WHAT CABLE TO CONNECT S-VIDEO TO VHS ?

[Alex_V]

Hi there,

Can somebody tell me what kind of cable to I need to connect my VHS to my video Card (MSI gforce3 ti200) using the s-video In ?

Thanks

Alex

[Bel]

Assuming your VCR doesn't have S-Video out (or in, can't tell from the question what you want to connect to what), Radio Shack has an S-Video to RCA adapter.

[TheVore]

I presume that the video card doesn't have a composite input. If it has you might as well use that if the VHS can only output in composite. Those cables are alot easier to find.

You can by various cables from your local supplier that will do the S-Video (separate chrominance and luminance) to composite conversion. The cables containa simple r-c network to do the 'conversion'. I must admit I've only gone S-video to composite and not the other way round (not sure it works). Remember when you buy a cable that they are often just video cables. Don't forget the sound may need a separate cable.

There's a neat adaptor at http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?PartNumber=180-140&DID=7

Interesting reading also at http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html

[theDruid]

Alex V,

if your VCR's got a scart input/output, you can just use a simple scart adaptor like this one:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/details.php?CartID=0209111652461446943&moduleno=13372&modulecode=

and then use a s-video to s-video cable.

These little boxes are good, as they'll also give you composite in/out and L+R audio in/out - useful for connecting your VCR to anything.

cheers,

mcdruid.

[Alex_V]

Thanks Everybody for the answers !

Actually I've got already following cable or adapter but none is working !

ADAPTER SCART to COMPOSITE (Two Sounds and one for Video)
ADAPTER COMPOSITE TO S-VIDEO
CABLE SCART (VHS) TO s-VIDEO
CABLE COMPOSITE TO COMPOSITE

This is the reasons why I was thinking (as a newbie) that those were not the rights ones. but It seems to be another kind of issue ...

So that make me think that perhaps that MSI Gforce3 ti200 does not have a capable s-video in or defect..

What do you think ?

Thanks already for the info !

Alex

[Alex_V]

Hi there,

One idea that I've got : Do I need to do special setting under virtualdub ,

Like defining the Tv channel even If I'm using a s-video connector ?
Or do I need to change the frequence of the VCR (you know the little screw that allow you to swap from frequence in order to connect two VCR together to make copy of VHS ...

I really dunno why this is not working

I forgot to tell that I also have a s-video to svideo cable, So I really think I have all the cables but still not working...

Alex

[theDruid]

alex - I may be totally wrong, but...

I think you're talking about a video/graphics card ie. video OUT

rather than a Capture Card ie. video IN.

There are cards that do both (All-in-wonder etc..), but I'm not so sure an MSI GeForce3 is one of them. I think you may be plugging your VCR output into your graphics card's TV out socket.

Try plugging the s-video of the MSI card into the INPUT of your VCR or TV - and going to the Display Properties in control panel & set up nView or Twin View (depending on which set of nVidia drivers you're using) under the Settings->Advanced tab.

If you can get your desktop to appear on the TV screen, you've got 'TV out' there, not 'capture in'.

(no offense meant if this is totally wrong and it should definitely have capture in by-the-way!!)

cheers,

mcdruid.

[edit: yep - just had a look at a review of your card at http://www.ipkonfig.com/Reviews/Video/MSI/ ... and I see composite & s-video out, but no video inputs - unless you've got a totally different version, this is not a capture card - so your VCR can't feed video into it, whatever connections you use! sorry mate!]

[Alex_V]

Hi Thedruid,

I'm sure it is a s-video IN, not because I'm an expert but just because it is written on it

No problem with that remark and thanks for your help: Better have thousand reply to my question with people willing to help me than no.

Here is a link to my graphic card for more details about it :http://www.hardwaresite.net/ms8850.html

[Alex_V]

Hi thedruid,

I've tried your good remark about nview or twinview but the propertie of my video card (in advance MSI gforce3) generated an error !

Indead I had an issue to have the capture drivers working but suceed in making them working after a flash bios vga update !

Is there something to find on this area ?

Thanks for your time

Alex

[theDruid]

alex - from that link it does look like you have s-video in as well - i am convinced!

Virtual Dub does have a different setting for antenna/composite/s-video input. I can't look at it just now, 'cause I dual boot XP/2K and I don't have VirtualDub installed under XP (where I am now)

Have you found these settings?

[Alex_V]

Actually when selecting properties - advanced and the nvidia Tab
The screen properties window carsh and generated an erro closing it...

I can not run vniew and I don't have a MX card version ( so no twinview)

I think it is abnormal that I can not run nview...
Any idea ?

Alex

[theDruid]

alex - so you've flashed the bios on your card have you? where did you get the bios update?

does the TV/capture software that came with your card work?

I'd try and get a picture & sound with that first before worrying about virtual dub. That way you know the drivers etc.. are working with the card.

it's a stupid thing, but my SCART to S-Video/Composite/L+R audio has an input/output switch - does yours? and is it set to output? does your video have more than one scart socket? are you sure you're using the right one?

sorry for asking obvious questions! but sometimes it's the obvious things you don't think of when you've been struggling to get something to work for ages!

cheers,

mcdruid

[theDruid]

alex - just read your new post.

