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You have bought a cheap EasyCAP device for capturing video (e.g. ripping old VHS tapes) and now you want to know, how to get it to work, right?

This is the right site for you if you want to use your EasyCAP on Linux.

And this is even the right site for you if you want to use any analogue video capture device on Linux.

Start on the Quickstart page.

If you want to get answers, how to use the EasyCAP on Windows you have to search for somewhere else.
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I've uploaded a new Zenity based script for viewing and capturing analogue video on Linux called tvcap-script.sh.
On the tvcap page there is a detailed description of this script.

Merry Christmas
and a happy new year!

Andrew

Compendium

Time passes on and things change.

• The Easycapdriver is now part of the kernel release (since 2.6.38). This means, that the EasyCAP DC60 works out of the box with Ubuntu 11.04 (no audio support), Ubuntu 11.10 (full ALSA audio support) and onward.
• If you need to install the driver by yourself (e.g. for previous kernel versions), you can download the sourcecode (0.9 version) from here:
  https://sites.google.com/site/viewandrecordwithlinux/file-cabinet/easycap_dc60.0.9.tar.gz?attredirects=0&d=1
• If you want to initiate further development of the easycapdriver, you can submit bugs to bugzilla.kernel.org or to the bug filing systems of the major Linux distributuins like Ubuntu.
• Mike Thomas has withdrawn the driver on sourceforge. On this site http://easycapdc60.sourceforge.net/ his statement can be found.
  Even the whole discussion on the former projectpage has been deleted. (So some links on this blog are dead now.)
• For German speaking users i wrote some articles on ubuntuusers.de wich cover the same informations than this blog.
• Some updates remain to be done on this blog, but i hope, that even in this present state this informations are useful.

Andrew

Overview

updated: April 2011

• A new version of the easyview-n-cap script has been added
  View Recording page for more information
• If you want to contact me, view my profile and use the provided email-link
• A new capturing/ recording solution (mtvcgui) has been added
  - see Recording page or mtvcgui page
• The easycapdriver has now two "branches"
  - the new 0.9 version delivers audio via ALSA
  The purpose of this release is to allow audio playback/capturing on Linux distributions where OSS is etirely disabled (Ubuntu 10.10)
  Detailed informations: http://sourceforge.net/projects/easycapdc60/forums/forum/1071438/topic/4024036
  - the recent 0.8.5 version delivers audio via OSS
• new features coming with 0.8.5. version
  - more than one video channel (4 cvbs easycap) is supported
  - more than one plugged in easycaps are supported
  - /dev/video0 can be used alternatively to /dev/easycap0
  - Zoneminder and Xawtv are now supported
  Detailed information about all the new features:
  * 0.8.4 features: http://sourceforge.net/projects/easycapdc60/forums/forum/1071438/topic/3901200
  * 0.8.5 update http://sourceforge.net/projects/easycapdc60/forums/forum/1071438/topic/3911043
  * Zoneminder http://sourceforge.net/projects/easycapdc60/forums/forum/1071438/topic/3820067

• it supports all the three different types of the easyCAP DC60 device
  see the Devices page, to identify your device
• For a quick installation guide see the Install page.
• I modified the recording script. Now it is an easy solution to invoke the viewing applications (mplayer, vlc and tvtime), or to make recordings.
  It can be downloaded from the Recording page.
  

More detailed information can be found in the open discussion on the drivers page
http://sourceforge.net/projects/easycapdc60/forums/forum/1071438

This Blog is dedicated to all owners of the EasyCAP DC60 or identical device, who want to use it under Linux.

The device has some limitations, but it is a good solution for viewing and even capturing from any analog video source under Linux.


Andrew (alias Professor Schalk)