live preview (full res, resizeable) DV for winxp?

[linuxworks]

my application is a HTPC and I want to be able to watch s-video sources (like tivo) on my pc, live.

I need a resizeable window that shows FULL res quality. this isn't actually a preview of a capture - I don't actually PLAN to capture - just to display the frames and then throw each one away after that. no saving to disk.

is there an app that lets me watch DV (from a pyro DV box or a canopus advc100, etc) and get a fullscreen (and resizeable) window?

I know about windv but that's not full quality. I tried a demo of 'playDV' but that was also not full quality.

at one time, I was able to watch DV input using an old copy of 'media player classic', which had a menu item for 'open device' and I could select the DV source as the device and then watch in fullscreen mode. but lately, something broke and now I'm getting jaggies on that fullscreen display, like its being sampled at half res instead of full 720x480.

fwiw, I do have a hauppauge wintv-pvr-usb2 box that is similar to a dv capture box, but this box does mpeg encoding in hardware - which sounds nice on paper but causes a 2sec pipeline or processing delay and that fouls up the use of the remote for tivo, since you can't really do a FF or REW well in tivo if your video is 2sec behind your button presses! so I DO NOT want an mpeg stream into my pc. I want DV (I think) since its best quality and this is a WATCH ONLY application with no saving of data to disk.

ideas?

tia,

/bryan

[Baldrick]

Try CaptureFlux.

[JohnnyMalaria]

is there an app that lets me watch DV (from a pyro DV box or a canopus advc100, etc) and get a fullscreen (and resizeable) window?

Our Enosoft DV Processor. Will render the audio, too. Free for non-commercial use.
Supports automatic detection of a second display, too.

A simple double-click toggles the window from full-screen to resizeable window and back.

Also, when you plug in your camcorder, Windows' Auto Play feature will let you open the software and automatically connect to the camcorder. From there, it's just two clicks away to rendering in a window/full screen.

[linuxworks]

thanks for the quick replies!

I tried captureflux. it mostly works but it DOES have a 1 or 2 sec delay (for some reason) and the audio is very jittery and has dropouts. there is probably a bug in that version (?)

what I'm seeing now is that there is a jitter or interlace effect from the output of my tivo (directtv tivo, s-video out).

interesting that my canopus advc100 and the ads pyro BOTH show the same jitter effect. also interesting is that when I take the s-vid cable and connect directly to my tv (32" lcd, brand new) the video looks FINE again!

I wonder if the tivo output is 'noisy' like a vhs tape is? maybe something changed recently in tivo - but the menu listings ('now playing') seems to have mpeg artifacts and I'm not sure why. around the text (the telltale sign) you'll see graininess.

could that graininess cause stability or locking problems with the canopus or ads-pyro box?

before I try to solve my live-view at full res problem, I'd FIRST like to get a clean dv capture even using a non-realtime program (I have studio8 which always did a good dv to avi capture for me, in the past).

when I watch a sample of the text that was captured using studio8 (for example) the text will jitter vertically about a scan line's worth - but then lock on for a few seconds (either the upper or lower scan line - but it looks stable and fine) - but a few seconds later it will start jittering again.

I have a fairly short quality s-vid cable from the tivo to either of the capture boxes. that doesn't seem to be the issue. and also, the cable from the tivo to my 32" lcd tv is LONGER than the one from the tivo to the capture dv bridge box - so if anything, the longer run should have issues and not the shorter cable run to the converter.

could this be AT ALL a software issue? is deinterlacing part of the dv capture/display process?

should I think about a TBC? if so, which one is in the same general price and quality range as my dv media bridges?

/bryan

[JohnnyMalaria]

could this be AT ALL a software issue? is deinterlacing part of the dv capture/display process?

I'm not quite sure of your issue. Are you concerned about the "jitters" when viewing on the computer? If so, that's normal. Your interlaced source is being converted to DV, which maintains the interlacing.

If you send your captured video back to the ADVC100 and view on a TV, it will look correct.

Deinterlacing *can* be part of the DV capture/display process - specifically, the display bit.

Have you tried our program? I'd be interested in what it does with your video.

[linuxworks]

hi john,

I just tried your program. it does seem to process the data better! so i'm thinking there IS some software issue going on here. I can't rule it out, at least.

I can't get a correct fullscreen picture on your program, though. aspect ratio is messed up.

my display is 16x9 (1360x768, 32" lcd via VGA analog 'db15' input). can't drive it via DVI/hdmi due to 'industry mafia mode' (grin) but vga output on my high def tv works just fine..

your non-resizable window looks good. it would be nice to be able to resize it, though. and if I double click it to go full screen, again, I'd like to FORCE it to 4:3 instead of having it stretch to edges of my 16x9 screen...

I may have to try another windows install on a diff disk. I'm thinking something software based changed when I installed and tested a bunch of things (I tried a few hauppauge vid capture usb based products, at least 2 pci based ones, too). I tried getting the latest direct-x from MS - maybe THAT could have lowered my video quality?

on motion, I'm seeing a lot of horizontal line 'tearing' that I never noticed before. its almost like the capture is at half res and maybe even half bitrate - so that when motion occurs you get this bunch of scan lines (sort of). NOT mpeg artifacts - but more like half the vertical resolution.

maybe I need to capture some .avi and post it. I have my own webserver so I'll do that and post a link to the .avi shortly. nothing better than seeing my problem to help describe it

/bryan

[JohnnyMalaria]

your non-resizable window looks good. it would be nice to be able to resize it, though.

You can resize it - though it's not the same as resizing an everyday Windows' window. This is because of the way the DirectShow does its thing. Full instructions are in the help file (under Video Renderer Window Features) - it also provides some tips on preventing glitches in playback.

and if I double click it to go full screen, again, I'd like to FORCE it to 4:3 instead of having it stretch to edges of my 16x9 screen...

Thanks for the feedback. Actually, the full screen display is a window without a caption, frame etc. You can move it and stretch it just like the windowed version.

I've considered adding a right-click menu option to select various aspect ratios. Not sure if it will make the initial release, though.

on motion, I'm seeing a lot of horizontal line 'tearing' that I never noticed before. its almost like the capture is at half res and maybe even half bitrate - so that when motion occurs you get this bunch of scan lines (sort of). NOT mpeg artifacts - but more like half the vertical resolution.

That will depend on the DV decoder used (the MS one is used by default) and how your video hardware can support stretching the image to full screen.

The best way to view the DV image for critical reasons is the 1:1 windowed display. Stretching to full screen will always introduce artifacts.

maybe I need to capture some .avi and post it. I have my own webserver so I'll do that and post a link to the .avi shortly. nothing better than seeing my problem to help describe it

/bryan

OK - but please keep it short! 0.5 seconds will be enough. I have a slow-poke connection...