Canopus ADVC-100 supporters - make your voice heard !!!

[swiego]

I would have loved to see a response to dwiesel's Feb 2004 post about capture cards that do uncompressed AVI as I think I'm aiming for the same thing as that poster.

[victoriabears]

I have the advc300 and got it because it meant that the computer "pressure' was reduced and I have created many dvd's using cyberlink power producer capturing to mpeg from the advc 300.

I am not prepared to go the more technical route of capturing to avi the encoding/filtering the advc 300 has good filtering options.

However I now use a dvd recorder mainly as 80% of my vhs are good quality, the advc/tmpenc route is good for fixing a bad vhs recording to an extent.

Lordsmurfs is dead right, there are as many options needed as there are vhs's in your library, I have obtained a great dvd using a toshiba vcr and a dvd recorder, tried a different recording on vhs and it looks ugly, quite amazing.

[MickB]

I’m using an AIW with poor results but I don’t think it’s the card. If I buy an ADVC-100 and it still produces poor AVI capture results from the analog source where would I look for the problem if the ADVC-100 were functioning correctly? What inside the computer could cause a deteriorated video?

Note: I have used a borrowed DAC-100 that works fine on another computer using the same analog source but produces the same poor results on my 3.0 ghz, 1g ram, and two 160 gb drives computer.

[proxyx99]

what do you mean by "poor results"? can you playback DV files. Do you have DV codec installed? Take your "poor" file and play it on another PC to determine if different. It may be just (and probably is) playback related.

[rhegedus]

I’m using an AIW with poor results but I don’t think it’s the card. If I buy an ADVC-100 and it still produces poor AVI capture results from the analog source where would I look for the problem if the ADVC-100 were functioning correctly? What inside the computer could cause a deteriorated video?

Note: I have used a borrowed DAC-100 that works fine on another computer using the same analog source but produces the same poor results on my 3.0 ghz, 1g ram, and two 160 gb drives computer.

What's the source?

[MickB]

proxyx99

It’s a long story and I made a number of posts last year but no one was able to locate the problem.

I have been trying to capture from my 8mm analog camcorder to AVI format. I don't have a digitial camcorder. I have tried many things but the AVI picture is degraded no matter what I do or what software I use. When the AVI is converted to DVD and played on a TV, it’s a very poor quality and hard on the eyes to watch. I’ll have to go back to an old post and find the screen capture I posted.

My friend let me borrow his DAC-100 with a firewire connection. It didn’t make any difference. I gave him my same camera and video tape and he was able to capture just fine on his slower computer.

So…somewhere between where the firewire enters the motherboard and transferred to the hard drive, something is wrong. I want to buy a Canopus ADVC-100 but I can only assume it will give me the same results as the DAC and my AIW card.

My question is where do I look for the problem? I have a fast P4 with two 160 drives. Studio 8 has a bit rate test and sometimes it fails the test but other times its okay. I don’t think it matters though. I have always wondered if this is the problem but don’t know how to fix it.

[NightWing]

WAIT A MINUTE! Are you using Studio 8 to make the disk????? YUCK!!!.

It almost makes Primiere look good in the crashing department! Studio 8 really does not do a decent job. IE its mpeg2 compressor is junk.

You may want to try this if you are using Studio 8.

Download the demo of both Tmpeg compressor and their Author program. You have 30 days time limit but give full usage. Build somthing simple. Raw footage ok. A clip from your friend would be nice. Same clip from your and his capture even better. Pump it through Tmpge to compress it into Mpeg2. Then through the Tmpge authoring program. If you are running nero it should pop up with wish to burn. Else take the files and burn them when its done.

IE you are creating a temp chain to see if your problems are with Studio 8.


EDITED: Just for giggles. What does you friend use to process and Author a DVD with?

[MickB]

I know what you are saying about Studio 8. I have used it to make a disk as well as other programs. I like the editing part of it but I have tried a number of other programs and it doesn’t matter, they all produce the same poor capture. It’s the AVI capture that I have a problem with.

I don’t think it’s the software, especially because when I used my friends external device, which bypasses the video card and goes directly to the hard drive, the video was still poor and degraded too much. My friend uses Tmpeg and Studio 8. He also likes the editing of 8 but does not use it to burn a disk. I have tried the exact same thing he did but I don’t think it’s in the software. I think it’s in the capturing process.

