Capturing/Video copy protection probs.

[Nelson37]

Do you see the lines if you unplug all input to the Dazzle and cap a blank screen? Turn off, disconnect, and unplug from AC power the VCR and Clarifier to test this. This will test the Dazzle by itself, and the PC.

I am still unsure if the lines are physically linked to the videotape, this seems unlikely. What do you see if you pause the tape, FF or RW while playing, or just display the menu from the VCR? Test this with the the Clarifier disconnected and unplugged from AC power. This will test the VCR and the tapes themselves.

Try using the DVD to input direct to the Dazzle, again with VCR and Clarifier disconnected and unplugged from AC power. This is a double-check on the Dazzle and VCR tests. Try the S-Video input if available.

So far the only constants are the Dazzle, PC, the tapes, and your electrical environment. IF you test as described, we can narrow it down to one or two. Isolate and Identify.

And post a pic of the interference.

Also, I want to emphasize the "unplug from AC power" mentioned above. I have on more than one occassion seen such interference appear in an otherwise unchanged environment, then seen it disappear when unplugging a particular device, which was still functioning normally.

[Superstar24]

I sent the Dazzle back to the company and they said they sent me out a new one, I just got it today. I hooked up everything and tried it again and yet again, the lines are still there, they don't seem as strong as they were before, but they are still there. I tried both with and without the Clarifier and both times the lines are still there. So, does anyone else have any suggestions? I thought for sure that it was the Dazzle and when I got the new one it would've worked, but it didn't. So, I don't know what to do now.

[Superstar24]

Should I try maybe another system recovery? I don't know if one thing has anything to do with the other but after I did the last one is when I noticed all of the problems. I don't know what else to try, except to maybe try this again..

[jdizzy40]

All this talk. His problem from the get go is Dazzle. Spelled backwards equals crap hardware bundled with crap software.

[Superstar24]

I've never had a prob with it before, I've captured close to 100 videos with no prob til recently, so I don't think it's that..if you think it's so crappy, what do you suggest is a good capturing device?

[aguillon]

I had nothing but problems with my Dazzle DVC Gold - hardware was incredible fickel and software very prone to crashes. Not worth the effort for me - finally gave up and threw it away.

Bought a Canopus ADVC-50 since - captures straight to DV format, which I then re-encode to DVD. Results are outstanding and there is never any problem with dropped frames and synchro.

Only downside: DV files take a lot of space.

My 2 cents worth.

[Superstar24]

I've read about the hardware before and I did think about trying it...is it really good? Does it work exactly like the Dazzle does? You just hook the VCR up to it and it puts the tapes on your computer then u do and author it, that typa thing? Dazzle is the only one I've used so I'm hoping all capturng devices work kinda like that since I know how to use that, but I have thought about getting that because from what I read it looked real good

[presto]

Come on guys!

IT'S NOT THE DAZZLE 150!

How do we know this?

1) It worked before

2) It works for other people (Me)

3) He got a brand new one and the problem persists

IT'S NOT THE CLARIFER!

1) He took it out of the loop and the problem persists

Superstar, simpify your set up as much as possible. Disconnect everything. Now hook the vcr into the dazzle and the dazzle into the computer. No clarifier, No output to TV, nothing extra, no DVD player anywhere close, no fan in the room, no waffle iron etc. Do you still get the lines? Use a different set of cables. Still get the lines? Try a different VCR (I know you did before but do it again with the simple set up). Still get the lines? Uninstall and reinstall the Pinnacle software (there is no reason to re do your whole operating system).

Still have the lines? Unhook the VCR and hook up the DVD player as a source instead (use a DVD you made not a store bought one with mocrovision) Still have lines? Take the whole set up into another room. Still? I don't know but don't waste your time on anything until you get this basic set up to work.

[Superstar24]

Presto,
I'm going to try all u just suggested now..quick q, u said to hook the VCR into the Dazzle and the Dazzle to the computer..without the clarifier...should i hook the dazzle to the output or input of the puter? ive never used the input of the puter, its on the front..i think i had one of the video cords in the output of the puter when everything was working before but when i unplugged everything that one time that i mentioned in my very irst post bout this prob i just grabbd and unplugged everything, taking for granted everything would work when i plug em back in and didnt pay attenton to how I had em, ive learned my lesson there, but what plugs do u suggest for the vcr to dazzle and dazzle to puter hookup..

[presto]

Red, Yellow, and White tipped cables from VCR out to Dazzle In.

USB cable out of Dazzle into USB of computer.

[Superstar24]

Well, I did the set up with the VCR & Dazzle as you suggested and still had the lines. So, I uninstalled and re-installed Pinnacle, and soon as that was all done I hooked up a new VCR to the Dazzle the way you suggested and I still had the lines.
What is weird is a few weeks ago I had about 5 videos still on my computer that I captured over a month ago so I made them into DVD's and they came out great. So, I took one of the videos that I made into a DVD (this was one of the captured videos I just talked about) and tried playing it on here to see if it worked out, but it didn't, it had the lines too, when I captured it before it didn't.
So all those suggestions you made, made sense but unfortunately none worked.
I'm really at a loss now. I've un-installed and re-installed Studio about 4 or 5 times...sent the Dazzle back, got a new one today...have tried different cords...tried it with and without the Clarifer...tried different videos(videos that captured perfect before, but not now).....tried different VCR's...tried different cord hookups....
I don't know what's left? Could it possibly be a problem inside of my computer maybe? That's why I posted a few posts ago about maybe another system recovery because when I did my last one a few weeks ago. That is when I noticed the problem started (however, I don't know if it was the cause of it because I didn't capture any videos immediately before I did the recovery, I just made the ones I already had captured and saved into DVD's, which were 6. Then did the recovery, but those DVD's came out fine, it was a few weeks since my last capture when I did the recovery)
So, now what? I don't know what else could be the problem. I've listed everything I've done in this post, I don't see what could be left?

