ADVC-100 Newb - Capturing blues...

[pbemer]

Ok kill the newb,, that's me, and I do have some newbie questions. Allright, here it goes,

I just purchased a ADVC-100 and hooked it up to my pc (WinXPsp1-XP1600-512pc133-80gbWD) and it comes up as a ADC DV Recorder/Player. I did have to hook the firewire to the 4pin connector on front since my firewire card only has 6pin (I don't know if that causes a problem but I plan on purchasing a 6pin to 6pin this weekend)

So my first test was just using Windows Movie maker and it worked! Yes, I had a tear in my eye. But this is where my newbie troubles begin. Now I can create AVI files with MovieMaker, but I can't convert that AVI file into compressed mpeg file. I tried using Virtual Dub but it tells me that it can't read that type of AVI file. I also tried a trial version of AVIIO to capture, but I could never capture anything. More info In AVIIO - I could only capture in dvvl or dvvd(sp?)?? So I don't know if that may be a problem.

OK,, here's the question. What capture and converter software do you recommend for a newbie like me to get started? Also if anyone sees a problem with my setup that may be causing my capturing problems, please let me know.

Oh yeah one more, when I tried to burn the AVI file to a cd, I coastered it. I thought maybe I did something wrong and tried again, another coaster. I can burn other files and music cds without a glitch (made sure after the two coasters) so what gives???



Thanks!

[i_am_dave]

I had some problems initially getting my ADVC-100 to work. It seems the problem is that many applications out there will not work well with XP and DV input.
I ran into problems where applications couldn't build graphs, had video, but no audio. A whole world of frustration

I can get perfect captures with Ulead VideoStudio and DVD Workshop. You can download a trial from their website.
You might also want to look at DVIO. It's free.

Also, if you have a copy of Visual Studio, you might want to go to the Microsoft website and download a copy of the DirectX SDK.

I grabbed a copy last week and have been playing with around with the AMcap and DVapp programs(I hope some day to have an application I can use as a digital VCR)

Good luck!

[pbemer]

Dave- Now is that pertaining to DVI or analog as well? My main goal is to convert old family movies off of VHS.

Thanks for the info!

[petec]

I have both an ADVC-100 and an ADVC-50. In addition to each of these and installed in each of two PCs I am using a Canopus DV Raptor card which works well with with the 100 and 50. Both machines are using XP. I capture to AVI initially. I convert video portion (writing down beginning and ending frame) to MPG-2 using TMPGe. I then extract the audio to WAV using TMPGe (with external sound converter) using first and last frame written down. I then take the WAV file and convert it to AC3 (this makes it much smaller). I then create a chapter index file. I then use InfoEdit and author a DVD. I burn an image (also using a Pioneer A-05 in each of the two machines) then the DVD. I capture via SVideo from Satellite.

[jantxn]

I basically have the same set-up as you.
First, save you money on the 6 pin to 6 pin cable. I also have mine going from the 4 pin on the front panel of the ADVC-100 and it works great.

What you are lacking at this point is an editing/encoding/authoring method. As previously mentioned, I too use Ulead VideoStudio 6 (version 7 is the latest) with good capturing results. The mpg 2 encoding is pretty good at higher bit rates (7000 and above VBR) but results in rather large mpg files. This limits the amount of running time per DVDR to a little over an hour. Its also a bit slower than most for encoding.

The Authoring and buring portion of Ulead's VS has worked very well for me. No complaints at all.

As you experiment, you may want to try the CCE Basic or the MainConcept encoding engines. They both easy to use, produce good results, and are very fast as opposed to anything else available at a reasonable price.

[pbemer]

petec - Did I mention I was a newb???

[pbemer]

jantxn - CCE Basic or the MainConcept encoding engines, are they used seperately then from VStudio? I guess I may be confused the who encoding thing. Is this related to the AVI capture or AVI to MPG?

[i_am_dave]

pbemer - I use my ADVC-100 exclusively for analog to DV and DV to analog conversion.
I have pulled in many VHS tapes with a lot of success, even old washed out and jittery tapes that you have to constantly adjust tracking on.

I also own a DV camera, but connect it directly through firewire, I have never attempted to plug it into my ADVC-100.

[ironwood321]

Hi,
You will probably need to convert the DV file to a type 2 file using the freeware converter in the tools section http://www.ulead.com/download/dvconverter/dv.zip

This will allow is to be loaded into utils which don't support Type 1 DV Avi's

You also may need a DV codec http://www.mainconcept.com/downloads.shtml

Mainconcept do a very good codec. You have to pay for full version but its worth the investment.

I use the freeware btwincap from the sourceforge bt878 drivers page for video capture http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/btwincap/wdmmiscutils2.72.zip?download and then edit my footage with other tools i.e. virtualdub http://www.virtualdub.org & TMPenc http://www.tmpgenc.net/ http://www.pegasys-inc.com/ for basic editing or Premiere for NLE editing

TMPenc will allow you make your mpeg files for Video CD's, Super Video CD's or DVD's

These will be all the tools you need for basic transfer of VHS tapes to harddisks and then onto CD or DVD. Premiere is only needed for complicated video editing but other things can do like Ulead Video Studio.

