Capturing question.

[ingeborgdot]

I use the capture program with my Vegas Pro and like it but I have a question for those that know anything about it. I have never had the problem I am going to explain until a week ago. Well, when I go into the capture I get it all set up and ready to go. I hit capture but then it starts and stops. I have to start it with the play button now and then hit capture. What setting has changed and why did it change I wonder?

[smartel]

isn't vegas just too big a program just for capture !? try something smaller

[PuzZLeR]

Vegas is a resource hog. I too say use something else for capturing.

But honestly, without more information on what you're capturing, or what device/card/etc you're using it's hard to tell.

[edDV]

I'll guess.

If you are capturing DV from a camcorder, make sure "Enable DV device control" is checked in capture preferences. Uncheck this if capturing live video (e.g. from a Canopus ADVC).

[ingeborgdot]

I have tried other programs for capture but with W7 64 bit but none appeal to me. They don't integrate into Vegas like it's own capture software. I have been happier with this than any other. I have not found one that is better. What would you recommend that is better?

Resource hog? How? I have had no problem with it. What difference does it make. You are capturing. I can still work on my computer with no problem what so ever when it is capturing. Maybe I am missing something here.

[Nelson37]

A recomendation for better software would be dependent on WHAT FREAKING HARDWARE you are using to capture with.

A resource hog as in it can cause problems which often sound EXACTLY like what you are experiencing, or is this not a problem for you?

[ingeborgdot]

I have been using this for a couple of years now with no problems at all. It worked better than some of the stuff out there. You are wrong about the problem. I had just by accident checked the box that was not supposed to be checked. WORKS GREAT NOW NELSON. Better than anything else I have used to capture with.

[Nelson37]

Fantastic, would you like to actually add some useful information for future users by IDENTIFYING the box that should not be checked, and also what hardware you are using to capture with?

In my personal experience, Vegas absolutely sucked as capture software with a variety of ATI cards and a Hauppage 1600. Extremely minimal encoding options.

Apparently your experience is different but then we have no idea what hardware and/or settings you are using.

[ingeborgdot]

It is the box the edDV has in blue above. I am using a Canopus internal ADVC 100 capture device through firewire and just using a SD camera at this time. I have W7 Pro 64 OS. I would like to know what people really think is better.

[PuzZLeR]

I have tried other programs for capture but with W7 64 bit but none appeal to me. They don't integrate into Vegas like it's own capture software. I have been happier with this than any other. I have not found one that is better. What would you recommend that is better?

Resource hog? How? I have had no problem with it. What difference does it make. You are capturing. I can still work on my computer with no problem what so ever when it is capturing. Maybe I am missing something here.

Well, you have the horsepower on your system for capturing, and you're capturing to DV, which is a fixed format, so I don't think it should be a huge problem in resources and encoding quality.

But it still could be if you're running other programs at the same time - you could be dropping frames or having audio dropouts. When capturing, it's best to leave the system alone. Even an opening of an Internet browser could trigger a flaw in the capture - even with a powerful system.

And since Vegas needs more PC resources to run than a lighter capture utility would, this increases the probability of flawed captures.

Vegas is a good editor. It was designed with that objective as priority, so anything else, capturing, encoding, etc were just added as token convenience options - not because they're good. So it won't capture at minimal resources like a good stand-alone capture application would be designed to.

But like I said, you have a good system in place. And encoding quality should be similar since it's DV.

But, as Nelson touched on, for future reference,you should give more information than what you gave us if you need help.

[ingeborgdot]

In vegas capture it tells you if you drop a frame. I have never had a dropped frame yet even if I do other things on the same computer. You guys sound pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, so what would you recommend for the capture program? Thanks.

[PuzZLeR]

Like I said, you have a good enough system for capturing so it may not be an issue. And if no dropped frames are reported, all the better. But even dropped frame reports sometimes don't show audio dropouts.

I'm not sure if this will work with your Canopus 100, but an excellent tool for DV capturing is WinDV.

[ingeborgdot]

I have tried WinDV and have had problems with it. That is why I have used the Sony capture. The WinDV would lock up sometimes and do crazy things. I started out using WinDV and the problems abounded. I went to the Sony capture and never looked back until I screwed up and needed some help now. Thanks

[edDV]

It is the box the edDV has in blue above. I am using a Canopus internal ADVC 100 capture device through firewire and just using a SD camera at this time. I have W7 Pro 64 OS. I would like to know what people really think is better.

Let me explain what device control does. When a DV camcorder is connected, and one has set in/out points or just an in point, Vegas first cues the camcorder to a preroll point a few seconds before the in point so that the camcorder can get up to speed before the in point is reached. If you have the device control box selected with an ADVC, the first thing that happens when you initiate capture is a cue command is issued by Vegas. The ADVC does not respond to cue commands so the capture halts.