WinFast Tv2000 XP Expert problem and capturing help please!

[MarkMachen]

I have just purchased a TV2000 XP Expert and I'm having a problem. I have cable tv. The picture that I get from the card has some problems. It is hard to describe but I will try:

The picture has lighter horizontal lines that move up and down the picture. The lines are just lighter in color then the rest of the screen. Look at this:

http://www.producingfaith.org/markpics/sample2.jpg

Notice on the horizontal lines across the reporter's jacket. Here's a 5mb mpg file that I captured as well:

http://www.producingfaith.org/markpics/sample.mpg

As I said, these lines are moving all over the place. When I hook my cable box up to the card using the A/V input, everything looks great. Any thoughts?

Also, what is the best software to capture with. I want to get the closest quality I can to my old VHS tapes. I tried Virtual VCR at 640x480 on a news channel. Look at this:

http://www.producingfaith.org/markpics/sampleVCR.jpg

Notice the problem with the scrolling text at the bottom. I also tried VirtualDub, but it gives me an error when I try to use 640x480. The WinFast PVR that comes with the card leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm a newbie and have been doing a lot of research, so forgive my questions and ignorance.

My system:

Motherboard: Asus A7V8X (Via KT400 Chipset)
Processor: AMD Athlon 2000 XP
RAM: 512MB PC2700
Video: Matrox G550 32MB 4x AGP
OS: XP Pro

Thanks,

Mark

[beamguy]

I had the same problem and it was discussed last week on this forum. The noise is a "ground loop" commonly called "ground hum" on this forum. There are a number of good links in the other postings under a different thread. I bought several isolation transformers from a mail order company, reversed one plug that had the hot and neutral lines reversed, and got rid of the most annoying interference. It is still slightly noticable once in awhile.

I am curious about another issue that I have with that card. If you plug the cable input into the FM antenna input can you still see the picture on the lower channels 2-6?

[MarkMachen]

Thanks for the reply. I will look for the topic on ground hum.

When I plug the cable into the FM antena port, I can actually see all of my cable channels - weird. There is some "snow" to the picture, though.

[Northstar]

@MarkMachen

The scrolling text along the bottom of the news channel is called interlacing, and its normal, if you have no picture problems with virtualvcr (i didnt look too closely at the picture, just the text), then its working correctly.

If you are going to watch it on your pc and never on tv then you need to deinterlace it, or use a player that will deinterlace it on the fly.

Theres a ton of topics covering interlacing and deinterlacing information here, just do a search.

Good luck.

[beamguy]

I also have had trouble with the Leadtek expert card picking up more noise. I ordered an ASUS replacement, and then out of curiosity kept the Leadtek one for comparison. I have both mounted in my system and indeed, the leadtek has more noise in the picture. Even with all my "ground hum" filters in place there is still noise on a few channels. What really hurts is that those are my favorite channels. Here is an earlier posting with pictures.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=201781

Anyone want a leadtek card cheap? - I'm afraid I may have kept it too long now.