Bigger hard drive or more RAM?

[randyannie]

I keep getting "out of memory for video buffers" errors when I try to capture analog video set at any resolution higher than 320 x 240. I'm copying VHS tapes using VirtualDub.

I have 256MB RAM and 20gig HD with about 10gigs available. But, I'm wondering where I'm coming up short. Is the error related to not having enough space on my HD or from not having enough RAM.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and any advice is greatly appreciated.

Randy

[Tommyknocker]

You definitely need both if you want to continue playing with video. You should start by getting a secong BIG hard drive, nothing smaller than 80GB. use it for capturin video only. And strive to max out your system RAM as well.

[US Guy]

Sorry to say that you are wrong - memory and hard drive space are acceptable. Although more of them would not harm. His problem has to do with his configuration. And what other types of applications are also running - some are better written, yet some are simply hogs. To get to the bottom, a process of elimination need to be done.

[Tommyknocker]

Then go ahead and keep believeing that 10 GB is enough for video. I'm out of this thread.

[vcdforme]

Listen to TommyKnocker he's absolutely right!
Besides, the guy with the most posts wins.

Seriously, you need a huge HD for any kind of decent video work.
I don't know about the rest of your system.
I think it's safe to say 40 or 80 gigs would be considered minimum.
And don't forget to format that drive NTFS.

you could verify that it's your drive filling up, simply
by refreshing your C: drive (I use D and looking at the properties
in Windows Explorer,
this should tell you how much space you have as your recording.

good luck

[redwudz]

randyannie: What is your video capture board? I wasn't aware that the board you list in your profile has video in?

[hhhhbk]

go for a bigger hard drive if you can only afford one at present

also to solve your problem with out of memory error look at how much of the systems resources are being useed when the systemm is supposedly idle
things like anti virus packages and peer guardian may be draining your system

is it ddr ram or sd

i have an old system xp1700 with 256 pc2100 ddr and a 40 gig hard drive which works fine when capping off my hauppauge dec 2000

[Gregg]

This is a driver incompatibility problem. There are threads discussing this problem which I had as well. The easiest way to go is to switch to other capture programs and forget about Vdub.

Enjoy!

[randyannie]

In response to redwudz: I have an ATI TV Wonder Pro. I've updated my profile to reflect this.

Thanks to everyone, so far, who has replied to my post. The advice is good - now my wheels are starting to turn.

I think I'll start by upgrading to a 120 GB Hard Drive. Is one brand better than another when it comes to working with both analog and digital video capping?

Thanks again, Randy

[redwudz]

With that board, go to Lordsmurf.com. Lots of good information on capturing. For HD's, a 7200RPM with a larger cache is good. Most brands are similar on speed, but reliability may differ. 120GB is a good size, make it seperate from your boot drive. I would also up my memory to 512MB, won't make a lot of difference on capture speed, but will improve multitasking.

[jtommyj]

Randyannie - I see you are in the USA. If you are near an Office Max, they have a western digital 120 GB HD for 89.99 after MIR. I laso got a 160 GB WD 8MB cache at Office MAx a few months ago for 69.99 aget MIR so there are some good deals if you can wait.

Office Depot also has a Maxtor 250 GB for 159.97 with no rebate needed.

And Best Buy has 2 Seagate 8 MB drives cheap-

120 GB for 79.99 after MIR
200 GB for 129.99 after MIR

[lenti_75]

yeah, go for at least 120Gb for drive, and 512 for memory.
looks like you capture as mpeg, if you have a drive so small. try to capture as avi, then convert it into mpeg, that might help too.
and maybe is some software problem, it's possible.