AmarecTV not receiving correct video signal

[JadHC]

Hello,

I have some SECAM-L tapes I am trying to record with AmarecTv. When i open AmarecTV, I get strong yellow or magenta tint over entire video. Then i go to settings and I change the input to SECAM-L or SECAM-L1, it fixes the video to correct color. However, when I press apply/ok, the video turns back to the old setting with yellow/purple tint... Once I open settings again, i see input still set as either SECAM-L or SECAM-L1 but video is wrong colors.

I tried recording in Hauppauge Capture and I am receiving correct SECAM signal there (correct colors), I unfortunately cannot record as lossless there. Therefore, issue is in AmarecTv software, not the connection.

Is there a way to fix this, please?

Thank you

[DB83]

1. Rather than pressing 'Ok', try pressing 'Apply'

2. Try the capture as composite rather than s-video


3. Try the capture with vdub.

[DB83]

One more thought. Does an actual capture - not just the preview - show the same issue ?

[JadHC]

One more thought. Does an actual capture - not just the preview - show the same issue ?

Hello DB83,

I will try your solutions and let you know...

Regarding point 1, i press apply which corrects the color but the video freezes. Then If i want to return to capture video screen, I cannot do so unless I also confirm 'ok'. Hence, there's no way to close settings window without pressing 'ok'.

I will try your other two solutions later today as well and keep you posted. thanks for suggesting these..

Regarding the preview, I confirm I also recorded the video and recorded video had yellow/magenta tint as well. Therefore, the issue is not in preview but also in recorded video. I read somewhere here that others also had different results in preview and recorded videos so I always try to test both.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, this is very helpful

Best regards

[DB83]

My pleasure.

Just one more thought (been a fair bit of discussion about this on here lately)


You say you have Secam tapes. Were these recorded in France or elswhere ? Only France used Secam-L. Other countries used variants all of which are at odds with Secam-L


Now is your vcr a pure Secam-L machine and not one marked PAL/Mesecam ? A pure Secam-L tape can only be played back correctly in a pure or mult-standard vcr. PAL/Mesecam vcrs are not suitable for this.

[lollo]

However, when I press apply/ok, the video turns back to the old setting with yellow/purple tint...

Open, in parallel with AmarecTV, GraphEdit, select the filter "Hauppauge CX23100 Video Capture" and in this module set SECAM.

Attached an example; it's for a complete capture, you do not need it if capturing with AmarecTV, just to show you the right filter:

[themaster1]

Try VicrtualVCR (works on Win7) not sure on win10, lossless codec supported (huff, lags etc..)

[DB83]

Re-reading the OP gives me some 'clues'

Haupauge Capture only does PAL and NTSC.


Haupauge WinTV also adds (pure)Secam IIRC


So if you get a proper capture in Haupauge Capture you do not have pure Secam sources. Sometimes you have to make good with what you have. Lossless may be the aim yet you will still re-encode for distribution

[JadHC]

Re-reading the OP gives me some 'clues'

Haupauge Capture only does PAL and NTSC.


Haupauge WinTV also adds (pure)Secam IIRC


So if you get a proper capture in Haupauge Capture you do not have pure Secam sources. Sometimes you have to make good with what you have. Lossless may be the aim yet you will still re-encode for distribution

Hello DB83,

apologies, I should have enclosed screenshot from Hauppauge Capture as well in my original post, it would have cleared-up some of your questions sooner.

To answer your questions:

1. The tapes are true SECAM-L. The tapes contain recordings from French TV station (Paris Premiere) and all tapes were physically recorded in Paris, France as well on SECAM VCR.

2. Previously, I was testing tapes on PANASONIC NV-FS200 (NTSC,PAL,MESECAM type). I played PAL tapes on this VCR and they were in color. I played French tapes on this VCR and they were black & white (common problem when you play SECAM tapes on PAL VCR).

