Trying to capture under Win2k

[Laxer]

I upgraded to Win2k SP2 awhile back and today i tried to set the box up to capture tv again. I have:
ATI-TVWonder
P3-1Ghz
512Mb PC700 RDRam
IBM 60Gb 60gxp ata100 7200rpm HD
VisionTek Ge3 ti500
Win2k SP2

So I get the win2k drivers and Multimedia Center 7.1 software from ati's site and grab the latest VDub. I unpack the drivers and they tell me to get the a DirectX8 update for capture cards. I get it, install it. Then I install the card, reboot, install the drivers. I didnt install the MmC software, as ATI software sucks (its limited to 640x240 in captures). I install PicVid's MJPEG codec and VDub 1.4.10. Now here comes the problems.

Under Win98 i set the format to 352x480x24RGB and used 2:1 Cubic reduction. Under Win2k I am told this is an unsupported format. I know the TVWonder supports higher than that, atleast 480x480 cause I captured things for SVCD in the past.

If I close VDub and try to reopen in, i get no audio. I have to reboot. I havent tried to capture anything yet, but am having a devil of a time setting up vdub.

Any Win2k users can offer any help? TIA
Laxer

[ct991]

I am having the same problems with VDub. I also have a TV-Wonder and I was trying to capture higher than 640x240. It says 'Unsupported format'.

Another thing I've been wondering...Is there any alternative to ATi's TV Player program? Their software is pure shit and they're tech support (or lack thereof) leaves a LOT to be desired.

[Fede Pede]

VirtualDub is written for vfw driver
And under Win 2k you Are useing WDM driver.
You need a Capture program that aré made for WDM driver.

Here some programs that you can use.

http://mikecrash.wz.cz/
http://www.iulab.com/index.shtm?iuvcr/download

[VideoJedi]

I know for sure if you are using Win2K Advanced Server edition if terminal services are enabled, you will not be able to capture. It is a royal pain to switch terminal services on and off all the time because of the necessary rebooting, which is why I use a Win98 partition on my machine for capturing. I have a Radeon 64 DDR with VIVO.

[Laxer]

Thank you Fede, I had no idea of the differences between 2k and 98.

I'm running Win2k Pro SP2 so Terminal Services are not a problem. If you are running Advanced Server at home, you are wasting TONS of resources. A home user has no need for the additional services loaded with Advanced Server. Unless you are maintaining a 10+ computer lan at your home, "downgrade" to Professional with Service Pack 2.

Now, I'm having an audio-synch problem with iuVCR. There aren't many options like Virtual Dub. I'm capping at 352x480 using PicVid's MJPEG @ 20. Then encoding with TMPEG using the standard ntsc vcd template set to high quality. I boost the sound lvl 300% because for some reason, the audio I capture is VERY low. No idea why.

Anywho, the resulting mpeg is of perfectly acceptable quality and size, expect for the audio de-synch. The audio is off on both the avi and the mpeg. Any tips for tweaking iuVCR?
TIA

[VideoJedi]

That's the thing.. I use 2K Advanced Server because I use the terminal services everyday to do some remote checking outside my work environment. I realize there are other ways to interact with remote desktops, but luckily for me the port used for terminal services is not blocked by my ISP (they about block everything else) and it was quickest for me to setup without having to screw with VPN connections, dialup or pcanywhere. It is fast and reliable for me. What resources am I wasting by having 2K server as my main platform? I do have quite a few computers on my LAN, but this one is the best of the bunch as far as hardware goes. It's my "everything" machine. It does surprisingly well considering it is packed with hardware. One day when I get the moola, I'll replace this one with a dedicated multimedia capturing machine. It also does FTP and webserving when I feel like hosting a pic or something on the spur of a moment. I'm just wondering how much performance I am wasting by using the server edition as oppossed to professional.

[Lamont Cranston]

You can use a wdm->vfw wrapper to capture vfw with with VirtualDub under win 2k. I use it with ati aiw pro.

[zedolfblack]

Just a couple of comments from myself...

You've installed DirectX 8 (or 8.0a) and then the capture update?
Try DirectX 8.1 - the update isn't required as it's part of the 8.1 package.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads/vidcap.asp

My W2K setup using VirtualDub was capturing audio at an acceptable level until i updated my sound card drivers.
After the sound card driver update all captures required the audio recording level set to just under maximum. And even then it was unacceptable or distorted/clipping.
I reverted to the original sound card drivers (the default W2K installation) and everything was fine - capturing with audio level at about 40%.
Without the updated drivers i have no bass/treble adjustment but i can live without that and capture audio at an acceptable quality/level.

My PC:

Windows 2000 Pro SP2
Gigabyte GA-7IXEH
Duron 900
512 Mb RAM
WinTV PCI
SB16 PCI

Martin.

[Laxer]

You can use a wdm->vfw wrapper to capture vfw with with VirtualDub under win 2k. I use it with ati aiw pro.

Q8: Why VirtualDub software fails to capture a frame higher than 288 (240) pixel rows?
A: VirtualDub, like any other VFW based software, uses so called wrapper to translate VFW calls to their counterparts in "DirectShow/WDM world". This slowdowns your PC a bit, and the wrapper grabs only one TV signal field. This results in only 288 lines for PAL/SECAM and 240 lines for NTSC.

[Fede Pede]

Hi Laxer.
I haven used iuvcr for a long time. For to reason first I had frame drops, sec it cost money.
I can recommend ATV2000 for capturing (http://mikecrash.wz.cz/).
I never get frame drops and then I use VirtualDub to put filters on after.
AVT 2000 can be a little difficult to install.



Fede Pede.

[Lamont Cranston]

Q8: Why VirtualDub software fails to capture a frame higher than 288 (240) pixel rows?
A: VirtualDub, like any other VFW based software, uses so called wrapper to translate VFW calls to their counterparts in "DirectShow/WDM world". This slowdowns your PC a bit, and the wrapper grabs only one TV signal field. This results in only 288 lines for PAL/SECAM and 240 lines for NTSC.

I think you better recheck your information. The wdm->vfw wrapper captures both fields. I capture at NTSC 720 x 480 with VirtualDub & AVI_IO. http://faq.arstechnica.com/subcat.php?i=95

[Laxer]

Apparently I stand corrected :D
I grabbed the wrapper from the link you provided... now how do I install it? TIA

[Lamont Cranston]

I grabbed the wrapper from the link you provided... now how do I install it? TIA

Unzip, right click on vfwwdm.inf, and click on install. Enjoy.

[Laxer]

Ok I grabbed the wrapper, installed. VDub still says unsupported format for anything other than 320x240...

iuVCR slowly loses audio sync as the cap progresses. I didn't drop a single frame in a 30min cap. I like the interface and functionality of it. Too bad there is ZERO support for it. Why bother writing a program and then leave people to guess as to how it is used?

I didn't like ATV2000 AT ALL. Whats up with that remote? I like clean cut, straight forward interfaces, like Vdub or AVI_IO or iuVCR. I dont mind paying for it, if it works...

Starting a new thread aimed at iuVCR users. Thanks for the help guys