WDM/VFW Question

[Tony Yip]

Just being reading the VFW->WDM threads and I'm slightly confused.

I have the following setup to to video capture:

Windows 98 SE
Hauppage WinTV capture card

I use Virtualdub and Avi_io to do video capture at 350x480
resolution in Windows98 SE and then do convert to 352x240.

This to summarize what I've read and understand so far:

If I move to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, I can't capture at
350x480 because those apps use VFW. Windows 2000/XP only support WDM apps. I need to install WDM drivers for my WinTV card and use WDM specific apps like iuVCR to capture at high resolutions like 640x480. I can use the VFW->WDM wrapper app to make VFW apps like Virtualdub and Avi_io work under Win 2000/XP but can't capture beyond xxx by 288. This is a limitation of the wrapper.

Here's my question. I'm gonna upgrade to Windows XP.

1) If I want to use Virtualdub with Windows XP, do I install the VFW drivers for Windows 2000/XP and then the VFW->WDM wrapper app to capture at 352x480?

2) Can I just use install the VFW drivers for Windows 2000/XP and then use Virtualdub to capture at 352x480?

3) Or do I have no choice but to use a WDM app like iuVCR to do the capture?

4) Can VFW and WDM drivers co-exist in Windows XP


Any help would be appreciated?

[Valnar]

Tony, Did you ever get any responses to this? Is there a problem with just using iuVCR to capture and then Virtualdub to play with the resulting AVI? I haven't tried it myself, as I'm trying to see if Virtualdub can handle 4GB+ file sizes.

[Pied-Piper]

Yes,Virtual dub can handle those files using OpenDML and Multisegment capture.Refer to VirtualDub help file for more details.

[stanwebber]

you've got it the other way around....the microsoft wdmvfw mapper allows vfw applications to communicate with wdm devices. vfw(.vxd) device drivers simply will not work under win2k/xp; win98se supports both wdm & vfw driver models. if you upgrade to win2k/xp i recommend dual-booting win98se, or instead of upgrading try http://www.98lite.net

[Torontonian]

I can use the VFW->WDM wrapper app to make VFW apps like Virtualdub and Avi_io work under Win 2000/XP but can't capture beyond xxx by 288. This is a limitation of the wrapper.

Actually it's not a limitation of the wrapper itself, because Radeon doesn't have this problem (and other ATI cards based on ATI chipset). Looks like it's a wrong communication between the mapper & conexant based WDM drivers

Your questions.
1 & 2 : you can't install VFW drivers under 2000/xp, they use only WDM. 98 can use both, but... what the joy to get stuck with old OS? in a couple of years it's gonna be like using win 3.1 now. boring.

3: iuVCR is a really good tool and it works even if it's not registered. it picks up both types of installed codecs: DS & VFW, can split the file, has schedule... it's not free, yeah, but as I said - it works.

4: they can't. actually win2000/xp won't install VFW drivers at all.

and maybe VDub will use WDM (DS) interface someday... who knows

[jpow112]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'm using Win98se with Hauppauge WinTV, WDM drivers, and have no problem capturing with AVI_IO or VirtualDUB.

The only problem is that I'm limited to a max of 352x288.

I can capture higher res's with iuVCR, but mysteriously stops every now and then.

in email correspondence with iulabs re solution

John

[Torontonian]

jpow112, you are doing everything correct. this is exactly the problem "The only problem is that I'm limited to a max of 352x288." we are struggling with -- limitattion of 288 lines for PAL/SECAM & 240 for NTSC.

[mgruber]

Try this Universal BT8xx WDM driver:
- Download it from http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/btwincap/btwdmdrvinstaller4.6.0.zip
NOTE: You can also search for "BT848" in http://sourcefourge.net if you want ot seek for newer releases.
- Extract it anywhere and run the EXE file. Don't forget to read the README text, because it has lots of useful info.
- Then when using VirtualDub, you must turn "Preview" mode on, because "Overlay" mode of HiRes frames is not suported by hardware. So it's possible, like in AT AIW to capture both fields of the frame.

NOTE: This driver is a God's Gift and far the best one I've tested. You can even turn FM tuning on using non-FM cards.

[Shabubu]

I'm using Win2k and a Hauppage PVR, though it may technically be a WDM Driver (official) it uses VFW as I can't get the WDM one to install at all (no it's not using the VFW wrapper, though I can turn it on if I want). Caps in VDub no bother, and uses all the lines. Can anyone explain how Hauppage got a VFW driver to install in a WDM only environment (and again, it's not using the wrapper).

[stanwebber]

they are not vfw drivers period. win2k/xp will RUFUSE to install vfw drivers and even if you could win2k/xp would still prevent them from directly communicating with the hardware. you even said yourself you can turn on the microsoft wdmvfw mapper and it works....the wrapper will not work with vfw drivers