ADVC-300 Install with Windows 8

[Badger 499]

Hello

I have bought a secondhand ADVC-300 device which came withan original Canopus ADVC-300 Installation CD V1.0 which I have loaded onto aWindows 8 64 bit computer. On the computer it has installed itself in thefolder - Program Files (x86)\Canopus\Picture Controller 300. The only files inthe folder are PCtrl300.exe and a readme.txt file.

When I try to run the file PCtrl300, all I get is ‘ADVC-300cannot be found. I have tried uninstalling and re-installing but I get the samemessage.

I have tried opening the file with the ADVC-300 switch on (bluefast flashing light on Analog In) and connected to an anaolog Sony Hi8CCD-TRV91E camera which is connect is on and connected via a and on. My computer is an Intel i7-2700CPU @3.40GH, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti – so it should be more than capableof dealing with the video capture. I am intending using Adobe Premiere Element11 to carry out the editing.

I cannot see any new devices in Device Manager or anyconflicts.

How do I get my ADVC to be recognised?

Also I have downloaded Picture Controller Utility forADVC-300 but this appears only to be compatible with Windows XP/2000. Is thereany utility compatible with Windows 8? If not, what do I do?


Many thanks

[DB83]

Silly question time.

You have connected the ADVC to the PC with the supplied firewire cable ?

Device should be recognised as soon as it is switched on. The Controller software is optional and you do have to set a dip-switch on the unit for PC control. Details in the manual.

[2Bdecided]

It's a standard DV device. Assuming you have the correct drivers for your firewire interface installed, then any software that supports DV will see it fine. You don't need anything specific to the ADVC300 on your PC (though you may want to use its dedicated controls).

Cheers,
David.

[Badger 499]

Hi DB83 and 2Bdecided,

The ADVC is connected to the firewire with the firewaire cable that came with the device but it was a second hand device so I am not sure if it is the original cable. Is there a standard of firewire cable that will definitely work?


Regarding the firewire device, I had it installed by the computer supplier when I had a SSD installed. I am not sure if it has the correct driver installed. This is the first time I have used the firewire card. There are no conflicts shown on device manager.


I will send an email to the computer supplier and ask for details of the driver. This may take a couple of days to get a response which I will post on this forum.


Many thanks to you both.

[DB83]

The firewire cable supplied is 6-pin to 4-pin. The 4-pin is attached to the front of the ADVC and the 6-pin goes to your firewire card.

There is a 6-pin connector on the back of the ADVC but I have never used that since I have the original cable.

Note that the manual expressly forbids connection to both 4-pin and 6-pin at the same time.

[redwudz]

If I remember correctly, the six pin version of the FireWire cable includes the two power wires. Not needed if the 300 has a included power supply. My ADVC-100 is similar. If you don't get anywhere, you might try to find a Apple computer. They used FW a bit more commonly and a user might be able to test out your ADVC-300. It can be a bit of a struggle to get FireWire and the ADVC to work with some FW cards.

If your FW card is working and your 300 is also working, they connect more or less automatically. The only software required is the FW drivers for the OS. I use WinDV for transfers from the camera or input to my PC: http://windv.mourek.cz/

DV is a fixed resolution, which you probably already know. It also consumes about 13GB per hour of hard drive space. I haven't done it in a while, but I used VirtualDub and the Cedocida DV Codec for opening the DV.

[Badger 499]

Hi DB83 and redwudz

Many thanks for the responses. I can confirm I have only a 4-pin cable fitted to the front and the 6-pin is connected to my firewire card. I have aseparate power supply for the ADVC-300.


The computer manufacturer has responded and confirmed the firewirecard should be using the main Windows driver for the card. I have sent a reply confirming there appearsto be no conflict showing on device manager. The driver file for the LSI 1394OHCI Compliant Host Controller is 1394ohci.sys (file version 6.2.9200.16384). I have also stated this is the first time I amattempting to use the firewire card and I cannot connect. So I am stuck betweenthe following possibilities:

1. Is the firewire card working properly?

2. Is the firewire cable faulty?

3. Or has the ADVC-300 stopped working?

I have asked for assistance in trying to try to rule eachout possibility. In particular I have asked whether there anyway to check ifthe firewire card is working properly. The problem is I don't have a digitalvideo camera and my digital camera(s) will not connect to the firewire cable(different socket type).


I have opened Control Panel > Devices and Printers andthe 61883 Class Bus Device is shown under 'Unspecified'. Under Properties (ofthe device) > General; the Manufacture, Model Number and Description are allunknown. The Hardware tab shows no Device Status. I await a response from the computermanufacture on whether this indicates a faulty firewire card.


