Problems capturing analogue video in Virtualdub and OBS Studio

[techmot]

The 'copy protection' message is a hardware malfunction. I thought I had already explained that.


Well something must have changed. Maybe not directly by you but due to testing other software. So go through all the settings. If you do not understand any of them post back with the appropriate screen-shots. Pretty difficult to diagnose otherwise except that the capture device is as sh*ty as I suspect it to be. lordsmurf will sure have an opinion about that and you may wish to wait until he comes back on here.

I've been through all of the settings in Vdub and I cannot see anything that's changed.

What other capture devices would you recommend?. As I've only a laptop I can't install a capture card.

I also have Virtualdub2.0 (portable) installed and it seems to be able to capture, though I am still getting the stuttery video on playthrough, and even rewinding or fastforwarding the tape produces the same stuttering video (there's nothing wrong with the tape or VCR). I have checked frame rate and appears be as it should at 25fps for PAL.

[DB83]

Well if you can capture with vdub2 then do so and post that sample clip.

[techmot]

Well if you can capture with vdub2 then do so and post that sample clip.

Where should I post it too, youtube?

[DB83]

No. You were told to post it direct to this topic as an attachment. Then we see the exact video not what youtube has re-encoded.

[techmot]

No. You were told to post it direct to this topic as an attachment. Then we see the exact video not what youtube has re-encoded.

No worries

https://files.videohelp.com/u/301282/Virtualdub%20capture%20issue.avi

Not sure if I've attached the video above correctly.

[DB83]

I would now review your capture settings. The audio bitrate is double what it should be and this seems to be throttling the video. Also your choice of video codec is strange. I would select huffyuv or lagarith. These have significantly higher video bitrates and thus easier to assess any issues.

[techmot]

I would now review your capture settings. The audio bitrate is double what it should be and this seems to be throttling the video. Also your choice of video codec is strange. I would select huffyuv or lagarith. These have significantly higher video bitrates and thus easier to assess any issues.

Thanks for that. What should I set the audio bitrate to?. I never knew the audio was double what it should as I never changed anything just left it as it was, though I think I did change video codec.

I've just opened Vdub again to change the video codec you suggested, and now I can't even get a signal, just a blank screen, yet the capture device is selected and so is composite. Yet earlier it was working both in Vdub and Vdub2.0. Very frustrating. Why is my laptop doing this?. Is there someone remotely changing things? lol

[DB83]

I have attached the mediainfo report of your file with a comparison of one of my captures using vdub. You will note the disparity between the video and the audio.


PCM should only be 1536 kb/s. How you have arrived at double this is beyond my comprehension since there is no actual setting for PCM audio. It is strictly uncompressed.


Your video using vp8 is highly compressed and your PC will have to work harder to compress at the same time as capturing. And that can also lead to dropped frames (not checked due to the throttling)


But as to your other issue I am sorry I do not have a clue.

[techmot]

I have attached the mediainfo report of your file with a comparison of one of my captures using vdub. You will note the disparity between the video and the audio.


PCM should only be 1536 kb/s. How you have arrived at double this is beyond my comprehension since there is no actual setting for PCM audio. It is strictly uncompressed.


Your video using vp8 is highly compressed and your PC will have to work harder to compress at the same time as capturing. And that can also lead to dropped frames (not checked due to the throttling)


But as to your other issue I am sorry I do not have a clue.

I don't know why those settings were set, stranger still when there is no actual setting. Could I have downloaded a bad version of Vdub?. Either it's my hardware going wrong or maybe some kind of malicious malware or virus that's disrupting things? I don't know. Or maybe another programme is causing this?. I've never heard of vp8.

[oln]

The reason for the audio bitrate being higher is that the capture was done with audio set to 96 khZ rather than the standard 48 khZ. Some devices may use be set to it by defaultI think for instance blackmagic/decklink does) . It's not really wrong as such, just a bit more than needed, 48khZ is usually more than enough. It being set to 96 khZ could be one cause of issues however.

No idea why it would default to vp8 for video though.

USB 2861 indicates a card using a empia usb chip (the video chip can vary) which are known to be a bit hit and miss on windows 10.

t's pretty normal to get stutter/drops when Rewinding/fast forward as that will output a somewhat non-standard video signal, to isolate whether it's the source or computer that's causing issues you would preferably use the menu on a dvd-player or similar with analog output(not a VCR menu as those were often non-standard top) as that should normally give you a stable signal.

[DB83]

Well if you have doubt about vdub uninstall/delete the folders for both vdub and vdub2.