If you scroll down on the below post, you can see a screen capture.
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=937434&highlight=#937434

Thanks.

[NightWing]

Wow! Thats bad!

Ok. Lets go basic. What are you currently running. IE which OS/Service Packs/etc. Also which Media player are you running. Wich Direct X do you have if any?

Have you tried any other type of video. Quicktime. Divx. DV?

[MickB]

I have XP with the latest svc packs and updates. I can't recall the Direct X but it's recent (last 6 months). Not sure about what you mean as far as video, Quicktime, etc., sorry.

[NightWing]

Have you tried any video files encoded in Quicktime?

You may have answered this but do you have the latest drivers for the capture card?

There was a glitch with DV on XP on resolution. But I think they fixed that with SP2.

Also when you boot on your computer does the Microsoft Window screen show either Professional, Home or nothing.

Humm... Lets see. Pick one of the videos that you are having problems with.

1) Right click on that avi video file. And select Properties.
2) Select the "Summary" tab.
3) Make sure its set to show resolution.
4) What is the resolution? If you capture it it should be some where around 700 x 480.

Also what is your screen resolution and color depth set to?

And are you playing your video back on the same computer or a settop box DVD player?

[edDV]

...

There was a glitch with DV on XP on resolution. But I think they fixed that with SP2.

There was? Please provide info.

Somehow I missed this thread. I'll read through it tonight.

[MickB]

Have you tried any video files encoded in Quicktime?

You may have answered this but do you have the latest drivers for the capture card?

There was a glitch with DV on XP on resolution. But I think they fixed that with SP2.

Also when you boot on your computer does the Microsoft Window screen show either Professional, Home or nothing.

Humm... Lets see. Pick one of the videos that you are having problems with.

1) Right click on that avi video file. And select Properties.
2) Select the "Summary" tab.
3) Make sure its set to show resolution.
4) What is the resolution? If you capture it it should be some where around 700 x 480.

Also what is your screen resolution and color depth set to?

And are you playing your video back on the same computer or a settop box DVD player?

NightWing

My response to your questions:

No, have never tried it with Quicktime

I think I had the latest drivers at the time I was trying this last year but doubt I do now.

I probably was using Windows XP or XP with Svc Pack 1 at the time I was doing this.

I have Win XP Pro

I have tried to capture at every resolution I can come up with but it all turns out bad. When I look at the properties of a test file I made the other night, the summary tab is blank and I don’t see any setting to “show resolution.” I know that I captured it at 720x480.

My screen res is 1280 x 1020 and 32 bit color

It doesn’t matter where I play the video back on, my computer, a DVD player, etc., it generally looks about the same, too degraded.

I have had this problem for 1-½ years and I’m really sick of it. I have a ton of family 8mm tapes I want to put on DVD. All I know is that everything keeps pointing to the motherboard or hard drive bit rate. I don’t know what else is there is because my AIW 9700 or external fire wire device produce the same degraded AVI.

[proxyx99]

First of all, no information will not be help ful here- In troubleshooting (this is what we do here now) you need to identify the problem and malfuctioning device (hard- or software). General statements are useless, you know that.
1. you need to verify if your captures play OK on another PC
2. you need to specify what do you mean by degradation
3. need to identify when it occurs, capture or DVD creation
4. are you dropping frames?
5. are transfers complete
6. how is DV playback of files captured on another PC
7. I use XP Pro SP1 and (also in studio 9) and it couldn't be better (DV problem in XP? never heard of)
8. you need to decide if you want to tackle the problem yourself or have some of us help, if so more info will be needed. Hope you understand.

[MickB]

First of all, no information will not be help ful here- In troubleshooting (this is what we do here now) you need to identify the problem and malfuctioning device (hard- or software). General statements are useless, you know that.
1. you need to verify if your captures play OK on another PC
2. you need to specify what do you mean by degradation
3. need to identify when it occurs, capture or DVD creation
4. are you dropping frames?
5. are transfers complete
6. how is DV playback of files captured on another PC
7. I use XP Pro SP1 and (also in studio 9) and it couldn't be better (DV problem in XP? never heard of)
8. you need to decide if you want to tackle the problem yourself or have some of us help, if so more info will be needed. Hope you understand.