My problem is I have about 25 Hi8 analog tapes to convertand edit. Possibilities 1 and 2 above are relatively cheap to buy new and check, but I suspectchecking whether the ADVC-300 is working will be a costly process within theUK.


For redwudz: I amvery much a newbie to capturing analogue (and digital) video. I have been trying to achieve this through Adobe Premiere Element 11. Is this why I am not able to recognisethe ADVC? Should I be using WinDV – does this capture from an analog source?


Many thanks

[lordsmurf]

What's sad is the fact the the ADVC-300 is worse than a $50 USB capture card.
It's old Pentium III era tech (DV) and the 300 over-filters video.

[2Bdecided]

My problem is I have about 25 Hi8 analog tapes to convertand edit. Possibilities 1 and 2 above are relatively cheap to buy new and check, but I suspectchecking whether the ADVC-300 is working will be a costly process within theUK.

Not really - you just need a DV camcorder (dirt cheap off eBay and easily re-sold via the same, or a friend may still have one) to see if that's recognised. If no = interface/driver fault. If yes = ADVC/settings fault. Alternatively you need someone who can capture DV to try your ADVC300.

Should I be using WinDV – does this capture from an analog source?

As far as the PC is concerned you are not capturing from an analogue source - you are capturing DV. Yes, you should use WinDV.

Check the DIP switches on the ADVC300 (if it has them - I have the ADVC110 which does) - though I can't imagine what combination would mean it wasn't even detected. You definitely want the DV port on the ADVC to be an output.


Cheers,
David.

[Badger 499]

Hi lordsmurf

If my ADVC is unserviceable, what USB capture card would you recommend to capture analog video from Hi 8 video camera?

[DB83]

Badger 499, I have no arguement with lordsmurf but he is particularily anti-ADVCs.

If you do get the unit working then you really do not need to use the advance filtering. I have this unit and have been more than happy with its performance over several years.

[lordsmurf]

Both high bitrate MPEG-2 (15Mb/s Blu-ray specs) and Huffyvu lossless are better.
The ATI 600 USB does the lossless.

Windows 8 is a problem OS. For video capture, Windows XP is still best, with some Windows 7 okay.

[Badger 499]

Many thanks for all your replies. I am very impressed with the quick support and helpful responses.

Whilst waiting for the response from the computer manufacturer, I removed the firewire card from my computer, restarted and turned off the computer, and then reinstalled the card. The card is now working. Clearly it had not picked up the necessary windows drivers which is has done onre-install.

The ADVC-300 is recognised and I have just done a test capture. It was jerky and very dark video image. I need to sit down this weekend and check the switch settings on my ADVC are correctly set, check what format isthe best format to import into Adobe Premiere Elements 11 to allow editing and check what file format to burn to DVD disk. Also I need to work out how WinDV interfaces with Premiere after the earlier advice.

I have only just come across this excellent forum so will attempt to get the answer on recommended format from the information contained with it.

I have a new question: Is it best to record a complete Hi890 min tape as one long recording and then edit or just sections of the tape at a time?

[DB83]

Glad to read that you are now over the first hurdle.

Does the Controller Software work ? it does have a useful preview screen where you can see the brightness etc. of your image before you commit to capture.

WinDv will also show the preview but you will have to enlarge that as it defaults to a small window.

The Controller sw has various sliders to do basic adjustments without touching upon the advance filtering otherwise you will have to use the buttons on the ADVC (details in the manual).

The jerkiness that you see could well be a tbc issue or your pc esp if you only have one HDD.

To answer your new question, that really depends on the content on the tape. Distinct recordings could be captured separately but if you have the disk space - 90 mins is 20 gig - you can still capture complete and edit in Premiere.

[Badger 499]

Hi DB83

I am not sure, I am having to go out tonight and over the weekend I will 'play/experiment' with the Controller Software, ADVC dip switches and Adobe Premiere Elements to see if I can improve the quality of the capture. I could see a preview screen in Premiere Elements.


I had a 1TB new HDD fitted and my OS is on a SSD, so my computer speed is akin to the brown stuff falling off a shovel. I did this upgrade because I was aware of the resource implication of rendering video etc.


Am I going on the right lines of capturing the analog video using Premiere Elements or should I be using WinDV?


I am sorry I cannot respond further but I am having to leave right now.

[redwudz]

If Premiere works, use it. The software used to capture DV doesn't matter much, it's all done by firmware in the ADVC 300.
The dark capture you see may very likely be dip switch related.
Not sure about the jerkiness. Is that during preview or during playback from the HDD?
Preview screens from a video editor are often unreliable for judging quality as the PC may be too busy to update them.

