Can't capture AVI with ATI 7500

[DarrellS]

I've tried so many different Catalysts and MMCs that I've gone insane. Every time I capture an AVI, it plays fine in my players but the second that I open them in a video editor, they're all out of sync.
I have found that if I use Virtualdub-MPEG2 or Virtual VCR, they come out perfect but not in any ATI software that I've used or in either Virtualdub or VirtualdubMod.
I installed an audio card, thinking that would help but it didn't. Sometimes ATI's PC Check gives a audio clock error for the sound card and sometimes it doesn't but it doesn't matter since it's always out of sync. My brother has the same sound card with a newer ATI AIW card and he has no problem capturing AVI. I tried using his software but his card is made for XP (like almost all the new ATI cards) so it wouldn't install on Windows 2000.
Since I watch TV on my computer, I really need the ATI MMC software to work. My other options are to just capture in MPEG2 or ATI VCR which both work flawlessly or buy a $300 card since none of the cheaper cards will work with Windows 2000.
Does anyone out there have a AIW 7500 that they have gotten to work with the ATI software and if so, which combination of catalyst and MMC files do you use or is there a magic setting hidden away somewhere that I can't find that will get it to capture in time?
The video is 29.970 but the audio is always 30.057 or more.
I've seen a few posts with people having the same problem but I can't find any solutions.

I could've sworn when I had this card in the 98SE 566Mhz Celeron HP with onboard Crystal audio 2 years ago that my AVI captures were fine using the original catalyst software.

[gammer]

I have the exact same problem with the same ATI card and software.

If I capture an AVI with vDub, it is fine and sync is fine.

But if I capture an AVI with MMC, it plays fine in Windows Media Player, but if I try to edit or encode it, the audio is all out of sync.

vDub definitly does a better job with audio sync.

If you want to capture with MMC, then what I do is capture mpeg2 with "I-Frames Only", chose MPEG (not MPEG DVD), and crank both bitrate adjustments up to 20 MB/s and CPU up to 100. Encode with a software encoder like TMPGEnc.

This will allow you to take advantage of MMC features and keep the audio in sync.

[jman98]

Crap! Capturing I Frames Only at 20 Mb/s is a pretty extreme step to take.

I wish I could help, but I want to give you both something to think about. This kind of thing is EXACTLY why I gave up on ATI cards years ago. Why on earth do so many of you have this false belief that if you can't capture in AVI mode it sucks? I do MPEG based captures all the time. They look terrific.

I got started almost 6 years ago doing video captures of TV shows to my PC. I have lost track of how many guys I have read about over the years who spent multihundreds of dollars buying more memory, faster disk drives, new sound cards and even new CPUs just to make their stupid ATI cards do what they are supposed to do. The idea of spending a fraction of the money on a card that does hardware encoding and just works is "crazy" compared to spending $500+ to beef up your system to make ATI do what it is supposed to do out of the box. Is it fun to continue to bang your head against a wall trying to make ATI work?

DarrellS - Hauppauge makes fine cards that work with Windoze 2K. The PVR-250 and PVR-350 are both excellent cards. Yes, you can only capture in (gasp!) MPEG-1/2 with them. If we were to compare captures at bit rates of say 8500 or so with your ATI captures, I really don't think any objective person would conclude that the Hauppauge captures suck or are inferior to AVI captures, but you guys who are married to AVI captures have sold your soul to ATI since it's about the only option you've got. I have the PVR-350. It just works. Life is good. I think the PVR-250 (lacks the video out that the PVR-350 has but otherwise it's the same) sells for about $120.

I NEVER, EVER have your problems with my captures. It's your call on what to do. By the way, ATI sync problems are almost always caused by weird sound card issues. Bet your original PC had a different sound card that played nice with ATI.

[DarrellS]

As stated in my original post, I have NO PROBLEM CAPTURING MPEG if that's what I have to do, it's AVI that I'm having problems capturing. Why would I want to buy a card that only captures in MPEG when I already have one that will do that? My ATI card does an excellent job of capturing MPEG.

I would rather not have to buy anything. That's why I'm looking for answers in here. If I have to buy another sound card that is compatible with this video card then fine. The one I have was given to me anyway.

My brother's ATI AIW 2006 Edition does everything it's supposed to do on his PC as does my friends' so I don't want to get into a battle over what company is better at making video cards. I just want to find a solution to my sync problem from someone who has had the same issue and found a cure.

[teegee420]

It's been a while since I've had to capture to AVI with my old 7500(stuck the card in my mother's PC). I don't know if this helps, but I used MMC 8x and it worked fine. If you can't find an older version, stick with Virtual VCR or Dscaler.

[slukaczyk]

I have an AIW 7500 (AGP) and the same sound card you show (Turtle Beach Catalina) and I have captured many hours of video from VHS source in the .avi format with no sync issues -however I use virtualdub and huffy compression to minimize the volume of data that must be written to disk. I use the Catalyst 5.1 drivers and MMC 9.03 although I never had problems with sync using virtualdub once MMC 8.7 (I think) was released. I use virtualdub because even with the newer releases of MMC/Catalyst I recall having sync issues capturing to .avi format. Even so virtualdub will drop about 40 frames per hour of video to keep the audio in sync but those few dropped frames don't seem to affect final DVD video. BTW Virtualdub version is 1.6.11. And as you state, MPEG captures are always in sync. I thought that maybe my processor might be too slow, P4 1.8g and so I went to a 2.8g P4 with all other hardware the same - still 40 dropped frames/hour in vdub. Just curious, what do you want/need to capture in .avi format anyways??

[DarrellS]

Well, I just spent about 8 hours trying to completely uninstall the ATI software and reinstall, using a couple of cleaning programs I found on the internet. After about a hundred different error messages, I was finally able to get the original CD to install (gave up on the parts that were recommended) and I've made three test captures and although the first was out of sync, the 2nd and 3rd were OK.

I have a feeling that as long as I don't try and update anything from ATI that it will be OK. Everytime you update, it leaves all kinds of crap in the registry. I also uninstalled a couple of trial editing programs a week or so ago (Vegas and Premiere) and Studio 8 that left all kinds of crap also that was probably causing problems.

[gammer]

Why on earth do so many of you have this false belief that if you can't capture in AVI mode it sucks? I do MPEG based captures all the time. They look terrific.

With my ATI AWI Radeon 7500, I just dont see the same quality. I have been caping for 7 years now...tv shows and VHS...and to my eye, and any non-experienced person that I show my test DVD to, they all agree that the clip that was capped with AVI and then encoded with TMPGEnc looks the best. Exact same clip from same source.

However, I do have a newer cap card...ATI TV Wonder Pro...and IT DOES DO A GREAT MPEG CAP. I think the difference is that it uses a "Phillips" chip whereas the AIW Radeon uses an older "Theater" chip. I use the TV Wonder Pro all the time for direct mpeg captures.

For AVI...I use vDub.