Proxyx99

Well, I believe most of this was already provided above and appreciate your comments. The problem is in capturing and again, it doesn’t matter where or what I play the file on. See the link above for a sample copy of a degraded video. The AVI picture shows horizontal lines but after it’s put a DVD, the video is somewhat pixilated and poor resolution, kind of hard to describe. I get few dropped frames and transfer is complete. The video was captured using a DAC-100 on another PC (displays normal). I then take the captured file my friend made with his DAC-100 and make a DVD, which is acceptable. That same DAC-100 gives me poor results capturing on my computer.

So, am I wrong in thinking that the problem is not software, codecs or my video card? I’m trying to figure where else to look and I do need help. Thanks.

[vhelp]

I replied over there, in your original thread, because it's the proper place to
respond back to.., as this thread does not seem to related to your OLD problem
with interlacing (and your pic in that thread)

--> Interlacing Question

-vhelp 3224

[MickB]

I agree, I didn't want to get into that here. I am trying to keep this simple and find out if ADVC-100 will work for me and where to look in my computer if it doesn't.

[CNT]

From reading this, I don't understand that you're saying the Canopus 100 (and the 110 too) doesn't have DV input/output? Looking at both links below has a pictures showing "DV I/O". What am I not understanding? I see a nice moving arrows running BACK AND FORTH to devices, including DV camcorder. I am assuming that I would even be able to capture a DV camcorder and output to a VHS, or anything else?

Canopus 100

Canopus 110

Chuck

[Ron B]

I have an AIW 9800Pro. My associate has the ADVC 100. We have similar PCs, plenty to capture with ease.
We've gone back and forth which is best. In many cases, the quality is very similar by the time it becomes an MPEG2 file, which is usually the final product.
The AIW has an edge when it comes to using different capture formats. Using it with a TBC lets you tweak the input a bit. The ADVC 100 has an advantage because there are never any video/sound sync problems. Being able to switch the Canopus between different computers is a nice feature.
If I was building a computer from scratch and I needed a big-time video card anyway, I'd still go with an AIW. If I already had a decent computer, I'd probably buy the Canopus.
Once you get either one wired, you can get pretty good video either way.

[zoobie]

Great thread, guys...

I asked here and someone replied that the newer ADVC-110 doesn't disable macrovision.

my 2 scents

[vcdforme]

Hello all,
I've had the crappy $50 TV cards and always had sync issues.
I won't go into the theory's of why, it's boring and way in the past.
I then got the ADVC 50 & then a ADVC 100.
They worked very well, but I hated myself for
having spent so much money.
I was in Circuit City and saw the ADS Pyro AV Link on
sale for about $120.
AAfter hookup I could not tell the difference between
the ADS and the Can-of-pus.
I sold my Canopus 50 & 100 on Ebay, and bought
myself another ADS.
They're both (ADS's) going full time and I'm very pleased.
Seems to me though, these days, just about everyone is making
some sort of capture-to-DV device, Which I would assume
would be as good as the ADS or Canopus products. I'm
assuming.

Let me say this. If you're capturing old video tape
with any of these devices, it is most likely you will
need some sort of TBC to clear up the skipped frames.
Capturing DVD's are usually no problem without, but I keep
TBC's in line anyway. My captures are absolutely perfect.
I then use TMPGENC. But, if I want to........
Also, It is easy to capture directly to Mpeg 1/2 using
Win Pro 3. I'm sure many other programs are just as
capable. You do not have to only capture DV/AVI.
Of course, your computer needs a little horsepower.

In my opinion the Canopus product is EXTREMELY overpriced.
I have to laugh at the ADVC 300. You can buy yourself two
ADS's and a TBC with that kind of money and have MUCH MUCH
more flexibility.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck in your captures.
My rigs are AMD 1300 & AMD 1600 running WIN 2000.

[zoobie]

I'd be willing to bet the ADS Pyro has it's own set of problems...drops frames when it gets backed up. Pretty good rating here (8.5)
Theres another called Video Magician...but it's not rated and also needs reviewing.

You can quickly drop thousands in this field for even low end equipment and programs.

Back to the show...

[WishMaker]

Thanks, Zoobie for that post about the newer ADVC 100's not defeating macrovision.

Since all my video projects are on hold and I will be relocating and trying to decide what I have to keep and what I can buy again once moved, I will NOT sell my "older" ADVC100.

One of my first transfers was from a 5 video cassette series and it was macrovisioned. (No copies available to buy on DVD). At first, I thought the ADVC was broken, but then I read a post somewhere on what to do to defeat the macrovision. Picture was beautiful.

