Help! Dazzle DVC100 capture over-exposed/too bright.

[m-acrylic]

Hello.
My name is Marc Acrylic. I'm an AV archivist.

I need help with my Dazzle DVC100. It has a problem, when I capture footage off my VCR, the capture is over-exposed. I tried changing wires and it's still the same.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

[jagabo]

The software should give you access to the video "proc amp" controls which will look something like:


[Attachment 47443 - Click to enlarge]

Those will allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and more.

[m-acrylic]

The software should give you access to the video "proc amp" controls which will look something like:


Those will allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and more.

Hm. I tried this,but unfortunately, it isn't giving me access to the white balance and others.


[Attachment 47445 - Click to enlarge]

[davexnet]

Try reducing contrast and/or brightness. Best to post a sample of your capture
for more specific advice

[LMotlow]

The software should give you access to the video "proc amp" controls which will look something like:


Those will allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and more.

Hm. I tried this,but unfortunately, it isn't giving me access to the white balance and others.

Don't you know what "hue" is? I think you realize that a hue adjustment is very general and likely won't get you what you want. And if you change your mind later in the video, you'll just have to rework color all over again. That's why color is hardly ever adjusted during capture -- there are much better color controls available after capture in post-processing.

What you should worry about most during capture is valid signal levels. Adjust brightness and contrast to avoid crushed darks and clipped highlights, which can't be corrected after capture. "Brightness" adjusts black levels, "Contrast" adjusts brights and highlights. Sharpness should stay at default. Don't try to sharpen VHS during capture: all you'll do is sharpen noise and make it worse. Sharpen later.

[jagabo]

it isn't giving me access to the white balance and others.

If your cap is too bright you need to adjust brightness and contrast. White balance isn't related to the brightness, it's about the purity of whites and greys. Most capture devices (their drivers, at least) don't give access to the controls below sharpness.

[m-acrylic]

it isn't giving me access to the white balance and others.

If your cap is too bright you need to adjust brightness and contrast. White balance isn't related to the brightness, it's about the purity of whites and greys. Most capture devices (their drivers, at least) don't give access to the controls below sharpness.

I tried this too, but the picture is so bright, that the picture is hard to see, so it doesn't really work.

[JVRaines]

I really hate the way DirectX designers chose brightness and contrast as controls. They are much harder to adjust than black level and gain, which are the standard controls in pro video. Brightness moves the entire dynamic range up and down. Contrast controls the spread of the range.

If you can't bring out detail in the white areas, then the tape may have been recorded that way. This is called "clipping" and there is nothing that can be done about it. The same applies at the black end of the range. It is also possible that clipping is occurring at the VCR output if it is set too high. This is an internal circuit adjustment in the deck.

[m-acrylic]

I really hate the way DirectX designers chose brightness and contrast as controls. They are much harder to adjust than black level and gain, which are the standard controls in pro video. Brightness moves the entire dynamic range up and down. Contrast controls the spread of the range.

If you can't bring out detail in the white areas, then the tape may have been recorded that way. This is called "clipping" and there is nothing that can be done about it. The same applies at the black end of the range. It is also possible that clipping is occurring at the VCR output if it is set too high. This is an internal circuit adjustment in the deck.

The tape wasn't really made that way. Plus I've tried using the capture card on another VCR, and it didn't work sadly.

[JVRaines]

The tape wasn't really made that way. Plus I've tried using the capture card on another VCR, and it didn't work sadly.

If you have the same problem with another VCR, then it's either the tape or the card. View the tape directly on an analog display and if the problem persists, it's the tape. A problem with the card can be addressed by putting a processing amplifier ahead of it to bring down the level.