Download the 32 bit versions of each (remember my comment about 32/64 bit) and run from the folders (vdub2 does come with both 32 and 64 bit versions in the same install)


But get them direct from the software section on this site. If you got them from elsewhere you might have unwittingly installed some malware. So it is also worth checking your PC for malware/viruses. Do a site search for recc programs such as Malwarebytes


If a driver issue is causing problems you should update from the website of the supplier and not rely on third-party sources. If your capture device is quirky then the drivers could well cause issues.


You asked about other capture devices. Well I use a Hauppauge USB-Live2 which does have good driver support. I also note you are using Windows8. Not the greatest OS on the planet. Did you update to 8.1 ?

[Cornucopia]

Audio samplerate show 96kHz, which is double the normal, common 48 (or also common 44.1). Great for highest quality masters, not so great for distributed streaming media constraints.


Scott

[DB83]

re the audio, I just had a 'flash of inspiration'


Is the audio from the vcr connected to the capture device or to your soundcard. The report from AmarecTV suggests the latter and you might have that set by your audio software.

[techmot]

re the audio, I just had a 'flash of inspiration'


Is the audio from the vcr connected to the capture device or to your soundcard. The report from AmarecTV suggests the latter and you might have that set by your audio software.

I think it's connected to the capture device, or is supposed to be. If that's what maybe causing how do I fix it?.

[techmot]

Well if you have doubt about vdub uninstall/delete the folders for both vdub and vdub2.


Download the 32 bit versions of each (remember my comment about 32/64 bit) and run from the folders (vdub2 does come with both 32 and 64 bit versions in the same install)


But get them direct from the software section on this site. If you got them from elsewhere you might have unwittingly installed some malware. So it is also worth checking your PC for malware/viruses. Do a site search for recc programs such as Malwarebytes


If a driver issue is causing problems you should update from the website of the supplier and not rely on third-party sources. If your capture device is quirky then the drivers could well cause issues.


You asked about other capture devices. Well I use a Hauppauge USB-Live2 which does have good driver support. I also note you are using Windows8. Not the greatest OS on the planet. Did you update to 8.1 ?

I think I did get Vdub from this site, weather it was from an external site I can't remember. Could be as you say malware's been installed.

[DB83]

Well the audio is easily checked. If you have three cables in to the device it is direct to the device.


I do not know if it is possible to 'split' the audio between the device and your laptop inputs. It is just that this 'double' audio is narking me now. But do also check your Windows Sound under the recording tab to see what that says for analog audio in. There should be an item for your capture device.

[techmot]

Well the audio is easily checked. If you have three cables in to the device it is direct to the device.


I do not know if it is possible to 'split' the audio between the device and your laptop inputs. It is just that this 'double' audio is narking me now. But do also check your Windows Sound under the recording tab to see what that says for analog audio in. There should be an item for your capture device.

I downloaded a version of Vdub called VdubAIO Beta, not sure if it's the correct one but this version I was able to get a signal from the VCR, but I'm still getting the bad stuttering. How do you change the audio again if that's what maybe causing the issue?. There are so many options to click on. And what do I need to do for video compression?

[DB83]

I have no idea what AIO is (maybe All in One). Over the years there have been many variants of vdub but now one should stick with the tried and tested vdub and vdub2 unless you are using certain software that calls one of these. I always stay away from BETAs. And who is not to say that the next time you try to use it you will get the same issue.


I do not think. for reasons already explained, you can change the audio within vdub when you choose PCM. There may well be a program on your PC that has set this for unrelated reasons - do check the advanced tab in sound to see if you have a selectable option (mine is fixed at 48khz). Just, for now, use a lossless codec such as huffyuv 2.1.1 or Lagarith.

[techmot]

I have no idea what AIO is (maybe All in One). Over the years there have been many variants of vdub but now one should stick with the tried and tested vdub and vdub2 unless you are using certain software that calls one of these. I always stay away from BETAs. And who is not to say that the next time you try to use it you will get the same issue.


I do not think. for reasons already explained, you can change the audio within vdub when you choose PCM. There may well be a program on your PC that has set this for unrelated reasons - do check the advanced tab in sound to see if you have a selectable option (mine is fixed at 48khz). Just, for now, use a lossless codec such as huffyuv 2.1.1 or Lagarith.

The Advanced tab in sound is set to 24 bit, 48000 HZ (Studio Quality)

[Attachment 62514 - Click to enlarge]

[DB83]

Not relevant since that is a playback device. Check the recording devices.


Do you have ANY software to create audio files ?


But for now just create another sample vid with the lossless codec and forget about the audio (just turn audio preview in vdub off - it may read as 'enable audio playback') It only affects audio playback/preview for recording not general playback in other programs.

[Cornucopia]

That is the settings for your sound card's playback. That has nothing to do with the settings for capture or for compression.

Scott

[dellsam34]

The OP still hasn't confirmed if he is capturing with audio preview off, Because that will stutter the capture.

[techmot]

Not relevant since that is a playback device. Check the recording devices.