3. I now acquired JVC HR-S9700MS which is true SECAM-L VCR (compared to JVC HR-S9700 which is its PAL version). On this VCR, the SECAM-L French tapes are being played in color.

4. Before the VCR arrived, i talked to Hauppauge support. I talked to Elton and asked if Hauppauge supports SECAM-L, he said yes.

5. When i launch Hauppauge Capture, it does offer SECAM standard on top of PAL/NTSC. And video was being played correctly as true SECAM in correct colors. (I attach screenshot this time). It was just the compression/low quality I had issue with.

6. The problem was AmarecTv was not properly reading it as SECAM despite correct setting, however, lollo's answer fixed the issue for me so I will reply to him separately.

Thanks for your comments, it was very helpful.

[JadHC]

However, when I press apply/ok, the video turns back to the old setting with yellow/purple tint...

Open, in parallel with AmarecTV, GraphEdit, select the filter "Hauppauge CX23100 Video Capture" and in this module set SECAM.

Attached an example; it's for a complete capture, you do not need it if capturing with AmarecTV, just to show you the right filter:


[Attachment 69775 - Click to enlarge]

Hello lollo,

you are a true superstar and lifesaver... (literally). I tried your solution and it worked like a charm! I also did test recordings and the recordings are in correct color AND in much better quality than my Hauppauge capture. Thanks a lot for your help

You should get a medal

[lollo]

You're welcome.

BTW, another workaround is to disinstall the drivers and the software and reinstall the driver not in stand-alone mode but with the Hauppage software, choosing since the beginning the SECAM setting.

A lossless HuffYUV capture is superior, no doubt; if you plan any restoration is even more important.
However, when I compare a lossless capture with a mpeg2 capture at 10mbps the difference is not very big: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/401818-Best-VHS-device-capture-and-software-for-Wi...10#post2619614

The key factor is noise: if you have a high amount of noise in your source, the mpeg2 encoding has a difficult task.

In any case, stay with lossless and you'll never be wrong!

Edit: I see in your small picture that you have some distortion on the vertical lines, because unfortunately the lineTBC (Digital T.B.C./N.R.) of the JVC HR-S9700MS is not active for SECAM tapes. You may need to add a DVD-R recorder in pass-trough mode, not sure it will work for SECAM signals.

[DB83]

For my part, I must apologise.

I have often stated that one should NEVER respond before the 2nd coffee of the day. Whilst I have both WinTV and Hauppage Capture I did not check either since I know that WinTv supports PAL60 yet I do not recall Hauppauge Capture not supporting that which led me to confuse the issue.


Even so, I hope I clarified the issue of PAL/MeSecam vcrs against pure PAL-L vcrs - an issue which you found out.


But glad to read that your issue is now resolved - I only came across French Tv channels when they switched to PAL(digital ?) when one could, with the right card, view them on a UK receiver.


Not really relevant here but there is a mirror analogy. Being a 'collector' of film that has different versions for different countries, I did outsource one film available in France which had content what was not available eleshere. When I received the dvd, even from a French national, the skin tones were very 'Yellow'. Which kinda reminded me of these original issues.

[JadHC]

You're welcome.

BTW, another workaround is to disinstall the drivers and the software and reinstall the driver not in stand-alone mode but with the Hauppage software, choosing since the beginning the SECAM setting.

A lossless HuffYUV capture is superior, no doubt; if you plan any restoration is even more important.
However, when I compare a lossless capture with a mpeg2 capture at 10mbps the difference is not very big: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/401818-Best-VHS-device-capture-and-software-for-Wi...10#post2619614

The key factor is noise: if you have a high amount of noise in your source, the mpeg2 encoding has a difficult task.

In any case, stay with lossless and you'll never be wrong!

Edit: I see in your small picture that you have some distortion on the vertical lines, because unfortunately the lineTBC (Digital T.B.C./N.R.) of the JVC HR-S9700MS is not active for SECAM tapes. You may need to add a DVD-R recorder in pass-trough mode, not sure it will work for SECAM signals.

