Hi,

I'm very curious why the average fps drops significantly below 25 fps,[16-19 fps] allthough Statistics says only 27% of cpu cap is used, so cpu-exhausting cannot be the cause [cpu idle > 55%]. At the same time the capturing program [VirtualDub] is inserting frames [which are duplicates of previous frames, so i learned] When i playback the recorded avi file iam surprised by its relative good quality under these circumstances: the audio is in sync with the image The sound quality is good enough and the image is not blurred, the movements smooth, not jerky, though the resolution could be better of course [see below]. ihave tried other software as well [including Pinnaclacle's own grab], but VirtDub gives the best results so far, without dropped frames!
iam reading this forum [and other fora] for several months now, including guides on VHS capturing, but did not find a specific topic on this issue.
My final objective is to edit some irreplaceable VHS-material into a larger project, wthout commercial intentions.

iam a total noob on video capturing and would appreciate your help very much. iam very much interested in the logic behind all this, or there is none? Perhaps you can give me some tip on a Linux distribution as a better alternative, for i do not intend to upgrade Microsoft os.

capture card [PCI]: Connexant Bt878 chip [Pinnacle PCTV Rave]
cpu: 900 AMD Duron
hdd [IDE2m]: MDT ATA 120 GB 7200 RPM
AGP: nVidia GeForce2 MX/MX 400 64MB
soundcard: SB PCI Vibra 128 Ensoniq [CT5880]
512MB SDram
os: Win98
capture to AVI file
using analogue signal from VHS-recorder connected by coaxial cable fed into TV-in [ANTENNA] of the capture card
Line OUT from capture card connected to Line IN of soundcard
video: [TV-tuner] format YUY2: 352X288 [YUV 4:2:2 interleaved]
Compression codec: Huffyuv
audio: PCM 44 KHz 16-bit [no compression]
dropped frames: zero
inserted frames: a few hundred over 20 min capturing [3,5 GB avi]
captureprogram:
VirtualDub 1.6.19
capturing at 25 fps, PAL-B
use WDMcap-drivers: btwdmdrv 5.3.8 from Sourceforge.net
only standard system processes are running in the background


thanks in advance,
Wims