' sounds like you're having driver problems of some sort.

What drivers have you installed? The latest nVidia detonators should work well for your the display side of your card, but I'm not sure about the capture side of it - are there win2k drivers on the CD that came with it, or any newer ones on MSI's website?

If your system's having problems when you go to display on the control panel I'd say the drivers/installation of the card is definitely this first thing you need to sort out.

cheers,

mcdruid

[Alex_V]

Yes you're right about the driver...

Unfortunately my SCart adapter does not have that switch...

I will try to play with the driver...

Concerning the software delivered with the card it is very basic but also a very weird interface... That's the reason why I sirectly switch to somethign better...

But you're right I will go back to this soft because it is surely tested to work with it..

Thanks I will keep you posted !

Alex

[Alex_V]

VERY STRANGE:

I've got an online update from MSI and it say to me following:
NVIDIA
Current Ver. 4041 Online Ver. 3000 (Release Version)
Update (7.24MB )

How comes that I got a version that is not listed by MSI ???

Alex

[Alex_V]

OK,

Now I've got the right driver (means I can go to the nview system)

but when recording still black screen...

i've tested also the video out to be recorded on my vcr but same effect...

it is black from one side to the other...

important i'm located in belgium (pal) but the settings are also pal

I'm become crazy with that video card
alex

[Alex_V]

Even When connecting a TV with the TV OUT composite of my video card using composite cable I've got nothing (scanner activated)

I will finally think that this brand new video card is not working for output and input...

What a boring issue..

Alex

[ahfairley]

Hi AlexV, both boring and annoying problem. Are you getting sound? Do you get a message in vdub that no capture card is detected. Have you made sure one of the preview options (sorry, can't remember what they're called) are checked in the vdub video window? Can you get an image with the software that came with the card?

[Alex_V]

Hi ahfairley,

No Sounds, Black Screen in preview mode enable, vdub just record like it should do but the output avi file shows only black recorded frames...

The same symptoms with wincoder (soft received with the card)

One thing that sounds bad is that the Composite Video out when connected to a TV in scanning mode (trying to find any output frequence) does not seems to work...

One question, if my card can get another output to a TV should I not have two monitor in the Properties -setting - monitor ( dual view) ?
This is not the case, how to activate it ?

Thanks for your help and time

Alex

[theDruid]

hi alex,

the nView settings can be a bit of a pain to set up. They're okay once you get the hang of them, but getting it to work the first time took me a while I seem to remember!

There are loads of tutorials on how to use the nView functions at:

http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=nview_tutorials

These might help - if you can be bothered to download all of their tutorial videos (not the best way of presenting a tutorial I wouldn't have thought - I hope you're not on a slow dial-up connection, or it'll take quite a while)

I've never looked at the tutorials myself, so they might or might not be any good.

What I do is this:

My TV-out (I use the composite one) goes into the scart adaptor box, which is plugged into the TV. The TV doesn't have to scan for this like it does for channels, or a VCR input through the antenna connector. It picks it up on AV or another channel dedicated to the scart input.

I think I have to check the 'force detection of a monitor on secondary connection' option. The TV must be properly connected to the TV out at this point.

If you then choose one of the multiple display settings - such as clone - you should get two displays showing up (in the control panel/nView window). You may have to 'select output device' and tell it that the secondary display is a (PAL) TV - I think it assumes that it's another analog monitor.

When you've done this, if you click Apply or OK, your screen should flicker and then the display appears on both monitor and TV.

If you use clone you'll have to set your monitor resolution quite low. My TV only handles up to 800x600 in full screen, and I use the lowest resolution my OS will let me - otherwise you only get the top corner of the desktop, which isn't much good for watching movies etc..

That should be it. Of course - things are never that easy !


One thing that concerns me is that you said in an earlier post that you solved a problem with " a flash bios vga update". Where did you get the BIOS update from? I'm sure you know what you're doing, but I hope you haven't messed up the card with the BIOS flash !

If you can get the TV-out working, then we can move on to the video capture!

cheers,

mcdruid.

[Alex_V]

HI thedruid,

Thanks again for the helpull info you gave me so far.

I will read those tutorials because I already spend so much time to make the capture feature working that One or two hours more is fine.

Concerning the flash bios, I use it from MSI it self , they have a kind of windows update that detects the current version of drivers and bios of MSI card (not only video) and give you the update version...

But the first issue I had with the capture driver of my video card came also from the fact that the new driver were not adapted to the current bios of the MSI gforce3 ti200. So after flashing the bios, I finally suceed in having the capture driver of nvidia working ( I means no yellow information mark in device manager under universal driver capture nvidia)

From that point, I could be able to use any capture software, actually I got always black screen. yesterday I notice that connecting a tv without cable connection was making moving the histogram of virtualdub... Ok it is a start but no sign of any recognisable image , it is still black with a very light moving movement on the screen...

Keep you posted if you still want..

