Best DV capture Software

[MpegEncoder]

WinDV is great.
But if I use my dv passthrough for captures over 45 minutes, my audio starts to noticable go out of sync.
Remember reading threads that this has to do with it interacting with my Sony Camcorder.
But, nice small program.

This is not a specically Sony problem. It's also not a WinDV problem.

This link might help http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-tech.html#LockedAudio

This problem can be fixed fairly easily with VirtualDub.

[Stonechatz]

As it would happen, a badly partitioned HDD resulted in catastrophic system failure (HIVE file not found!). I have reinstalled Windows XP etc from basics, completed all Windows Updates, renewed drivers etc - and hey presto - my DV capture software now seems much more forgiving, letting me capture perfectly. Just to think, if I'd had any hair to pull out at all ... Which to say - all my previous postings have been rendered obsolete! But thankyou for the replies, its great to know you're not alone out here.

[Stonechatz]

Large files tend to desync - which is why I opted for a Canopus ADVC 100 - as it has a microswitch which locks the video signal to the audio signal. I have captured 6 hour files of type 1 DV using the Canopus - not a word out of place. Most other devices seem to use two different clocks - one for the audio - one for the video - and that's when desync problems can arise.

[BSR]

Still not sure why some programs work perfect without losing sync.
Which leads me to believe it's the way each program handles different DV streams from different components?

[yg1968]

I have sync problems when I edit (even simple cutting) DV or mpeg. But If I don't do any editing, the file is in sync. I use the pasthrough feature of my Sony DV camcorder. The fact that the unedited file is in sync leads me to believe that my camcorder isn't the problem. Perhaps you should try capturing a DV file without cutting or editing it. You can convert it to mpeg using TMPGEnc.

DV is interlaced. So you are better off playing DV with a program that de-interlaces upon playback such as PowerDVD. The interlacing effects sometimes gives the impression that the audio is out of sync.

[wwjd]

Like Stonechatz I started using the ADVC-100 to eliminate audio sync
issues. I have been using it for over a year and have not had a single
sync issue.

I use WinDV to transfer the digital data from the ADVC-100 to my hard drive via the firewire. I then use Ulead Video Studio 8 to edit and author. If I want to speed up the process I will use CCE Basic to encode the avi to compliant mpeg and then I use VS8 to author. VS8 does NOT re-encode compliant mpeg files.

wwjd

[crjackson]

Sounds like WinDV is a nice app. I'll have to give it a try. I've use just about everything else under the sun, and the ONLY one that gives me absolute PERFECT results every single time is Vegas Video's capture app. It's not free, but it's sure worth it. I don't even use Vegas Video to edit, I only use the capture feature with my Canopus ADVC-100.

The Scrnalizer(sp) cause video/audio sync on anything over 2 hours for me. Vegas works flawless for me tested up to 8 hrs....

[State Of Mind]

No, it is not worth it, for this reason...
If you have to install a full blown out suite just to capture DV, when there is a completely free and MUCH smaller application solely for the purpose of captuing DV which never gives you a dropped frame...then WinDV is all anyone needs. I mean it is sooo small and even gives you a preview window and allows you to record back to the DVC which I have done several times and is quite useful than why doesn't everyone trash every other one out there. WinDV is allll you need. Cheers.

[crjackson]

No, it is not worth it, for this reason....

It is worth it to me! You are entitled to your opinion, but I know what works best on my system.

If you have to install a full blown out suite just to capture DV, when there is a completely free and MUCH smaller application solely for the purpose of captuing DV which never gives you a dropped frame...then WinDV is all anyone needs. I mean it is sooo small and even gives you a preview window and allows you to record back to the DVC which I have done several times and is quite useful than why doesn't everyone trash every other one out there. WinDV is allll you need. Cheers.

Look, it wasn't aronnd when I started. Vegas works perfect for me every single time. I've spent countless hours capturing over 1,000 1-3hr videos. It was more than worth it. I'm not knocking WinDV. I haven't even tried it yet. I'm just saying don't tell me what something is worth to ME!

[edDV]

Is anything wrong with the standard Windows Movie Maker? I have been using that, capturing a whole dv tape to one file, then using tmpgenc to convert the file to mpg.

There shouldnt be any quality difference between one program to another because the output is just dv right?

Right.

Windows Movie Maker 2.x captures DV in the following way.

Capture Video -
Capture from video device -
Available devices - select one, next - name capture file
Video setting - select Digital device format (DV-AVI)
Then select automatic or manual capture -
if manual, you will see transport controls and "Start Capture" "Stop Capture" buttons.

[edDV]

WinDV is a nice little utility. It captures a DV stream or offers an output stream to an external recording device. But it doesn't include frame accurate transport control and hence is inferior to all the other apps mentioned such as

Scenalyzer
Windows movie maker 2 (also free)
Vegas 5
Ulead Video Studio 8
and most others

Edit: Well i went back and tried Windows Movie Maker 2.1 and you can't specify in and out time codes, so it is similar to WinDV in that respect (no auto cue). But you can enter record time in minutes and seconds from the control panel.