll be able to record from the source right into the phone without some intermediate step.

Capture the video to the laptop using something like the item linked above, and then transfer the digital video file to the Samsung phone using a USB cable or micro SD card, or whatever works best for getting files onto the device. The Samsung S2 plays a lot of common video types, so it’s likely that you will be able to find something in common between the phone and what the capture device and software can make.

I’ve had a lot of luck with Hauppauge brand video capture products and their after-sales support.

If you’re googling in the future, use NTSC rather than NTCS. The acronym actually stands for “National Television System Committee”, but I also find Never Twice Same Colour easier to remember. :slight_smile:

Oh, and if you’re strapped for cash, rig a way to hold your phone’s video camera steady in a quiet, darkened room pointed at a television playing what it is you want to record. Bring the TV and phone close enough together so the TV image fills the screen.