Hi lollo,

thank you very much for all your inputs. this is very helpful. Firstly, apologies for late reply, i went on 2-week last minute vacation that was not planned before-hand and did not have time to respond prior my departure.

I tried reinstalling hauppauge capture and drivers and set as secam, but i still receive wrong signal in AmarecTv. Ill try to reinstall both HP Capture & WinTv over Easter holidays. Otherwise, i dont mind using graphedt, im trully excited that I can now finally record videos properly
Just a quick q, in graphedt, What setting do you use for sharpness, please? The default for Hauppauge is 50 and I set it 100 for the input video. the video was much clearer but not sure if it is better to fix sharpness when recording or record blurry video and fix later in AviSynth+.

Thanks. Ill install HuffYUV. I was using Lagarith but am curious about HuffYUV and happy if it will have better results

On the TBC, i will post a separate topic as this was an issue for me xD (you are reading my mind) and I will also attach sample video.

ps: 2 months ago, i was watching your digitizing videos on youtube and never had a chance to compliment you on your results. You have truly beautiful captures and i loved the details in your 80s space tv show You're very talented

[JadHC]

For my part, I must apologise.

I have often stated that one should NEVER respond before the 2nd coffee of the day. Whilst I have both WinTV and Hauppage Capture I did not check either since I know that WinTv supports PAL60 yet I do not recall Hauppauge Capture not supporting that which led me to confuse the issue.


Even so, I hope I clarified the issue of PAL/MeSecam vcrs against pure PAL-L vcrs - an issue which you found out.


But glad to read that your issue is now resolved - I only came across French Tv channels when they switched to PAL(digital ?) when one could, with the right card, view them on a UK receiver.


Not really relevant here but there is a mirror analogy. Being a 'collector' of film that has different versions for different countries, I did outsource one film available in France which had content what was not available eleshere. When I received the dvd, even from a French national, the skin tones were very 'Yellow'. Which kinda reminded me of these original issues.

Hi DB83,

apologies for the late reply. I went on unplanned 2 week vacation abroad and did not have time to respond before.

You dont have to apologize at all, it was my fault by not being clear in my OP. and i also need a cup of coffee in the morning, otherwise I am not a person
I truly value your advice and the others' on this forum. This forum has taught me so much about proper restoration in such a short time and debunked a lot of myths that you can find on youtube or google. Plus, it has also saved me a lot of money by not buying equipment which does not work. So i trully appreciate all your inputs. It has been a great learning experience and I am happy to finally be able to digitize videos on my own (me, a non-IT person!).

So thanks a lot

Regarding Hauppauge, I also wasnt sure. When i bought it off amazon, it only listed PAL and NTSC, not SECAM and when i talked to ChapGPT, it also said it does not support SECAM. Only when checking with Hauppauge support, they were able to confirm. So Im very happy i was able to resolve it with current equipment and did not have to buy anything additional.

Thanks again. Youre the best

[lollo]

Otherwise, i dont mind using graphedt, im trully excited that I can now finally record videos properly

Use GraphEdit approach then, sometimes drivers install/change/hack is weird.

What setting do you use for sharpness, please?

I leave at default. Increasing sharpness while capturing add artifacts and halos, and a false perception of better image. Better to do it in post-processing.

I was using Lagarith but am curious about HuffYUV and happy if it will have better results

They are equivalent for 4:2:2 capture purpose. Lagarith compress a bit more, HuffYUV requires less CPU, but it's minimal.

2 months ago, i was watching your digitizing videos on youtube and never had a chance to compliment you on your results. You have truly beautiful captures and i loved the details in your 80s space tv show You're very talented

Thanks. What really makes the difference is the condition of the tapes, together with an adequate workflow, and the power of AviSynth for a basic not invasive restoration (my contribution is marginal)