Custom Video Format in VirtualDub

[webfull]

I used to capture from my Sony miniDV into Premiere without problems, but when I try capturing in VDub so that I can choose my codec (Huffyuv), I'm running into problems.
I don't have a separate capture card (I'm using the camcorder's capture HW directly to my 1394 port), and here's what I see in VDub while in capture mode:
- Under Video, the only capture device that shows is "Microsoft WDM Image Capture (Win32)"
- When I try to set my video format to YUY2, it doesn't let me switch to any format other than the "dvsd, 24 bits per pixel" (error 418-unsupported video format).

I suspect it's my camcorder's capture HW not supporting YUY2 and the other formats -- am I out of luck here (meaning I have to capture in dvsd first, then convert to Huffyuv)?

Please let me know if any workarounds

[ironwood321]

Your camera only supports DV it records in DV and it outputs in DV not any other format. If you convert to another format you will be converting form DV to the other format. Its best to leave the footage in its orignal format and after editing etc output to your final mastering format.

[pijetro]

Your last line is a bit odd. Why would you even want to convert to Huffy. It should be used strictly as a capture codec. Reading up on the sites, it seems that the main codecs used for capturing should be Huffy or PicVideo, and that DV, is more like downloading rather than capturing.
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[webfull]

pijetro - good point.
I'm capturing DV and Hi-8 in Premiere using my camcorder. My final video is DVD (frameserve from Premiere to TMPGEnc). However, my captured video is very interlaced, and Premiere's deinterlace filter sucks. I got the best results if I import the AVI from Premiere in VDub, and use the area-deinterlace filter and Huffyuv - then TMPGEnc.
Obviously I'm adding an extra step (also, VDub will further increase AVI's file size), but, as I said the quality is best than everything else I tried.

So, you're right - Huffyuv is a capture codec, and that's why I'm asking if i can use huffyuv for DV capture. Sounds like I can't...

As an alternative, are there any deinterlace filters for Premiere? As I said, Premiere's deinterlacing is no good...

thanks

[vhelp]

Morning webfull,

If I'm reading you correctly, why don't you do this instead:
* First, D/L MainConcepts DV Codec (see tools to your left for
the link) THEN, install it. (reboot of course) NOW,
* Do your usually DV transfer via firewire to your hardrive
* I believe the Premiere should be able to open the DV file fine,
but VDUB should also open it now.
* So, you should be able to frameserve your DV (still in DV format)
to vdub or, frameserve form vdub to tmpg.

If you're editing first in Premiere, and then Saving As...
an Huffy AVI, then you can now elimenate this step ATG.

* Just editing in Premiere
* then, when you're ready to frameserve,
* open the DV in vdub, and
* frameserve into tmpg. (you're still in DV till tmpg encodes to
your SVCDs or whatever your goal is)

But the important thing to remember is if you have an DV codec
installed.
Note, don't Saving As... or export back to DV using the
MainConcept's codec. It will insert a watermark in every frame.

I hope I've ben helpful here.
Good luck.
-vhelp

[pijetro]

Webfull,

Have you tried using Tmpgenc deinterlace filter during frameserve? I'm not familiar at all with DV, but I do get interlacing, and Tmpgenc fixes it. Whether it's Tmpgenc or Vdub, I can't see a quality difference after the deinterlacing filter is added. They both seem to work fine for me.

[webfull]

VHELP:
I now get it about what my workflow should be - thanks a lot
I still can't get the MainConcept codec to work (my video comes out crap), but I'm using the Microsoft DV codec that came with XP and I'm fine.

PIJETRO:
I tried TMPG's deinterlace filter -- same results as Premiere's. Both filters must be doing basic deinterlace (drop 2nd frame, then blend/interpolate). The only consistently good results I get, are from an area deinterlace filter, which I can only use with VDub -- if I could get the same type of filter with Premiere or TMPG...