Have ADVC-300 but not convinced avi capture is Canopus codec

[megarogoji]

I am capturing with a Canopus ADVC-300 via S-Video cable.

After a clean install of Windows and before I plugged in the Canopus ADVC-300 or installed any of the discs that came with it, I looked at Device Manager->Sound, video & game controllers->Video codecs and noticed that there were DV codecs (both encoding and decoding) installed.

When I plug in the Canopus ADVC-300 and install the Picture Controller & Let's Edit software that comes included,. at some point the Canoups driver gets installed. However, when I capture using Windows Movie Maker or whatever, it never lets me select which codec I am using.

After I capture a file to AVI, I use G-Spot to check the codec and it tells me that it doesn't recognize it...

My questions are:

1. Where does the Canopus codec come from (ie is it on one of the discs that came with the ADVC-300)?

2. How do I select which codec I want to use when I capture?

3. How do I check the captured AVI file to ensure it was captured using the Canopus codec?

By the way, I am asking this because I was dissapointed with the capture quality and I was wondering if it was because I wasn't using the Canopus codec even though I was using the ADVC-300

[hrlslcbr]

You can't select which codec to use because the ADVC-300 uses a hardware encoder to convert everything to DV before it gets to your computer.
The difference in quality could be seen in which decoder you use.
You can download the Canopus DV codec from their website (to DEcode the video encoded by the ADVC-300).

[megarogoji]

Excellent. Thank you so much for responding that makes perfect sense.

So in other words, any DV coming out of the ADVC-300 is automatically encoded using the Canopus codec...I wonder then why G-Spot fails to recognise the AVI file as encoded with a Canopus codec even though it lists Canopus as one of the codecs in it's library that is familiar with.

Is there any tool out there that will correctly identify AVI files as Canopus-encoded?

[hrlslcbr]

Have you installed the codec?
If you already have it installed, and the canopus codec is not being used to decode your video, try changing the FourCC (in the file) to CDVC. You can check what FourCC the file has using GSpot.
The FourCC is the code that tells the player what codec must be used to decode the file.

[megarogoji]

Thanks for your response, again.

According to Windows XP, I already have the Canopus codec installed. Must have been on one of the CDs (like Let's Edit or the Picture Controller).

So I need to manually edit the FourCC of every AVI file I make with the Canopus ADVC-300? That doesn't seem right...

Surely I am not the only one who's experiencing this...

Perhaps Windows Movie Maker doesn't do a good job of labelling the DV capture...or perhaps they "re-encode" it...

[thrasimacus]

So what is wrong with the picture?
Too much "grain"? Or too dark and dull?

Encode the DV-AVI to a divx or MPEG2 and tell us if you
still think it sucks. DV-avi is not to be played and enjoyed.
It is a temp file to be edited and rendered into a final product.

I really would like to know how you feel after you make it MPEG2.
THinking about a canopus 110. My DV exp is with DV cams. They are
almost exactly the same as the ADVC110/300 in what they do and how.

[lordsmurf]

You need the Canopus decoder (codec) software to view and open to edit. The Canopus encoder (coded) is hardware.

[megarogoji]

When I use WinDV or DVIO to "capture" from my DV device (Canopus ADVC-300) , the file saves as an AVI. When I check the FourCC code of the AVI file with Gspot or abcAVI Tag Editor it tells me it's "dvsd".

I have the Canopus Decoder installed, according to Windows (it's listed in the Add/Remove Programs and it's listed as a Video Codec in Device Manager).

Why is this file being recorded as a "dvsd" when it fact it is encoded with the Canopus codec? Shouldn't it be "cdvc" instead of "dvsd"?

If I leave this file as "dvsd" and use it, say in TMPGEnc, will it use the Canopus decoder to decode it or the standard Microsoft one? Will the quality be less if it doesn't use the Canopus?

[hrlslcbr]

No, if the file has a 'dvsd' code, then the Micro$oft codec will be used.
You can use Avisynth to open the file using a codec of your choice. And load that avisynth script into Tmpgenc.

[megarogoji]

Ok, I just reformatted my hard drive and re-installed Windows. I do not have the Canopus DV decoder installed. I saved the AVi files I made from the ADVC-300 before I reformatted and tried playing them. They have the FourCC code "dvsd" and Windows Media Player played them fine.

If they are coming from the Canopus ADVC-300 and they are supposed to be encoded with the Canopus codec at the hardware level, how come they are saved as AVI files with the FourCC code "dvsd" instead of CDVC ? And if they are encoded with the Canopus codec, how come they play fine in Wondows Media Player if I definetely do not have the Canopus DV decoder installed?

I am not convinced that the DV AVI files coming from my Canopus ADVC-300 are in fact, encoded with the Canopus codec. I have absolutely no evidence that it is, but evidence that it is not.

[hrlslcbr]

OK. When the video signal gets to the ADVC-300's input, the video is encoded to DV, whether you output to a computer through firewire, or to composite or S-Video.
When the video is converted to DV, the hardware cannot use any other codec than what is on the device (the canopus codec).
The thing that makes you not believe us is that you can play the files using other codec, which is normal. Think of an MPEG-2 stream; a DVD. Do you have any idea what encoder was used to make any of the DVD's you have bought? But you can play them using: the cyberlink, intervideo, sonic, nvidia, dscaler MPEG-2 decoders, can't you?
You can also watch a video compressed with Xvid using DivX's decoder, right?

So, if you install any DV codec, ALL of them will properly decode the video (encoded with the canopus codec). If you want to make sure your vide is decoded by the canopus codec, then you can use this avisynth script:

Avisource("your captured video", fourCC="CDVC")
any other filters you may want to use

Of course, you must have the canopus DV codec installed.

[megarogoji]

So will I notice a difference in quality if I force the Canopus decoder to open these AVI files (by using avisynth or by just changing their FourCC codes to CDVC) instead of just leaving them "dvsd" and letting whatever default decoder handle them (like what seems to be the case now)? Evenutally I want to turn these AVI files into MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc but I want them to be of the highest possible quality.

[hrlslcbr]

Yep. Better quality.
You can use the reinterpolate411 filter in avisynth and you may get even better quality (only if you are capturing NTSC video).

[megarogoji]

Thanks hrlslcbr for your replies. It makes sense.

My source will all be NTSC video from VHS and Beta. Some will be originals I tapes myself, others will be dubs I got off other people. Aside from reinterpolate411, are there any other filters you recommend? The Picture Controller that comes with the ADVC-300 does the usual basic stuff (hue, saturation, etc).

[hrlslcbr]

The 'reinterpolate411' filter correctly interpolates from 4:1:1 to 4:2:2; it is not a 'colour correction filter' but a 'fix' for encoding to 4:2:2 formats (or 4:2:0 like DVD).
You can see a list of filters in the Avisynth home page.
Good luck.