Major display corruption once capturing starts.

[SirSolBadguy]

First off, here's a video to use as an example:

http://studentpages.scad.edu/~cblair21/steve/Tekken.avi

This is crazy. Let me say that I have tried 2 totally different capture cards, and they are doing the exact same thing. The picture quality if fine, right up until I hit capture. I've used these cards for years so I don't know why this problem spawned up out of nowhere. Does anyone recognise what this looks like? My system specs are fine; check my profile. Thanks.

[laspis59]

Does it happen when you capture from Cable/Satellite TV or just with games?Is the software your using up to scratch?

[edDV]

The capture software needs most to all of the CPU power to keep up with the capture. If the CPU is close to max capacity, the decoding rate for the display is sacrificed in favor of a cleaner capture.

[laspis59]

Just adding to what edDV said.Make sure that all unnecessary processes are closed down before capture eg firewall ect....
Try capture at a lower frame rate.I've found that the higher the framerate the more CPU is used.
But be sure that the software you use is top notch.Research the web on this matter to find the best possible software for your task.

[SirSolBadguy]

Guys look at my profile. My comp is WAY above spec for this kind of work. And my windows install is extremely clean with not a single stray process running that's not a core component of Windows. I am not a computer noob. My cpu usage is no more then the 23% mark when capping at 640x480 29.97 fps, ok? And I am using the newest stable VirtualDub, but I have tried other programs to capture as well. This is not the issue.

So what is?

[laspis59]

Could it be the capture drivers?Have you updated them?
Are the wires you have plugged into your cap card messed up?

[SirSolBadguy]

Could it be the capture drivers?Have you updated them?
Are the wires you have plugged into your cap card messed up?

Well these are the newest drivers for both cards. One of my cards if from 3DFX from 8 years ago, and isn't supported on XP, however I use this third party driver to make it work:

http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/

My other capture card is a crappy K-World one that I practically got for free.

Either way, both of these cards worked a few months ago on the same operating system using the same driver versions as I am attempting to use now. So obviously something has changed regarding my motherboard, but I just don't know what. I don't think anyone can help unless they have seen this exact type of display corruption before. I sure hope someone has...

[edDV]

Your system should cap uncompressed fine from a 3DFX Voodoo TV 200 but you're probably borderline in horsepower for realtime MPeg2. For that try the Mainconcept MPeg2 encoder or buy a hardware accelerated capture card.

[SirSolBadguy]

Your system should cap uncompressed fine from a 3DFX Voodoo TV 200 but you're probably borderline in horsepower for realtime MPeg2. For that try the Mainconcept MPeg2 encoder or buy a hardware accelerated capture card.

I dont think you are listening. I DO capture in uncompressed, or sometimes huffyuv. Who said I capture in mpeg2? I dont like lossy formats.

[laspis59]

I see your videocard is GOOD Radeon 9800 Pro and your PC's hardware is top notch gear.I can imagine how annoyed you must feel after splashing out all that money only to get S**t captures.

[edDV]

Well you didn't specify what you were capturing in the first post.

VirtualDub in default setup is perfectly smooth for capture and monitor from my ATI-AIW8500DV card uncompressed or huffyuv at 720x480.

Try restoring defaults or try a different capture card. Almost any Pentium 4 class CPU can easily handle uncompressed capture so long as the HDD system is fast enough..

[SirSolBadguy]

Try restoring defaults or try a different capture card. Almost any Pentium 4 class CPU can easily handle uncompressed capture so long as the HDD system is fast enough..

If you don't read my posts, why do you reply to them? I already TRIED another capture card. It does the exact same thing! How can I make this anymore clear?

[edDV]

Try restoring defaults or try a different capture card. Almost any Pentium 4 class CPU can easily handle uncompressed capture so long as the HDD system is fast enough..

If you don't read my posts, why do you reply to them? I already TRIED another capture card. It does the exact same thing! How can I make this anymore clear?

Try reading between the lines or read the user reviews under capture cards. Both of your cards have suspect drivers and are regarded as poor cards. Get a decent one that somebody has heard of. It might set you back as much as $30-50.

As you say your machine is otherwise high enough spec. Using process of elimination the suspects are:

- capture card hardware (unlikely if it recently worked)
- capture card drivers
- VirtualDub setups

If you have set VirtualDub to default settings, then the problem should be obvious.

[SirSolBadguy]

If it's so obvious then why can't you tell me what the problem is?

And I am not buying a third capture card. I don't care about reviews. My cards worked a few months ago. Unlike you, I am not a wasteful human being. And if there's one thing I've learned in my computer using life, it's that running away from a problem and buying new hardware to replace it altogether, only causes many more problems.

PS, there are no decent cards under $50. Not even $75. Capture cards are one of the only forms of comp hardware that have NOT gone down in price in the past 6 years. My 3DFX cost me $100 back then, and it was $100 well spent, because the cheapie cards were much worse.

[edDV]

If it's so obvious then why can't you tell me what the problem is?

Because I can't duplicate your card, drivers or problem. Everything here works as expected at default VirtualDub settings.

[thecoalman]

Hmmm... How about a different PCI slot?

Have you tried capping at a lower resolution to see if it still exhibits the same problem, just as a test not a solution?

How about the manufacture's drivers?

Install any hardware before the problem popped up?

DirextX corrupted? Type dxdiag in the run box.

BTW there's some decent capture cards on the market for$50 and under. The Leadtek TV2000 series comes to mind right off the bat.