[DB83]

IIRC Premiere only captures as Mpeg-2 or DV.

redwudz makes a good point about 'jerkiness' at capture point. I do Mpeg-2 transcoding through my ADVC and that only displays occassional frames. However, using the same software, DV capture is smooth

[manono]

...and the 300 over-filters video.

Not if you turn off the default filtering, it doesn't. I have and use one and love it. Yes, high bitrate MPEG-2 and lossless are better, but it does the job for me.

...over the weekend I will 'play/experiment' with the Controller Software, ADVC dip switches ...

You shouldn't need to 'play' with the dip switches. Just set them up correctly without using any of the filtering ones.The manual will be helpful with that. Then do your levels adjusting in the software with the aid of a few short test captures before doing the 'real capture. If you're not using AviSynth for anything, then use the histograms in whatever you do use to make sure everything is set up correctly for that particular tape.

I use WinDV and don't have or use Adobe Premiere Elements.

[2Bdecided]

Both high bitrate MPEG-2 (15Mb/s Blu-ray specs) and Huffyvu lossless are better.

Lossless is obviously mathematically better, though rarely visibly better.

In the few extreme cases where DV creates visible problems (i.e. sources with more noise than picture), "high bitrate" MPEG-2 at 15Mbps will be much worse. It's only 60% of the bitrate and relies on predicted frames - a disastrous approach when there are high levels of noise.


If you want to beat DV with MPEG, you need 50Mbps I-frame only, and no consumer gear supports that. It's more than good enough for noisy SD sources which need to stand another round of encoding. In a broadcast environment, DV isn't good enough for noisy or detailed SD sources to stand anther round of encoding without the presence of DV up the chain adding a little visible loss in the output - but if the sources aren't that detailed and aren't that noisy, it's hard to spot the loss due to DV. I'm talking about broadcast levels of quality here - for amateurs this obsession with lossless is often utterly pointless. It's the processing and final encoding that matter in the digital domain, and the VCR, TBC and levels that matter in the analogue domain.


Cheers,
David.

[Brad]

If you want to beat DV with MPEG, you need 50Mbps I-frame only

What makes MPEG-2 so much worse that it would need double the bitrate?

[2Bdecided]

If you want to beat DV with MPEG, you need 50Mbps I-frame only

What makes MPEG-2 so much worse that it would need double the bitrate?

OK, I phrased that badly. It's not worse - using I-frame only, it's roughly equivalent. But if you want to be sure of noticeably improving the (already decent) results, increase the bitrate by a large margin. I chose 50Mbps because I've seen it used and believe it to be sufficient.


Cheers,
David.

[lordsmurf]

MPEG-2 @ 15Mb/s, non I-frame, is better simply because the chroma is 4:2:0 (MPEG NTSC) and not 4:1:1 (DV NTSC). The chroma is too low for conversion. Its throws out half the color data.

PAL is fine, both are 4:2:0 (different methods, but comparable).

[Cornucopia]

@lordsmurf, 4:1:1 is equivalent to 4:2:0, not worse (less horizontal rez, more vertical rez). Again, different methods, but comparable. Problems only enter when 4:1:1 is SUBSEQUENTLY converted to another color subsampling system, like 4:2:0. Then the loss is compounded.
If you stay ONLY within 4:1:1 the whole time (or uprez to 4:2:2), it's fine.

Scott

[Brad]

Problems only enter when 4:1:1 is SUBSEQUENTLY converted to another color subsampling system, like 4:2:0. Then the loss is compounded.

I think that's what he meant, though the "it" in his paragraph certainly wasn't clear. Both methods reduce the data by 1/4, but if you do 4:1:1 -> 4:2:0 you're left with 1/8 (1/4 horizontal * 1/2 vertical). Or in other words half (of the 1/2 horizontal) resolution you would get if you did 4:2:0 directly without the 4:1:1 intermediate.

Assuming my math is correct. I still would like to see evidence that it makes a difference for VHS, which shouldn't need 180 columns to reproduce "~30 lines" of chroma.

[2Bdecided]

MPEG-2 @ 15Mb/s, non I-frame, is better simply because the chroma is 4:2:0 (MPEG NTSC) and not 4:1:1 (DV NTSC). The chroma is too low for conversion. Its throws out half the color data.

VHS = 30 lines of chroma, NTSC DV = 180 lines of chroma. It is a non-issue for VHS capture.

If you want to use a broken DV decoder that just repeats each NTSC chroma sample 4 times, that's up to you. There are free ones which interpolate just fine, losing nothing of the gorgeous original VHS chroma resolution


Cheers,
David.