BTW, I have 3 computer's and I like the ADVC 100 simply, because I know if one computer is on the blink, I can use the ADVC 100 on any of them. Also easy to take it to a friends house to let them use it, but now that the older ones might be better with the macrovision, I'm not going to sell them mine now. They'll have to buy another one. PS: I use Scenalizer Live, but I haven't done any transfering in awhile to see what's available now.

[zoobie]

Now, we have to test against the new Macrovision version...One step forward, two steps back.

After reading this thread, I have the impression that:

Tweak Freaks = AIW
General User = ADVC

Nothing to say we can't use both of course...

[lchiu7]

Interesting post. I had some tapes that I had been wanting to transfer to DVD. Tried capturing them using a Pinnacle DC10+ card (which has native MJPEG format) using iuvcr. This card works fine in capturing live TV from a cable box.

Well the tapes are not great (some at LP) and I could never get good captures without dropping tons of frames (yet no frame drops capturing live TV). And this on a Duron 1.4GHz

Anwyay was all set to go get a Canopus ADV55 (don't need analogue out) and was about 30s from getting one when I got outbid on ebay! Time to reflect and I came across this post.

So carried the VCR over to another machine I have (Athlon 2400+ 1G XP SP1 and 2 drives - capture drive a 250G on secondary IDE channel - capture card Hauppauge WinTV PCI)

Set the capture to use MJPEG (PicVideo - quality 19) and used IUVCR to capture at 720x480). Surprisingly with no other settings captured the entire tape I could not capture before with no dropped frames at all (120 mins)

Now in the proces of encoding to MPEG2 after which I will edit out the stuff I don't need. It might have been fortuitous I missed out on the Canopus since based on my limited experience I might not need it

Larry

Edit

The only thing I forgot to add is, editing DV files in something like Premier is relatively easy. I have never managed to edit MJPEG format files in Premier without losing audio sync when output to MPEG2 and this is something that Adobe have never been able to help me with. Vegas might be better but I don't have that software

[zoobie]

You'll have to use a sniper program with eBay. Although it appeared you were close to winning, these programs check every 5 seconds until the auction is over. These are especially useful when bidding on hard to find used video equipment. My only question is...what happens when several are using sniper programs?

[Robert Simandl]

The seller becomes very happy, that's what happens!

(been there)

[lchiu7]

What's a sniper program?

[dun4cheap]

Well I am sure this post will get some flames, but bottom line internal capture devices such as ATI AIW, ATI TV WONDER, WIN TV and other TV cards have simply been risky and far from being a professional or semi professional solution. Yes, some have yielded good resulty, but it required a lot of work arounds, driver testing and a lot of other factors. (I am a big ATI Fan all I buy is ATI)

Now at the direct moment no mention of the new ATI 550 theatre chip has been mentioned, which I think will help change the playing field since it not only has hardware Mpeg2 compression, it now has Audio Locking features to ensure no audio sync problems. (Many users have lost trust in these devices, maybe this will help win them back) Lets also hope this comes in a Firewire or USB2 design, because I like to update my video card occassionally and I am tiered of doping out the coin for an AIW)


Now there are more devices on the market than just the Canopus analog to DV converters. I personally use the ADS AV Pyro link which I bought new for $110 which not only has svideo, comosite but also component video input and output. These devices have multiple uses and usually they produce better out put to other medias like VHS as well. Lets not forget the numerous amount of camcorders that have pass through built in.


Now lets also look at what the user wants to do with the footage. Are you editing it, or just looking for captures. If you are looking to edit family videos to treasure forever then your editing format choice really should not be a lossy format like MPEG2/1.


Quick Evaluations:

Anolog to DV Converter: Usually plug and play and ready to go.

PCI/AGP Capture Devices: Risky at best. To many variables at stake, audio levels to worry about and who know audio sync problems after (5 mins, 10 mins, 1 hour but usually no true rhyme)


Lastly, If you can afford it then you will have a collection of tools both analog and digital. If your on a budget, I would buy the anolog to DV box first, or look for a multi tool like a new camcorder that has passthrough.

[zoobie]

Passthroughs aren't recommended as this isn't what the camera was made to do.

A sniper program is an auction tool that places last second bids for you. Search the web for "auction sniper".