Alex

[theDruid]

hi alex,

not sure how much more help I can be at this stage, but yes - let us know how you get on. If nothing else it's good to have solutions to problems on these forums incase someone else encounters the same thing & can find help searching on the forum.

Good luck with it,

mcdruid.

[Alex_V]

Thanks again thedruid,

I have a easy question: does windows 2000 supported dualview ?

perhaps that's the issue...

Alex

[TheVore]

Hi

Going back to the original source of the video, the VHS machine: It's worth checking this produces the signal you are trying to record as using the video card sounds complicated and it would help pin down the problem.

Try connecting the VHS to the composite input (assuming you have one) on your TV using your:
ADAPTER SCART to COMPOSITE (Two Sounds and one for Video)
CABLE COMPOSITE TO COMPOSITE

Then try testing the s-video capability by connecting the VHS to the s-video input on the TV (hopefully you have one, or, perhaps you have a camcorder with an s-video in)
ADAPTER COMPOSITE TO S-VIDEO
CABLE SCART (VHS) TO s-VIDEO

In each case try different scart sockets on the VHS. Dont adjust the frequency screw on the VHS it won't make any difference to the video output of the VHS. Make sure that the TV is set to look at the video connector that you are plugged into eg AV1 AV2 or AVS3 are typical "channels".

Hopefully this will give you confidence that the right signals are appearing on that s-video connector you are pluging into the video card. It may save you a lot of time trying all the different setting of the video card.

One thing to be aware of is that some TVs and possibly some video cards willblank the picture if no sound signal is present. These modern machines can be too intelligent sometimes.

Another thing to be aware of is (and I learnt this the hard way) that there isn't really defined connections for s-video on a scart lead. The spec only lists RGB and composite. However manufacturers seem to use the R connection of the RGB for the chrominance signal.

Remember if you get a greyscale picture you're only getting the luminance signal.

Good Luck!

[Alex_V]

Thanks The vore for you answer to my question.

I'm VERY HAPPY to tell all the people who help me :

YES YES YES I'vE GOT SOMETHING ON MY SCREEN !!!!
YIPEEE !!!!

Ok it is in black & white but it is a wonderfull frameset§ moving !!!

THOUSANDS THANKS TO:

The Druid,
The vore,
Ah fairley
Bel

FOR THEIR PRECIOUS HELP

IT WAS A CABLE PROBLEM :

Obsviously the cable I was using a cable that only work in one way and I was using it in the bad way. I acquire an expensive 20 buck Convertor (gold one, scart to s-video, RCA) and it works !!!

NEXT STEP: getting the color


Cheers

An happy man.. (Alex)

[mikebadger]

Hi...
a very very interesteing thread --> considering I am having exactly the same problem at exactly the same time but in a different country LOL

I am currently capturing pc games to my VHS player through a s-video out to a RCA/Scart adapter...
this after some hassle with twinview (Alex you may want to try a program called tvtools -> http://tvtool.info/index_e.htm it worked for me and I am also using a Geforce3 with WIN 2000 it got my twinview working perfectly-> cos obviosuly I needed it if I wanted to record myself playing clan matches etc!)

so now my probelm is getting VHS-> to PC just like you ALEX
I have exactly the same in Virtual dub -> blank screen but with movement in the histogram.

So you say you have half fixed the problem -> albeit black and white but you have something!

So do I need to purchase a RCA --> S-video? (so as like it is working in the right direction? as if to say the one I am currently using isnt designed to send signals in that direction??)

ok ALEX all help much apreciated matey and hopefully we can contact each other some more about how we get on

thx
MIKE

[Alex_V]

Hi Mike,

Sorry for the delay but I was on week-end...

Thanks for your message and will surely give a try to the soft you designate me.

Concerning capture VHS into your pc:
You need :

* The right driver for your card (but I presume you got it because you can do the vice versa)

* a good cable connection : in my case I've got a lot of cables but finally the winning team is
=> s-video to s-video cable + SCART to s-video , 2 RCA all in one adapter with a IN-OUT switch THIS IS THE IMPORTANT POINT...

so you use the s-video cable plugged into the s-video IN of your graphic card and to the entry of your adapter SCART on the other side.

===>> TURN the adapter switch to OUT !!!

USE a Converter 2xRCA and plug one side to headset entry of your sounds card and the other on the two RCA connectors entries of the SCART adapter (to record also the sound...)

and follow the good guide of Section capture first chapter to optmize videodub for good result...

Works fine but still have it in black and white ( surely due to NTSC or PAL )

If you can not succeed just post another message, I will be please to help you further

Cheers

Alex

[mikebadger]

hi Alex -- np with the late reply thought you had forgotten about me LOL

this is the adapter and leads i currently use.. http://www.svideo.com/svideoscart.html
as you can see it has no switch to say which way the signal is heading :S

I couldnt completely understand what you were saying about the leads...
but I am currently using s-video-->rca (which is plugged into vcr using a scart rca adapter) is this correct?

I think unless im doing something major wrong I may purchase a dedicated TV card because they have leads that come with them etc and you know it should hypothetically speaking definitely work!

ok anyway look forward to your reply

MIKE