If your using XP or other NT based operating system make sure you capture drive is formated NTFS. If it not you can type
convert C: /FS:NTFS
convert D: /FS:NTFS

To convert your drive to NTFS.

Also it might be advisable to get a second harddrive which you should use only for video capture and keep empty for capturing footage.

Disable any active virus killers or screensavers etc which might interupt recording and you should be fine.

[pbemer]

Hi,
You will probably need to convert the DV file to a type 2 file using the freeware converter in the tools section http://www.ulead.com/download/dvconverter/dv.zip

This will allow is to be loaded into utils which don't support Type 1 DV Avi's

I take it this why I have coastered burning those two raw AVI files then?

[jantxn]

Yes, MainConcept and Cinema Craft Basic are separate programs and would have to be used after any editing was done and before the authoring/burning process. It is basically an alternative to the encoder that is built into VS.

By the way, the reason Vdub would not accept your captured video is that the WMM captures be default (I think) to DV type I. Vdub will only accept DV type II. You would have to do a conversion after capture or capture in DV type II if the capturing software permits. In any event, Vdub only outputs AVI files (using various compression). Its sole purpose is editing and not encoding.

[ironwood321]

Hi,
I'm not to sure I understand your interpretation of coasted but I am presuming you either had a cd burn failure part way through a burn or you produced successful cds which would not play.

If you the answer is number one then this could be another problem i.e. low hard disk space or not enough memory of processing power. Your long sustained buen problem will probally have to be sorte dout before video capturing otherwise you might not be able to capture footage fast enough.

If it was number two you have to select VCD or SVCD or DVD in your software and drag on an appropriate mpg file say created with tmpenc mention above.

The Maniconcept codec will allow you to do move advanced things with virtualdub like use filters as it will allow you to re-encode footage as DV.

[pbemer]

Coastered= fragged burning a cd and now using it as a cup coaster.

I haven't been able to burn the AVI's to disk, even though I can burn other types of files..

[ironwood321]

Hi,
This is a cd burning problem and needs to be sorted.
What cdwriter software do you have? How much memory and system recourses are FREE on your computer? Are your hard disk defragmented?
Do you have any cd buffer underrun protection for your writer?
I have also seen failures on bad CD's burned to fast for the speed a drive could handle.

Do you have a pile of programs running on your computer i.e. in your systray bottom right of your computer?

[trillium]

You can also take a look at Scenalyzer which will allow you to capture in either Type-1 or Type-2 avi format. There is also a Canopus DV File Converter over in the tools section.

I personally use Scenalyzer for my ADVC-100 captures. To open the files in VirtualDub though, I believe that it will complain about a dvsd codec missing, you can use the Panasonic Codec to fix that little error (also in the tools section).

[pbemer]

Hi,
This is a cd burning problem and needs to be sorted.
1: What cdwriter software do you have? 2: How much memory and system recourses are FREE on your computer? 3: Are your hard disk defragmented?
4: Do you have any cd buffer underrun protection for your writer?
I have also seen failures on bad CD's burned to fast for the speed a drive could handle.

5: Do you have a pile of programs running on your computer i.e. in your systray bottom right of your computer?

1: Just using XP's copy to cd.
2: I have 512mg and Task Manager shows only about 3% being used.
3: HD drives are defragged.
4: Yes, I have a LG 32X with 8meg buffer. Has worked great with all other burns except the AVI's
5: Nothing else is on when I burn..

[wwaag]

I would recommend that you use Scenalyzer. As stated before, you can choose either Type 1 or 2 DV. I use type 2 since it can be directly read by Vdub and Avisynth as well as CCE Basic and MainConcept encoders. It is also compatible with Premiere for video editing.

I have also developed a simple timer (see guides) which enables you to control the start/stop times. E.g. capture things off cable/satellite during the night, etc. Its not fancy, but does work. Having a preview window is also nice just to make sure that you're capturing something. Although not freeware, I think it is well worth the small amount of $ given that you've already bought the ADVC-100.

wwaag

[pbemer]

wwaag- I just went to the scenelyzer's website to download. They have a freeware verion and a retail one. The retail one says it's only for DV. So I take it that it won't work with analog or tv? Am I correct or am I just getting confused on the analog to digital process that happens in the ADVC100?

[pb]

Why are you trying to burn DV avi to a CD?? VCD/SVCD/DVD use mpeg 1 or 2. There is nothing wrong with your setup, just use a good editing program, Ulead Videostudio 6 or 7 will capture,edit, convert and burn. Also a really good editing program is Sonic Foundry's Video Factory ver 2, opens any DV avi file, no need for converting to type 1 or 2 etc. It will edit and encode.

