Video8 Capture with Virtualdub/Huffyuv

[Genius]

I have a bunch of Video8 tapes of home movies from the early 90's that I am attempting to digitize for archiving while the tapes are still good. I am using the following setup...

Sharp Viewcam VL-E610 (No S Video)
USB Capture Device
PC - AMD Ryzen 5, Radeon Saphire Nitro RX580 Graphics Card, 16GB DDR4, Win10 64

I am using the original Virtualdub64 10.5 and Huffyuv codec with the same settings advised here...

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/7427-capturing-virtualdub-settings.html

I have read and read about obtaining the best quality but I have some issues. I know that the capture of old analog tapes won't be the greatest quality but I think I can do better. I'm no expert by far but I'm trying to learn as much as possible to get the best vids. I've been at this project for a while and have made improvements to my captures and exports but I am hoping some of you can help me out with the following questions or point me in the correct direction.

1. After capture, I get faint lines across the screen. Is there something I need to change in the Vdub settings to eliminate or minimize this? I can live with it as is but the issue is magnified greatly when I use the files in Premier Pro and export. I am exporting as NTSC DV. Should I be exporting in some other format?

2. As I understand, it is normal to get color saturation when capturing analog video. I have tried using the Video Proc Amp in Virtualdub however; I am unable to see the video while adjusting the settings. Is it possible to view video as you make changes in the Proc Amp so I can see what it looks like as I change settings?

3. I have tried Virtualdub2 with Huffyuv compression and I have the same issue( of course). Is there a better choice from the compression codecs that come with Vdub2? Should I import a different codec? I have tried some of the others listed in Vdub2 but the capture files are not recognized by Premier.

4. Should I be using something other than Virtualdub?

I greatly appreciate any help that can be offered. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[dellsam34]

Can you post a screen cap of the defect?
Why are you using premiere and why using a lossy codec like DV?
I would use VDUB2 and export to mp4. If editing planned capture lossless edit then convert to mp4 much much better than DV and MPEG2.
You can try AmarecTV if VDUB gave you a hard time.

[JVRaines]

1. After capture, I get faint lines across the screen. Is there something I need to change in the Vdub settings to eliminate or minimize this? I can live with it as is but the issue is magnified greatly when I use the files in Premier Pro and export. I am exporting as NTSC DV. Should I be exporting in some other format?

The lines could be a defect in the cam (most likely), the recording, or perhaps you are picking up interference on the AC line.
You should be saving with a lossless codec such as HuffYUV/AVI. Then you are only compressing once out of PP.

2. As I understand, it is normal to get color saturation when capturing analog video. I have tried using the Video Proc Amp in Virtualdub however; I am unable to see the video while adjusting the settings. Is it possible to view video as you make changes in the Proc Amp so I can see what it looks like as I change settings?

Do you mean oversaturation? (Unsaturated video is B&W.) That is not normal. It depends on the recording and the playback device. DirectShow procamp implementation often leaves much to be desired. One reason I like the Osprey card and software is that it has a live procamp for adjustments on the fly.

3. I have tried Virtualdub2 with Huffyuv compression and I have the same issue( of course). Is there a better choice from the compression codecs that come with Vdub2? Should I import a different codec? I have tried some of the others listed in Vdub2 but the capture files are not recognized by Premier.

HuffYUV is fast and reliable. Lagarith produces smaller files if you have a fast processor. FFV1 is a robust choice for longterm archiving. You can always transcode to keep PP happy; I wouldn't tailor my workflow to Adobe's peculiarities.

4. Should I be using something other than Virtualdub?

I like AmaRecTV better.

[Genius]

Can you post a screen cap of the defect?
Why are you using premiere and why using a lossy codec like DV?
I would use VDUB2 and export to mp4. If editing planned capture lossless edit then convert to mp4 much much better than DV and MPEG2.
You can try AmarecTV if VDUB gave you a hard time.

After capturing lossless from Vdub, I am using Premier in order to add files together and add text with dates, etc. I will try the method you recommend and report back. Thanks for the response.

[Genius]

1. After capture, I get faint lines across the screen. Is there something I need to change in the Vdub settings to eliminate or minimize this? I can live with it as is but the issue is magnified greatly when I use the files in Premier Pro and export. I am exporting as NTSC DV. Should I be exporting in some other format?

The lines could be a defect in the cam (most likely), the recording, or perhaps you are picking up interference on the AC line.
You should be saving with a lossless codec such as HuffYUV/AVI. Then you are only compressing once out of PP.

2. As I understand, it is normal to get color saturation when capturing analog video. I have tried using the Video Proc Amp in Virtualdub however; I am unable to see the video while adjusting the settings. Is it possible to view video as you make changes in the Proc Amp so I can see what it looks like as I change settings?

Do you mean oversaturation? (Unsaturated video is B&W.) That is not normal. It depends on the recording and the playback device. DirectShow procamp implementation often leaves much to be desired. One reason I like the Osprey card and software is that it has a live procamp for adjustments on the fly.

3. I have tried Virtualdub2 with Huffyuv compression and I have the same issue( of course). Is there a better choice from the compression codecs that come with Vdub2? Should I import a different codec? I have tried some of the others listed in Vdub2 but the capture files are not recognized by Premier.

HuffYUV is fast and reliable. Lagarith produces smaller files if you have a fast processor. FFV1 is a robust choice for longterm archiving. You can always transcode to keep PP happy; I wouldn't tailor my workflow to Adobe's peculiarities.

4. Should I be using something other than Virtualdub?

I like AmaRecTV better.

I am using Huffyuv to make a lossless copy (as far as I understand) which saves in an AVI container.

Thanks for the info on the color and brightness adjustment (which I incorrectly referred to as saturation). I know the Osprey cards are a bit pricey but if they significantly better than a USB capture device I may need to upgrade. Which card do you use and do you have to import audio separately with these cards?

Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the suggesitons. I will give AmaRecTV a try.

[Atak_Snajpera]

I personally use UT Video codec.

[JVRaines]

Which card do you use and do you have to import audio separately with these cards?

I use the 260e, which you can find used on eBay for $100-200. The proprietary breakout cable has both balanced and unbalanced audio inputs. The driver has very competent audio and well as video controls.

[Genius]

Which card do you use and do you have to import audio separately with these cards?

I use the 260e, which you can find used on eBay for $100-200. The proprietary breakout cable has both balanced and unbalanced audio inputs. The driver has very competent audio and well as video controls.

Do you know if there is any real difference in quality between the the 260e and the older 240e? I know they use a different chipset but not sure what effect this has, if any.

[JVRaines]

No, I have never used the 240e. I chose the 260e because I have sources with balanced audio.