Do you have ANY software to create audio files ?


But for now just create another sample vid with the lossless codec and forget about the audio (just turn audio preview in vdub off - it may read as 'enable audio playback') It only affects audio playback/preview for recording not general playback in other programs.

Just downloaded another version of VDub (though the one below the 64 bit version doesn't work, or rather won't detect the signal) from the software section, disabled "enable audio playback" and the bad stuttering has almost gone, though it does still stutter or preduce lag a little on playthrough, recording and playback, and the audio seems out of sync, plus the file size is massive (over 1gb for a few seconds). What's causing the lag I don't know as it can't be the audio, and my processor is pretty decent.

I probably have software somewhere on my system to create audio files.

Link to the video with enable audio playback disabled, an improvement but not perfect with lagging and sync issues. Maybe I need to configure the video compression.

https://files.videohelp.com/u/301282/Vdub%20test%20with%20Enable%20audio%20playback%20disabled.avi

[themaster1]

"format not acceptable", by any chance check this is not YUY2 vs rgb issue.
and also: audio format 16 bit 44 khz
image format: start with 320x240 see if you get an image then try 720x480

[techmot]

"format not acceptable", by any chance check this is not YUY2 vs rgb issue.
and also: audio format 16 bit 44 khz
image format: start with 320x240 see if you get an image then try 720x480

I've gone back into VDub after not using it for a few hours, and now it won't detect my capture device, or rather there's no video display when I select "capture AVi" and select composite (which is already selected). Must be something wrong with the capture device. I think these cheap USB capture devices are terrible, waste of time in my opinion. I would use Corel Video but it is a pain because it will randomly display the copy protected message.

[dellsam34]

The condition of your tape is very bad, a lot of drop outs, Capturing it without a good capture card and a frame TBC is almost impossible. Some had luck using a Panasonic ES-10 or ES-15 DVD recorder in the passthrough mode, but really depends on the condition of the tape.

[techmot]

The condition of your tape is very bad, a lot of drop outs, Capturing it without a good capture card and a frame TBC is almost impossible. Some had luck using a Panasonic ES-10 or ES-15 DVD recorder in the passthrough mode, but really depends on the condition of the tape.

Unfortunately most of my tapes suffer from drop outs, barely a tape that doesn't jump due to a combination of things like the tapes having been re-recorded, not being stored on boxes or cases or maybe a previously bad VCR which had bad heads. I have a Panasonic DMR VHS/DVD recorder combi which does do a good job of stabilising shaky tapes, more so than any other VCR I've had, just a pity it has malfunctioned when I swapped over a tape into another cassette because the back lid/flap was missing, but because the spring came off the flap and I inserted the tape into the machine without the spring attached to the rear flap it seems to have knocked the idler. I prefer capturing to my laptop rather than using a DVD recorder due to the MPEG-2 compression being more obvious even when recording on SP mode.

[oln]

Even if the vhs deck in the panasonc DMR doesn't work you can still use it to stabilise video from another vcr by sending the video signal through it and capturing the output from the s-video or component outputs and into the capture card (rather than using it to record directly to dvds). Well at least for tapes without copy protection on them.

[dellsam34]

I prefer capturing to my laptop rather than using a DVD recorder due to the MPEG-2 compression being more obvious even when recording on SP mode.

I never said record to a DVD disc, I said passthrough, Meaning you still going to be using your VCR and laptop.

[techmot]

Even if the vhs deck in the panasonc DMR doesn't work you can still use it to stabilise video from another vcr by sending the video signal through it and capturing the output from the s-video or component outputs and into the capture card (rather than using it to record directly to dvds). Well at least for tapes without copy protection on them.

I didn't know you could do that. So you mean the current working VCR I am using I connect the cables from that machine upto the other VCR, and from that VCR connect another set of cables to the USB input of my laptop?. The working VCR is a basic Bush VCR that I bought a few weeks ago just so I get the tapes transferred and has just one scart on the back and 3 composite inputs on the front and on the back - the front ones are likely input only), there's no S-Video output, but my Panasonic VHS/DVD recorder combi does have S-Video outout, but as I've said it has become faulty and I could do with getting it repaired, but not many repair shops around these days, and asking so called experts on youtube is like pulling teeth. S-video inputs on VCRs seem to be quite uncommon, unless it's an expensive machine like the Panasonic DMR I have, not many bog standard cheap VCRs had them.

Failing that, I could always buy a decent spec desktop PC with a good capture card capable of dealing with analogue video capturing. Do you recommend any?. My old desktop PC had a video graphics card installed, but the PC is so old that it's not worth bothering with. The monitor For a few years of using it I had connected to a 17" Dell CRT monitor (a heavy beast) and it's about 23 years old but still works.