Flickering/bouncing effect while grabbing shakey moments from Video8

[Stanley]

Hi!

I'm trying to capture some Video8 tapes straight from my Sony Handycam through the composite cable to PC using a Tchibo grabber (looks like popular Easy-Cap, but feels more sturdy and less "Chinese"). Softwarewise I capture the video and sound through VirtualDub 2 (yellow RCA to grabber + white RCA to Jack3,5 straight into the line-in) and then post-process it using the "deinterlace" filter to make it look more smooth.

Now I'm struggling with two things. First one is some weird but I feel that typical flickering of magenta/yellowish colours. I hope that this is not too bad and getting rid of these imperfections (at least to some extent) is possible. Here is the example: https://youtu.be/Ey0p6CpV8YY

Second issue seems to be more complicated as during the unstable shots the whole video bounces a lot. Example here: https://youtu.be/NaoDRmrP7eY
Same effect occurs when I literally pick up the camera while capturing to PC and shake it a bit. That's weird because these distortions occur always in the same moments and didn't occur when I plugged camera to the composite input in my TV. It looks like the USB capture device can't deal with unstable scenes – why?

Can I somehow manage with both of these issues (or at least the first one) with the software and hardware that I already have? That would be nice if I could avoid buying a DVD recorder to do the passthrough operation. I have an old VCR player as well as a DVD player but as far as I'm concerned they are pretty useless for the whole capturing process.

I'll continue to dig this forum to find some answers but while I'm doing that – maybe someone will be kind enough to clarify if it's even possible to capture the footage properly.

[Stanley]

I decided to edit this thread as I've learnt a little bit more from your forum since I originally posted here. Maybe now it would be easier for you to make a quick diagnosis. Thanks!

[jagabo]

these distortions occur always in the same moments and didn't occur when I plugged camera to the composite input in my TV. It looks like the USB capture device can't deal with unstable scenes – why?

Because most capture devices can't deal with bad timing.

[Stanley]

So the answer is to find a capture device which would deal with timing more properly or preferably buy a DVD recorder or MiniDV camcorder to pass the signal through them?

[mammo1789]

So the answer is to find a capture device which would deal with timing more properly or preferably buy a DVD recorder or MiniDV camcorder to pass the signal through them?

Easiest and cheapest way will be to find DVD recorder Pana es10 or es15 with broken DVD drive and use that as passtrough. You can find them on Ebay or similar for less than 20$ you don't need the play/record functionality for passtrough

[johnmeyer]

What is "Video8?" Is this 8mm, Hi8, Digital8, or something else? The problems look like you are playing some sort of analog tape (8mm or Hi8). It is hard to make suggestions without knowing the type of tape and whether it is analog or digital.

What exact camcorder are you using to play these tapes?

It sure looks like bad timing, like jagabo has said. Whether this is caused by the tape, the camcorder, or the connection is tough to say without more information.

[jagabo]

I agree that the line time base corrector in a Panasonic DVD recorder will probably take care of most, maybe all, of it -- the flickering colors too.

Also, in the future, it's best if you upload a short capture (not processed or recompressed) directly to this site. Up to 500 MB files are accepted.

[Stanley]

Whether this is caused by the tape, the camcorder, or the connection is tough to say without more information.

Sorry that I forgot to mention that. These are standard 8 mm tapes – Sony Metal HG60 and Fuji P5-90. Camcorder itself is a Sony Handycam CCD-TR502E PAL.

Easiest and cheapest way will be to find DVD recorder Pana es10 or es15 with broken DVD drive and use that as passtrough. You can find them on Ebay or similar for less than 20$ you don't need the play/record functionality for passtrough

I see Panasonic DMR-ES15 with broken optical disc drive for $13. Maybe it's worth giving it a shot for that price.

Also, in the future, it's best if you upload a short capture (not processed or recompressed) directly to this site. Up to 500 MB files are accepted.

I've seen that you're doing that – next time I'll share my samples this way.

[johnmeyer]

Since these are 1st generation 8mm tapes, it is possible, depending on storage conditions, that they have degraded. If so, not much you can do.

Does the video glitch when you just view the video on the camcorder viewfinder? If yes, then it is either the tape, or the camcorder. If it looks 100% OK, then you have to re-visit your capture process. If you can't tell by just looking at the viewfinder (because it is so small), does the problem show up when you connect the camcorder to a TV, using the same composite output?

[Stanley]

It doesn't glitch both in the viewfinder and TV. Connecting my camera to TV was the first thing that I've done after witnessing such glitches on PC but thankfully it plays back perfectly fine. I indicated it in my first post – probably you didn't notice that

[jagabo]

I see Panasonic DMR-ES15 with broken optical disc drive for $13. Maybe it's worth giving it a shot for that price.

Make sure it comes with a remote (or you can get a universal remote to work with it). You'll need it to to set the correct input and output levels, turn off the noise reduction feature, etc.

[Stanley]

Make sure it comes with a remote (or you can get a universal remote to work with it).

Good call! Unfortunately the remote control on this particular auction is missing. But I have some universal remote controls laying around and I checked that at least one of them should work with Panasonic DVD recorders. I'll take that risk as it's the only working ES10/15 with broken optical disc drive available here (and shipping from eBay, even within Europe would almost double the price and for this one I have a free delivery). Seller declares that it turns on so hopefully that would be enough for my purposes.

When it comes to the whole passthrough operation. Are there any tutorials on this subject you could recommend? I mean how to connect everything properly, how to set the DVD recorder itself and how capture the signal with VirtualDub to obtain the best possible results?

[Stanley]

I agree that the line time base corrector in a Panasonic DVD recorder will probably take care of most, maybe all, of it -- the flickering colors too.

It certainly did! It took me a while to set everything up but I'm stunned by the outcome. It cleared the signal perfectly – colours are now great, nothing flickers or shakes. And the whole gear costed me only $25!

Together with deinterlacing filter in VirtualDub's post processing options footage looks as smooth as on TV. I'm having a small problem with synchronising audio even though I use some "latency determination" in the "capture timing options" – but it's probably just about playing a bit longer with the settings to compensate this slight audio shift.

To sum up – buying a broken DVD recorder was one of the most satisfying purchases I've recently made. Thanks a lot for your recommendations!

[jagabo]

Glad to hear it worked out!