What might cause a USB capture device driver to suddenly blue-screen?

[Brad]

I bought one of those cheapo $20 SD capture devices with component input out of curiosity, fully expecting it to have significant issues which it did.

Wasn't expecting blue-screening though. I used it on a laptop for about a week and then suddenly the next time I plugged it in I was instantly greeted by a blue screen of death. Then again the next time I tried.

[aedipuss]

who knows? cheap chinese assembly, might have shorted out. take it apart and look at the circuit board.

[Brad]

Any tips on how to get it apart? A hammer?

[aedipuss]

i'm guessing they didn't use screws?

[aedipuss]

can't think of any of them that has component input for $20, do you actually have one of those $5 composite input easycap clones?

[Brad]

This'un.

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale/wholesale-usb-2.0-hd-av-grabber.html

[aedipuss]

interesting they call them HD when all they can do is 480p. and did the component input actually work for 480p for a week? since it's dead i'd try a heavy duty utility knife with a new blade on the side seams until it splits.

[nic2k4]

Any tips on how to get it apart? A hammer?

Best way to open a glued plastic case is with a small rubber mallet, some toothpicks and a flat piece of wood. Place the device on the wood with the seam edge up and gently tap the seam all around. Hit a little harder after you've gone around a couple of times. Eventually, the seam will open up, then you can insert a toothpick in the opening and keep hitting with the mallet and adding toothpicks until it opens completely. That way you don't damage the edges and you can put the thing back together almost like new.

Have you tried it on a different computer? You could also try to remove and re-install the driver.

[Brad]

interesting they call them HD when all they can do is 480p.

480p is even higher definition than 405-line HD! Clearly they are just taking the long view of history and not at all trying to deceive people.

and did the component input actually work for 480p for a week?

Never used it. That's what I was just going to try when it died.

The quality for the S-Video input seems fine. Here are some comparisons to the ATI 600 USB. The darker image each time is the "HD AV Grabber 2.0" -- this isn't the default but I had lowered the brightness to try to counter the blooming that I saw with the defaults, and the monitor I used wasn't calibrated.

AVS Chapter 7 -> Pioneer LaserDisc player -> Composite cable -> Pioneer DMR-E20 -> S-Video input

[jagabo]

This sounds more like a software (driver) problem to me.

[Brad]

I've got it installed on another computer using eMPIA's own 2828x driver (this device is USB 28285). But I don't have video sources available at that location to see whether it works still.

I totally forgot to mention that this thing has a fatal flaw: the captured audio always contains a high-pitched whine. Also, one of the brightness test patterns on A Video Standard caused some flickering and wiggling lines with this thing that wasn't an issue with the ATI 600.

[Nelson37]

Verifies that hardware is OK, as mentioned, remove and re-install drivers (perhaps different ones) on the original PC.

For the whine, try adjust audio levels on each end. Hi-volume in, low volume recording, OR low volume in, hi-volume recording. The first one usually works. Also see if you can physically move the device to a different location, or possibly use a USB extension cable. May be interference from a PC component or other electrical device.

However, it may just be cheap crap.