[crazythunder]

this is precisely why i make an image of my system when things are WORKING WELL. too bad you don't do backups regularly. with those specs, you should be able to afford drive image software. i feel your pain though. been there alot of times. personally, i'd uninstall all drivers from both cards . and then uninstall the cards from device manager..i'd then shutdown and remove the voodoo card. bootup, run a good registry cleaner, reboot. install drivers for ati card, reboot and make sure ati drivers installed ok. shutdown. install voodoo card. bootup, install voodoo drivers. if that didn't work, i'd probably try a repair of xp. then maybe a system restore, although i personally keep that disabled. i'd maybe try reinstalling directx and try different capture drivers. eventually, i'd probably format the drive and start over. then if i got it working and if i were you, i'd run to my local software store and get some imaging software immediately.

[SirSolBadguy]

Hmmm... How about a different PCI slot?

Have you tried capping at a lower resolution to see if it still exhibits the same problem, just as a test not a solution?

How about the manufacture's drivers?

Install any hardware before the problem popped up?

DirextX corrupted? Type dxdiag in the run box.

BTW there's some decent capture cards on the market for$50 and under. The Leadtek TV2000 series comes to mind right off the bat.

None of thatis going to fix the problem. I keep saying that it's not a simple issue...Yes the corruption gradually becomes less severe when I capture at lower resolutions and frame rates, but did it cross your mind that I don't want to do that? I need quality captures.

And why....WHY would I buy another capture card? No no! Don't ignore this sentence. Stop and ask yourself why. How many times do I have to say that I have tried multiple cards?! Throwing away $50 on another card that has the same problem will NOT help!

[SirSolBadguy]

this is precisely why i make an image of my system when things are WORKING WELL. too bad you don't do backups regularly. with those specs, you should be able to afford drive image software. i feel your pain though. been there alot of times. personally, i'd uninstall all drivers from both cards . and then uninstall the cards from device manager..i'd then shutdown and remove the voodoo card. bootup, run a good registry cleaner, reboot. install drivers for ati card, reboot and make sure ati drivers installed ok. shutdown. install voodoo card. bootup, install voodoo drivers. if that didn't work, i'd probably try a repair of xp. then maybe a system restore, although i personally keep that disabled. i'd maybe try reinstalling directx and try different capture drivers. eventually, i'd probably format the drive and start over. then if i got it working and if i were you, i'd run to my local software store and get some imaging software immediately.

Ok you need to accept the fact that using system images is only your preference, and not the all-time best way of doing things. I don't like the process because every single time I format and do a clean windows install (bi-monthly), I am doing SOMETHING differently then last time. Stop trying to push that crap on me.

[thecoalman]

I keep saying that it's not a simple issue...Yes the corruption gradually becomes less severe when I capture at lower resolutions and frame rates, but did it cross your mind that I don't want to do that? I need quality captures.

First............. if the corruption becomes less severe at a lower resolution (which BTW I didn't suggest as a solution but "just as a test not a solution" ).............that tells me.......... that you have a datarate tranfer problem............... which could be caused by..............

None of thatis going to fix the problem.

Don't knock it before you tried it. If your going to ask for advice at the very least try what's suggested.

[SirSolBadguy]

It's the RAID-0. Just tried capturing to an external USB drive and it's flawless.

Now, how do I fix this? My RAID-0 is set to use 16K chunks, if that's any help. I've tried changing all the various Disk I/O settings in virtualdub, but it doesn't make a difference.

[edDV]

Many have reported capture problems using motherboard RAID 0 with SATA drives.

Do a search. Most end up abandoning the RAID and everything works nifty.

Single drives are fast enough for most tasks unless you are running multiple synchronized SDI feeds..

PS: Running OS from a RAID Zero is asking for trouble. Capturing to the OS drive is iffy.

[SirSolBadguy]

I'm not giving up my RAID-0. It increases my load times in games substancially. If you know anything about the current generation of computer hardware, you should know that HDD's are way way behind all the other parts, and are bottlenecking the hell out of everything. RAID-0's are becoming a requirement.

Now if you don't have anything helpful to say, go away. I don't want your unfounded taunts.

[edDV]

Go back to gaming, your system is not set up for optimal video capture.

For video you will have OS on its own drive and video capture on separate drive(s) or separate RAID run off an appropriate RAID card not from the motherboard.

This info is for you to use or not. If you search the forum you might find a solution to SATA RAID 0.

[thecoalman]

Now if you don't have anything helpful to say, go away. I don't want your unfounded taunts.

That's not a taunt..... this is.

[SirSolBadguy]

M-hmm, I'm the newbie because I actually understand the benefit of a RAID-0. Anyone that looks down on it secretly wishes they could have it.

[edDV]

M-hmm, I'm the newbie because I actually understand the benefit of a RAID-0. Anyone that looks down on it secretly wishes they could have it.

I've been running a RAID 0 since 1993. No big deal. Multi-Terrabyte RAID video servers are common these days.

Standard drives have evolved to the point RAID isn't required for single stream capture.

What I look down on is the clueless who run Windows OS from a RAID zero.
It might be OK if data loss isn't a problem.


History Lesson: Check out what the state of the art was in 1998 for broadcast applications. Today, a single "value drive" can easily double those sustained speeds.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ULTIMATE_MAC/SCSI_CARDS/index_r4.html

[SirSolBadguy]

Can't somebody close this pointless thread? I got no help. I figured it out on my own. All I got was a bunch of little nerdy kids who have no clue what they are talking about. This forum is trash.

[thecoalman]

I figured it out on my own.

So what was the problem, Inquiring minds want to know?

*careful how you answer that, a line of bullshit isn't going to cut it here*

[edDV]

The "pointless thread" was your creation.

My utility Celeron 2.4GHz machine was running rings around your expensive rig.