VirtualDub Capture problems

[ranbir]

Hello,

I got a lot of help from this board in trying to get my computer up to speed on the capture process (my earlier thread was "dropped frames&quot. Thanks for all those who responded.
I'm still having problems with my video capture. Here are my specs:
- JVC DVL9500 firewire capable camcorder
- AMD K6/III 450 MHz, 256 MB RAM, WinME, WinMediaPlayer 7 with version 8 codecs installed.
- 5400 rpm 4.2 GB HD (will upgrade if these tests are successful) Auxsetup utility shows that my system is capable of 14 MB/s Read/Write which is sufficient for most DV capture
- A somewhat peculiar GENERIC IEEE1394 card that outputs data in the "dvsd" format ONLY. OHC compliant driver in WinME
- Mainconcept codec (for dvsd) and LSX-MPEG encoder in trial mode

I have tried three capture programs:

- Presto Video Works from NewSoft which was supplied with the IEEE1394 card maker. This program lets me control the camera COMPLETELY from the computer - including Play/rewind/forward etc. When I download the data into a freshly cleaned partition, I can get dvsd formatted standard 720X480 24 color video and 48 KHz audio output avi file without any dropped frames for a 1 minute segment using a NewSoft codec which comes with the program. Amazingly, the data rate is only about 2.1 MB/s, which suggests that "dvsd" is a compressed format streaming from the card. The problem with this approach is that I see most frames have missing pixels (and lots of them). Using LSX-MPEG encoder, I can get an MPEG2 file with 100:1 compression for 720X480 picture, which, like the original avi file cannot be played using Win Media player (gives an error about some DLL file). When I see the encoding process, frames have many missing pixels. When I try to encode this file to conform to SVCD standard (480X480, variable bitrate), LSX bombs out after processing about 10 seconds of processing, probably because of the pixel-loosing frames.

When I try to encode VCD with the original AVI file, the video encoding is OK, but there is no sound.

- VirtualDub with Mainconcept dvsd codec. There is no capture. I think my IEEE1394 card needs a trigger to start the camcorder (which it gets from Presto VW above). When I play the camcorder and put VirtualDub in record mode, I get nothing. No frames!

- FreeVCR with mainconcept dvsd codec. Same as VirtualDub. Although I find this program to be simpler to configure and has better look and feel.

I wish I can get either VirtualDub or freeVCR to work without loosing many pixels in my frames. I just cannot get these to capture any frames, probably because the card only starts streming data after recieving a trigger from the software, which it does not get from these programs. I think I am loosing pixels in Presto Video Works because it is somewhat big program, with no option to stop the video to run while capturing. Apart from that it is hard for me to imagine how I can capture 720X480X24/48 KHz with my modest computer - it has to give way somewhere.

I want to find out if anyone else has experienced this problem? If so, do you have a solution?
Thanks
Ranbir

[Lamont Cranston]

Virtualdub will capture dv video only - no audio. You could try AVI_IO with the mainconcept codec. You can download a trial version then go to the website and read how to do a dv capture. http://www.nct.ch/multimedia/avi_io/index.html

[Leon]

Go to http://www.puremotion.com and d/l the VideoStudio Trial and install it. It includes a cool DV capture software with no limit (not a trial).

The Mainconcept DV codec is a very good one if you can address the Firewire card with Puremotion and MC.

BTW, to capture DV, you need a 3.6MB/s system, so if you have 14MB/s with Auxsetup bench, it's OK. Hope you aren't confused with Mbps and MB/s.

VirtualDUB can't capture DV.

Leon

[Lamont Cranston]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
On 2001-07-09 10:03:39, Leon wrote:
VirtualDUB can't capture DV.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

Virtualdub can capture DV...but no audio .

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: lamont Cranston on 2001-07-09 18:09:41 ]</font>

[ranbir]

Thanks for your responses.
I have just now downloaded puremotion and avi_io and will try as you suggest. I will also compare the final results of puremotion, avi_io and Presto Videoworks and post them here.

Thanks for your help
Ranbir