As the ADVC100 is a DV/analogue converter it will accept any analogue or DV input and output any DV file to DV/analogue. I use an ADVC 100 with Video Factory, Videostudio, Vegas Video, PowerVCR, NeoDVD, no problems at all.

[wwaag]

wwaag- I just went to the scenelyzer's website to download. They have a freeware verion and a retail one. The retail one says it's only for DV. So I take it that it won't work with analog or tv? Am I correct or am I just getting confused on the analog to digital process that happens in the ADVC100?

Just went to their website. I don't believe there is a "freeware" version--only a free trial version. If you like it, it would then cost $36. Suggest that you download it and try it.

I suspect that you're a little bit confused about this whole process--reminds me of myself a year ago. It WILL work with those sources. The purpose of the ADVC-100 is to convert any analog signal (e.g. TV, satellite, cable, VHS, laserdisc, etc.) into a digital video (DV) data stream. It sends the data stream over your cable into your firewire card. The purpose of the capture software (e.g. Scenalyzer) is to format the incoming data stream and store it on your hard drive. This is probably an overly simplistic explanation of a complex process.

Hope this helps.

wwaag

[pharries]

Scenalyzer is a bargain
You can capture with NTFS to huge files.
It auo scene detects far better than anything else I have tried and the AVI files open in anything!

[jowel13]

pbemer - I use my ADVC-100 exclusively for analog to DV and DV to analog conversion.
I have pulled in many VHS tapes with a lot of success, even old washed out and jittery tapes that you have to constantly adjust tracking on.

I also own a DV camera, but connect it directly through firewire, I have never attempted to plug it into my ADVC-100.

What Bitrate settings did you use to pull out those jittery tapes? I do record old shows from video, but I would like to put as many episodes as possible on a DVD but retaining the same quality as the original video.

Do you use two pass VBR as well?

[i_am_dave]

jowel13 -- I use TMPGenc 2 pass VBR, and usually base my average bit rate on the length of the video.
I have transferred as much as 4 hours onto a single DVD with good results. There is a bitrate calculator somewhere on this website that does a very good job of calculating averages.
One thing I do that really helps is to encode in 1/2 D1 (352x480). This reduces the amount of data. So you can encode at lower bitrates. This is what is coming out of your VCR anyway, do it is a waste of space to encode in full D1.

The TMPGEnc filters are very good for cleaning up the footage. I usually use the noise filter with default values, and if needed, I'll do a color correction.

Good Luck!

[trillium]

The bitrate calc:
https://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

i_am_dave, what setting do you use to encode at 1/2 D1, the last time I attempted it I ended up with video that was accelerated to about twice the speed of the original audio...I know I did something wrong but I haven't tried it since!

[pbemer]

Well guys and gals, thanks for the help on getting me all set up. All your information was great! I was able to capture a little of Will and Grace last night and burned it to a SVCD. It came out and I was able to view it off my home dvd player! Woo Hoo for me

Now, I do have some questions on quality if someone wants to help I saw some pixel loss, when the actors were moving around fast. Is that an encoding or SVCD issue? From the Capture, I didn't see any of those effects..

[i_am_dave]

trillium,

I've never seen that, what audio sample rate are you using?
What frame rate are you running?
I always run my audio at 48Khz and my frame rate at 29.97fps and haven't had any problems.

Something you might try..
Load the DVD template from TMPGenc, unlock it, and change the resolution for 1/2 D1 and burn a test sample.

Maybe that will make a difference. I've done at least 50 hours at 1/2 D1 and have never had any problems.

[pbemer]

well again, I'm new to it, so I had all the settings set at default, so I guess I'll have to play with it. Last night, I used Sonic's Video Factory 2.0 for the first time, and I'll have to see if there are any tools to change the encoding on it. VF 2.0 is actually the first software I've actually used, and I have some many to still play with.

Dave- Now this TMPGenc- is it hard to use for a newbie like me? Is it a type of program that I would need another program to capture and then use it to encode?

[i_am_dave]

pbemer,

TMPGenc is primarily an encoding tool, but it has a few other tools and a nice wizard.
It is good for the newbie and for the advance user. When I first started out a couple of years ago making VCDs, I mainly used the default settings. Now that I have been at it for a while, I mess around with some of the more advance settings.
There are several pre-defined templates for common encoding modes. I suggest you start with these or with the wizard.
One of the best things about TMPGenc is that there are a gazillion Guides on this website on everything from how to begin using it to advanced topics.

You will need another program to capture your video and to make any edits. You mentioned that you are using VF 2.0. I've never used it before, but see if you can render you editted video into DV format and use that as input to TMPGenc.

If you are looking for an all-in-one solution, I am a BIG fan of the Ulead products. They have a lot of functionality and are reasonably priced.
Also, I have had a lot of success using them with the ADVC-100 and Windows XP.Good luck

[pbemer]

dave - I picked up the demo of Ulead VS7 to try out this weekend. I will also pick up TMPGenc to mess with. Thanks for all the great info!