HDV/DV capture to PCI SATA unreliable

[2Bdecided]

I have a 2GHz P4 machine. I've never had any problem capturing DV and HDV via a cheap PCI Firewire card to internal IDE HDDs.

I've bought a cheap PCI SATA card, and a Seagate SATA HDD.

It seems to be working OK - I can copy 13GB of video from an IDE HDD to the SATA HDD in about 5 minutes.

However, if I try to capture video over Firewire straight onto the SATA drive, it loses packets. HDVsplit: lots and lots of problems; WinDV: a few dropped frames.

Here's the strange thing: if I make sure I close any windows explorer / my computer windows before starting HDVsplit, it's happy to capture without problems. However, if I have any folder on the SATA drive open, or if I open one while capturing: lots and lots of problems! I don't have to do anything, just have the window open! If I close the window again, the problems don't stop - lost packets a plenty! I have to close and re-start HDV split for the problem to go away.

What is happening?! I don't have this problem with my IDE drives.

Is it some PCI issue? Some windows issue? Some bizarre combination?

I know I can capture without any other windows open, but it makes me think that the capture is only just about working, and so I might see problems in the future - plus I like to have the capture folder open so I can see the files as they're captured.

Any advice?

Cheers,
David.

[aedipuss]

first i'd try to get the latest drivers for the sata card installed and see if that helps. winXP sp2 wouldn't be a bad idea, and then in a week or two when it's officially released install winXP sp3.

[2Bdecided]

I've now tried the latest drivers, and they make no difference.

I'm still on SP1 (with the 3 relevant files for HDV capture copied over from SP2). I've tried SP2 on another machine, and subsequently chosen to re-install SP1 - I'm not keen to go through the same on this machine. I'll keep an eye out for SP3 though.

Any other ideas? It seems like something windows does when I browse to the relevant HDD to mess up continuous access to the drive.

Cheers,
David.

[edDV]

It is most likely a SATA driver issue. Others have reported similar problems with early mobo SATA drivers when in RAID mode.

DV HDV transfer is a stream capture rather than an OS copy. That means the disk controller must maintain a constant flow of data to the DV-AVI file. Once capture is complete, file copies by Windows or other Network OS won't be a problem since a file copy verifies all packets are received.

Workaround is to cap to the internal PATA drives, then copy the resulting file to the SATA drive.

Possible solutions:
1. New driver for SATA card.
2. Call the card manufacturer tech support for configuration advice.
3. Try a different SATA controller card.
4. Test the card on a machine with XP SP2 or XP SP3. SATA support may have been part of SP2.

[2Bdecided]

Thanks edDV.

The workaround of just closing windows explorer before launching HDVsplit seems to work fine (5 tapes, no problems), so I have a little more confidence in it now. Still a pain, especially if I forget!

Trying the SP2 machine might be worth it, though it's different in countless other ways so it could have different behaviour that's not down to the OS.

I'll ask around to see if any friends have PCI SATA cards. Problem is, if they do I bet they have this one - it's been the cheapest and most recommended for several months!

Cheers,
David.