[presto]

and tried playing it on here to see if it worked out, but it didn't, it had the lines too, when I captured it before it didn't.

What do you mean "played it on here"?

[Superstar24]

oops, that was a mistype, sorry. I do the net stuff on my laptop, when I got that is when I did the recovery on my desktop cause I was just gonna use that for the video stuff, so disregard that part of the post, my mistake.

[presto]

Superstar, you said you "played it on here". What did you mean by that?

[Superstar24]

I didnt mean to say that, it was just a mistype on my part, just ignore that..

[Nelson37]

Superstar, you need to answer a very important question!!!

Are you saying that a DVD, which you burned from a previous capture, had been played and viewed and did NOT have the lines previously, and you have just played this same DVD disk, and it now DOES have the lines?

This would completely eliminate the PC from the issue, would indicate a problem with the TV itself or some sort of electrical interference.

[Superstar24]

Here is what happened..yes a DVD that I made previously I played it on my regular DVD player and it was perfect, no lines (the video that I captured and made it from captured before perfectly, with no lines.
So what I did last night was take that same video that captured perfectly before and played it again last night after I uninstalled and reinstalled Studio, and it played and the lines were there this time..

[Superstar24]

So, in other words VHS videos that I have captured before that worked perfectly (with no lines) now have lines in them and nothing I've done to try to fix it has worked.

[Superstar24]

To clarify even furher I see the lines as I'm capturing, actually I don't even do the actual capturing, I hit play on my VCR and it plays the video in Studio software preview window and that is when I see the lines, I don't even press the start capturing button because those lines shouldn't be there, they were never there before. I don't make them into DVDs because of the lines.
The videos I have captured and made before into DVDs did not have the lines , (the same videos that now have the lines did not have them before this problem started, in other words.)

[Nelson37]

This is getting very frustating.

Did you play them in the standalone DVD player or on the Computer?

If you play previously good disks in the standalone player, and they have the lines, then they are inherent in your display or environment and have nothing whatsoever to do with the PC.

Unless the TV is bad, most likely problem is electrical interference. This must be systematically tested as has been described twice now.

[Superstar24]

The way I have everything setup is my regular DVD player is hooked up to my regular TV, not my computer. The DVDs that I've made before do not have the lines in them.
I have a VCR hooked up to my computer totally seperate from my regular TV.
The VHS videos that I try to capture by playing them in the VCR hooked to my computer have the lines in them. If I take the video out of that VCR that is hooked up to the computer and play it on my other VCR that is also hooked to my regular TV the lines are not there then. Thats why I thought it was the Dazzle but they sent me the new one yesterday and the lines are still there, so thats why I'm thinking maybe it's something in my computer that is causing this, that's really the only thing that could be left that is causing it.
The lines are only present when I play the video on my VCR hooked up to my computer when I try to capture the video in my Studio software (and it's not the VCR because I've tried 2 different VCRs)

[presto]

ANYTHING you play from two different VHS players and one DVD player has the lines in the Pinnacle preview window. True or False?

[Superstar24]

I haven't hooked a DVD player up to my computer and tried playin a DVD on it, I don't know if it'd work the same as the VCR hooked to the computer does? but yes anything I've tried to play on my computer with 2 different VCRs have the lines in them, so true.

[presto]

Do you have any video files on your computer that you can add to the timeline in Pinnacle and see if you get those lines?

[Superstar24]

Do you mean from videos that I captured before that captured perfect without the lines? No, I don't..I made all of those into DVD's and right after that is when I did the system recovery and thats when I noticed all the problems starting...

[presto]

No, I mean some completely unrelated video you might have downloaded from the internet. If you don't have any video clips like that try doing a search for *.mpg and find some sample movie that is on your computer and try to look at it in Pinnacle.

I doubt you will see the lines. It almost has to be interference on the line comining in. On the other hand if you see the lines on a completely unrelated clip then it is a problem with Pinnacle Studio.

[Superstar24]

I did that search as you said and 2 videos came up,one that said PhotoShoot that came with the Studio, and one that said Video 1, so I played it and is was a brief capture that I did of one of the problem videos, about 5 secs. worth, I remember I only did it to see if the lines were there after I captured and I remembered they were...but this time when the video played, the lines weren't there....why do you think that is? What do you think that means?

[Superstar24]

Everytime after I capture a video the first thing I do is go to VideoRedo and check the audio in there to make sure it's in sync and I remember after I captured that sample, which was 17 secs, not 5 as I said in my last post, the lines were still there. Now, in that video 1 that came up in the search they weren't there. So now I'm even more confused..

[presto]

What happens if you capture some video from your VHS tape and then save that video to your hard drive and then open the video in Video Re Do? Are the lines there? Go ahead and do it, don't rely on your memory of doing it before.

It IS possible that the lines only show in the preview and not on the actual captured video.

[Superstar24]

Ok, I'll try capturing some of the video both with and without the Clarifier hooked up..do u think it matters if I have the TV from the VCR hooked up to my computer? I remember in an earlier post u said to take it off then capture, does it matter either way?