WinDV, Audio capture issue

[jkg51781]

I am having some sound problems when attempting to capture dv video from my Canon Optura 60. I am using WinDV to capture the dv from the camera. I have WinDV setup capture Type-2 {vid+aud} and split the video on a 3720 second discontinuity.

WinDV captures and separates all the dv video as desired. However, 2 of the 12 files do not have any sound (2 video segments). The 2 files are at random places in the dv tape. The 10 other files are perfectly fine.

If I set WinDV to capture Type-1 {iavs}, WinDV captures and separates all the dv video as desired. The 2 problem video segments play and sound fine in Windows Media Player. However, if I play the 2 problem video segments in VLC, the speed of the sound is slow, and there is distinct popping and clicking sounds.

When I encode the 2 problem segments in TMPGEnc, they encode with the popping, clicking, and slow speed sound.

I have tried pressing play on the camcorder before clicking Capture in WinDV as suggested in another thread. However, this does not resolve the issue.

Does any one have any ideas what might be causing this?

Thanks,
JKG

[daamon]

Hi jkg51781,

My guess would be that it's not WinDV or a settings problem - I'd imagine it's more likely to do with either: firewire card, firewire cable, heads in the cam itself etc.

You could try cleaning the heads in the cam. Also, try uninstalling the card and re-installing it, and (if possible) try a different cable.

Only do one of these at a time - that way, if it's resolved, you can identify the cause.

Good luck.

[jkg51781]

Thankyou for the suggestions, I will test each part you mentioned.

To add a little more information, when I hook the Camcorder to the TV, the video and sound play back fine for the whole dv tape.

I have attempted to capture this specific tape about 6 times so far. Each time, the same exact 2 video segments have the audio issues.

With Type-2 {vid+aud} if I capture the the video with discontinuity set to 0, I am able to capture the whole tape. During the 2 specific problem segments there is no audio.

With Type-1 {iavs} if I capture the the video with discontinuity set to 0, I am able to capture the whole tape. I do not notice any audio problems during the 2 specific problem segments. I have not attempted to encode the whole tape at once.

I am currently testing another dv tape that was recorded at a different time.

[daamon]

Hi jkg51781,

The fact that you can play the whole tape on your TV, to me, rules out the heads and / or the cam itself.

Also, the fact that you can capture to Type 1 - again, to me - suggests that the firewire card and cable are OK.

Also, the fact that the problem is in the exact same place every time also discounts heads, cam and firewire cable / card.

However, as to what's causing the problem? I'm stumped.

You could try this workaround: capture to DV AVI Type 1 and use DV Type 1 to DV Type 2 Converter to convert to type 2, then see how the Type 2 DV AVI audio is.

I hope that helps. Good luck...

[redwudz]

I have to say I know next to nothing about DV camcorders.

But reading the above, it sounds like the tape may have dropouts in it. DV is a digital format and a couple of 0's and 1's would likely not be missed when the camera converts to analog video for your TV output.

But the computer may see it differently over a Firewire input of DV.

Let us know how it goes with the different tape.

[jkg51781]

I am starting to think the issue might be related to the Canon Optura 60 camcorder. While leaving all the computer hardware, software, Firewire components the same. I had my friend bring his Sony HC30 cam over and I took his DV tape and put it in the Canon Optura 60 and attempted to capture DV video he took on his Sony HC30. Using both WinDV and DVIO, I experienced similar problems with his DV tape. From his tape, I was able to capture (in WinDV and DVIO) Type-2 DV video, but there was no sound. When I attempted to capture Type-1 DV, I had the same issue as before. The video play and sound fine in Windows Media Player. However, if I play the video segments in VLC, there was no sound at all and VLC would not play the video correctly, as if the file was corrupted, or there was some type of problem with the capture.

Next, I hooked up the Sony HC30 and put my problem DV tape into it and attempted to capture the problem video segments. Both WinDV and DVIO were able to capture the problem video segments without any problems. I was able to capture my DV tape using the Sony HC30 successfully.

I have installed all of the software and drivers that came with the Optura 60 and I have looked on Canons website for any new updates or drivers and nothing seems to be related.

[daamon]

Hmmm... I think that pretty clearly indicates the camera.

It's highly unlikely to be resolved by (re)installing software or drivers - I'd put money on it being the cam itself.

Take it into a reputable dealer, tell them what you've tried and get their opinion.

You might want to try searching / posting at www.camcorderinfo.com - an excellent site.

[zoobie]

It's WinDV...
I'm getting the same pops and clicks when capping type-1 and type-2 has sync issues...at least with me.

I just read somewhere that you can hear the sound as your capping...but everywhere else, nobody can hear a anything...like me.

I've capped in several programs and windv is the only one that ads lots of areas with pops and clicks at times. I just have to recap that part...but it's a huge pain.

[daamon]

It's WinDV...

I think that's rather a sweeping and irresponsible (not to mention unsubstantiated) statement - especially considering the huge amount of people who use WinDV on different operating systems, with different firewire cards and different cams and experience absolutley no problems whatsoever.

In all the cases in these forums where people have been having trouble, yes WinDV (and other similar apps, like DVIO) have been suspected, but I believe that it has always been exonerated and the culprit identified was hardware - cam, cable, card, sometimes even incorrectly seated memory etc.

Quite often I've seen comments from people with a detailed knowledge of DV transfer and the likes of WinDV saying that it's highly unlikely that WinDV is the cause.

I'm not saying that WinDV isn't the problem only that, given the evidence in this thread and others, it's highly unlikely.

Refer to edDV's comments in this thread:

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=290810

I've always found him to be a very liable source for detailed and accurate information.

[zoobie]

Yes...read the bottom of that thread
I determined it was probably an incompatibility between winDV and/or my dac-100 and/or my sound card
I used DVIO and it went away leaving me to believe it's winDV
If we could leave our emotion at the door, then we can deal with the facts...

[BazookaJoe]

I have the exact same problem a jkg51781, except I have a Canon Elura 65 digital camcorder.

I've been capturing to my pc, using WinDV, and the same clips are missing audio. I've captured 6 miniDV tapes on several occassions over the last two months. Of the 40 or so resultant clips, I have around 6 clips with no audio. Any recapture attempts failed with WinDV.

What I have done differently though is tested with another capturing app, particularly, MS Movie Maker. MS Movie Maker did pickup my audio, where WinDV did not. MS Movie Maker is not my first choice as a capturing package, but it did help me to isolate the problem.

I haven't tried any other apps yet, but while I like WinDV for its simplicity, the combination of Canon and WinDV does not appear to be 100% reliable, based on my incident and the other poster.

[BazookaJoe]

Just back with an update.

After doing some reading, I did a capture of my video in type 1 format. So, the video and audio are combined on one stream rather than being separated.

I then used uleads free type 1 to typ 2 converter http://www.ulead.com/download/dvconverter/dv.zip

This successfully, converted my file back to type 2.

So, now all my files are type 2, even though I had to capture some as type 1 to overcome the no audio issue.