ADVC300 16:9 out not working

[mediabiz]

Hi, I really hope I can get some help on this one.
I've been capturing hundreds of hours of VCR footage with a Canopus ADVC300 in 4:3 mode and everything has worked brilliantly. I tried to capture the analogue out of a DVR in 16:9 format by setting DIP switch (2) number 4 to [ON] (Aspect Ratio Enable Setting - Enabled) and DIP switch (2) number 5 to [ON] (Aspect Ratio Setting - 16:9). Unfortunately, all captured footage is still in 4:3. The captured files are 16:9 squashed to 4:3 aspect ratio.

I'm using Premiere Elements 9 and if I try to capture 16:9 footage from my digital camcorder, it is captured in 16:9 perfectly so it's not the editing software thats reading the aspect ratio flag incorrectly. Before I return the ADVC300 for service, can anybody make any suggestions on how to make it output 16:9 aspect? Alternatively, is there a way I can change the aspect ratio flag on the captured AVI file from 4:3 to 16:9 or is there software available that can convert the file for me?

Looking forward to any help.
Cheers.

[jagabo]

Both 16:9 and 4:3 content use a 720x576 frame size in PAL (note that's 5:4, not 4:3 or 16:9). The only difference is a flag that tells the player how the video should be displayed. If your editor or player doesn't automatically detect the flag just override the source aspect ratio. In PE I think you can right click on the video in the timeline and set the AR (maybe via a Properties dialog?).

[mediabiz]

Thanks jagabo,

Thats great, it worked a treat! Right clicking the clip in the timeline and then selecting "Properties" then selecting "Motion" and unticking "Uniform Scale" allowed me to adjust both vertical & horizontal size with the on-screen sliders. That could also come in very handy in the future to cut off the bottom of some captured VHS tapes I have that have sync tearing at the bottom of the screen.
Your solution fixes my immediate problem (which I'm most greatful for!!) but it still leaves the original issue with the Canopus ADVC300 not setting the DAR flag to 16:9. I did some PVR dubs a couple of years ago and it worked OK then but now it just refuses and sets all output to 4:3 regardless of the dip switch settings. The only thing that has happened since then was the plug-pack power supply for the ADVC300 died and was replaced. Even if a power spike or internal fault killed the plug pack and possibly sent a voltage spike through to the ADVC300, I would expect the ADVC300 to have failed completely rather than some obscure fault like I'm getting now with the aspect ratio problem.
Anyway, the captured video quality is still top quality and I can now work around the aspect ratio issue in PE so thanks for your help....now I just need to fix the ADVC300!
Cheers.

[DB83]

I just wonder if the problem is the source rather than the ADVC.

You appear to have described the result of the capture as anamorphic but an ADVC does not do that. It accepts 4:3 or plain 16:9.

I mention this since a long time back I also tried to do a 16:9 capture from what should have been a 16:9 source and it did not work. Take a closer look at the output from your DVR and also check from another source before you commit the unit to s costly, and possibly unneccesary, repair.

[mediabiz]

Thanks DB83,

I tried the analogue output of a 16:9 camcorder into the ADVC300 and got the same results: 16:9 material squashed down to 4:3. If I tried the same camcorder into the Firewire input on the ADVC300, Premiere Elements captures it perfectly in 16:9.
As I said, I tried capturing 16:9 output from the same PVR a few years ago and it worked perfectly: the files were all flagged correctly as 16:9 but the only difference was the editing program was "Lets Edit" by Canopus.
Cheers.

[DB83]

What does Media Info say about these errant captures ?

This will probably not help you but I just did a little experiment. I do not have a DVR but my Canopus is connected to a STB and a DVD-recorder.

The STB has 3 output settings 4:3, 4:3L (which I normally use since I only have 4:3 displays) and 16:9. I capture with Ulead Software in 4:3. The dvd-recorder is, IIRC, set to 'automatic'. But in this scenario it is not being used.

I reset my Canopus to 'capture' as 16:9 by changing the two dip-switches and also changed the STB to output as 16:9. I also selected a 16:9 capture template from Ulead. The result of that was perfect 16:9 captures and Media Info also reported 16:9

To 'test' the settings I switched the STB back to 4:3L but left everything else as it was and now I had the, as expected, stretched image but still reported by Media Info as 16:9.

I accept what you say that by connecting the camcorder as analogue to the ADVC also gives this somewhat unexpected anamorphic result but are you, just to be absolutely sure, able to connect another analogue source ? And one where you can actually alter the output display as above.

PS. I trust you did turn the ADVC off before you flicked those dip-switches.

[edDV]

...
Your solution fixes my immediate problem (which I'm most greatful for!!) but it still leaves the original issue with the Canopus ADVC300 not setting the DAR flag to 16:9. I did some PVR dubs a couple of years ago and it worked OK then but now it just refuses and sets all output to 4:3 regardless of the dip switch settings. The only thing that has happened since then was the plug-pack power supply for the ADVC300 died and was replaced. Even if a power spike or internal fault killed the plug pack and possibly sent a voltage spike through to the ADVC300, I would expect the ADVC300 to have failed completely rather than some obscure fault like I'm getting now with the aspect ratio problem.
Anyway, the captured video quality is still top quality and I can now work around the aspect ratio issue in PE so thanks for your help....now I just need to fix the ADVC300!
Cheers.

Seems like that may trigger a re-encode.

DV in 16:9 (wide mode) will look horizontally squished in 4:3 or 5:4 view. Ignore ADVC settings for aspect, it only affects the flag. Instead use your eyes. If the the video looks horizontally squished, it is 16:9 even if Premiere isn't reading the flag. Just over-ride properties and tell Premiere it is 16:9 aspect. From there Premiere will handle it correctly.

BTW, if you were capturing a wide DVD, SD-DVB, or SD-ATSC the issues would be identical.


PS: I now see you are in PAL-land. In PAL DV both 4:3 and 16:9 are horizontally squished when viewed square pixel. 4:3 a little bit, 16:9 much more.

[mediabiz]

Thanks guys,

I'll try another 16:9 source and see what happens but after reading your replies, I'm starting to think that there maybe no fault with the AVDC300 but more an issue with how PE is reading the aspect flag. I'll try another editing package and see how that goes but unfortunately I cant use Lets Edit any more as Win7 64 Bit wont even let it install let alone run! (I've tried everyway possible to install it to no avail).
I'll keep you posted.

Cheers.

[edDV]

Thanks guys,

I'll try another 16:9 source and see what happens but after reading your replies, I'm starting to think that there maybe no fault with the AVDC300 but more an issue with how PE is reading the aspect flag. I'll try another editing package and see how that goes but unfortunately I cant use Lets Edit any more as Win7 64 Bit wont even let it install let alone run! (I've tried everyway possible to install it to no avail).
I'll keep you posted.

Cheers.

Just remember the wide flag is just a bit that can be changed. You don't want to change the actual video which is 720x576 either 4:3 or 16:9.

[jagabo]

I'm starting to think that there maybe no fault with the AVDC300

About the only thing that could be wrong with the ADVC300 is a broken dip switch. You might try flicking it back and forth a few times, if you haven't done so already.

[mediabiz]

Yeah, I actually thought about a faulty dip switch as well, so I might pull the PCB from the case tonight and test switches 4 & 5 with a meter.

Cheers.

[edDV]

Or it could be Premiere Elements assumes 4:3 and doesn't respond to the flag..

[DB83]

Have you tried playing the capture in another player (VLC for example) and, again, what did Media Info say about the capture ? It should certainly report what display flag is present.

[jagabo]

Yes, the current version of MediaInfo shows the DV aspect ratio flag. GSpot too.