OK...this new PCTV card blows....

[therick]

Alright, I have been through this forum and the Pinnacle forum and I am ready to send this thing back. I just got this card to transfer my LDs to SVCD and record from my satellite...I upgraded from my WinTV GO for the S-Video input. Well, let me tell you...I must be doing something wrong because the quality from this card's S-Video input is AWFUL compared with my WinTV Go's composite...and the PCTV's composite?...oh man does it suck.

My system:

AMD Duron 950 mhz (VIA chipset)
512 MB PC100 RAM
10 Gig IBM Deskstar (OS)
60 Gig IBM Deskstar (Capture)
Windows 2000
Capturing using VDub and Huffy....

Well...what exactly is the quality like you ask??? I say look here:

http://people.clemson.edu/~rlrobbi/

Anyone who can help me get good quality recieves my first-born child No, really, if there are any Pinnacle veterans out there with experience in the trenches who can offer any help I would be most grateful

[NiteCretr]

Do you have the PCI PCTV Pro? We have comparable systems and I do a lot of encoding with the HuffyUV codec and VirtualDub and my captures have always been very satisfactory.

NiteCretr

[therick]

I think the only difference between the PCTV and the PCTV Pro is the sound capabilities and a remote...and I have always captured sound w/ my soundcard in stereo...so I couldn't see the point in paying $40 more dollars for something I do already and a remote...I don't watch TV with my co-ax anyway, I am only going to use the composite and S-Video....

UPDATE:

I just found out about a PCI Latency Patch for VIA chipsets that I haven't installed...I read on Pinnacle's site that PCI latency could be the cause of noisy and jumpy captures(which mine are)...going to try that tonight...but anyone else have any experience to share???

[dphirschler]

I have the PCTV Pro and have no problem with it. In fact, the quality is quite good. I use the S-video input. FWIW, I am capturing at 480x480. I have tested 640x480 and it was great as well. Have to use preview mode; can't use overlay while capturing.


Darryl

[therick]

@dphirschler

yeah, I know about preview(learned with my WinTV card)....what kind of chipset do you use...I can actually get 720x480 with no drops..you should try that...I have no drops...but the quality is so terrible! I didn't have this problem with my WinTV card....do you think that it is because the PCTV is pumping a lot more data through???

Calling all PCTV users.....calling all PCTV users....

[dphirschler]

I actually have an ATI TV Wonder VE as well. It captures just fine too. But I like the Pinnacle better. I don't have the harddrive space to capture 720x480 otherwise I might consider it. 480x480 is enough for me. My proc is an AMD 1600XP, mobo is ASUS (forget the model#).

My guess is you have some corrupt driver or setting. I bet that VIA chipset incompatibility is the key. Hopefully the new drivers you get fixes that.

Good luck. Let us know the outcome.


Darryl

[Devnull]

Mine is working pretty good, except captures above vcd res come out bad due to interlacing, and I can't seem to clean those up. I did have a few captures like yours, restarted I ran the tv program that comes with it, changed the channel and restarted virtualdub and it fixed it.

[therick]

Alright....the PCI Latency drivers didn't work...they actually blue screened my machine...so I am gonna do some serious tinkering cause I have heard of TONS of people who get good quality out of this thing at 720x480...so I will. Damn my stubborness, but this Pinnacle card will NOT get the best of me. I do have some pride, after all....

[Devnull]

hehe good luck

Im having some problems with capturing in 720x480 without dropping frames, didn't at first. I tried to install some third party capture drivers that are supposed to support this card. Didn't work, uninstalled those then reinstalled ones from cd. Not sure if that's why or what but im still working on the 720x480 captures, they seem to work unless I use compression and I have to, because my 7 gigs of free space is like 5 minutes worth of video without it.

[therick]

See, this is the thing that gives me hope....I drop NO frames at 720x480...it is just that the video is noisy as hell...see here:

www.clemson.edu/~rlrobbi

These are at 640x480...with no drops at all...just noisy as hell and the composite actually has lines and shit...so I think that I can get this peice to do what I want it to....

[therick]

@Devnull- give up dude...your quest is more likely to fail than mine...you are gonna have to get a bigger drive...sorry, I didn't read your post all the way through...and if you are trying to capture to your OS drive it is gonna be impossible...get another drive....