Weather conditions affecting captures?

[Atomic Dog]

Didn't see this anywhere in the FAQs...

Will having more available free RAM give me better captures, or is it entirely dependant on what kind of signal I'm getting from my cable?

I ask because we had thunderstorms today and my capture came out really grainy - though the image on my television was fine. But it's entirely possible that my computer was pulling too much weight and I didn't have much free RAM to dedicate to my capture program.

Anyone care to explain?

[Tommyknocker]

It was in my opinion, what cables you used to capture from your TV. RCA cables are more prone to outside interference than coaxial, or shielded cables.

[txpharoah]

I'd have to disagree. Coax cables are the worst of the lot, and are of the oldest of technology. They are extremely succeptible to noise and other variables. RCA (composite) cables are next in line, with s-video and component (YCrCb) being the best. Shielding and gold also makes a big difference.

It was likely your cables or some other variable you've not considered with the wiring or the electricity's effects on the wiring. RAM would not be the error just because of weather. And because a tv has lower res, it may have still been grainy, but you just were not able to see it until you got a better look at it on the computer. Unless you had a low bitrate, this was not caused by the computer.

Maybe consider a signal booster on the coax that plugs into an electric outlet to clarify the signal. Walmart has a cheap one for $25, but good ones can run $40 or so. Also be sure to use shielded, gold RG6 (not RG55) coax cable. You'll need to visit Radio Shack for RG6 wire (or beg your cable company for a short piece that they may have lying around - that's how I got my RG6 shorts at home).

[KTH]

There is a possiblity that RAM or CPU speed could affect capture quality, but it depends on the capture device. If for example you were using a Vitec DCM (DVD Cut Machine) which relies heavily on system processing power (CPU, RAM, etc.) to get better quality captures then available system resources could be a problem. Since you didn't list your capture device in your post or have any computer details listed you cannot eliminate system resources as a possible cause. Please give us more to work with like Capture Device, CPU Speed, Memory (Amount/Type), Capture Settings, etc. Also cables used (Composite, S-Video, etc.) might help as well as listing the source device (VCR, Cable Box). One more piece of info that can help is to list how it's hooked up. If you go from a cable box to a VCR then to the capture device this can introduce some noise into the video as well as it may cause some ground loop problems.

[Atomic Dog]

Allright:

2.26ghz P4
512 RAM
80gb hdd (28gb free)
ATI AIW Radeon 8500

I've got a short (6') piece of coax plugged from the wall directly to my card, but the same jack in my wall supplies both the cable to my TV (Comcast Digital) and my cable modem, via a 3way splitter.

[txpharoah]

via a 3way splitter.

Be sure to have the best splitter you can buy. That's honestly too many splits from one signal. And I often find the cable signal degraded on lines that also have cable internet attached versus plain cable lines with no internet.

Be sure to use RG6 gold shielded coax, not the cheap RG55 or unshielded silver/copper stuff.

Your computer specs and capture card are fine. Some people report that ATI AIW cards can be a bit grainier than ultimate perfection on the coax input, and I see that as well, but it's not at all noticeable once you put it on a tv set.

I'd mainly be concerned about your cables and connectors being tight and making good contacts.

I've dealt with issues like this before.