Diamond VC500 capturing but still frames

[syssykat]

Hi there,

I recently bought a Diamond VC500 for my Sony CCD-TRV78E to hopefully digitalise but also use the camcorder as a live capture device. It took me a while to find drivers that'll install on Windows 11 but thankfully I've done it. Now I'm dealing with an issue where it's capturing (sometimes) but when it does it only gives me a still frame. I don't know if anyone else has encountered this or if this means anything to someone more knowledgeable in this area but I'm stumped.

I know there's knock-off and cheap versions of the VC500 but the fact it's actually outputting something should mean it works, right?

Does anyone have any ideas?

PS: I know this has probably been asked before but I couldn't find anything with the limited search tools available on this forum.

[Brad]

You didn't mention which capture software, so I assume the bundled one?

Try VirtualDub, AmaRecTV, etc.

[syssykat]

My mistake, I'm using OBS but I tried VirtualDub and just now AmaRecTV with the same results. I don't think it's the capture software that's the problem.

Looking at the "Properties" window for the VC500 it tells me it has a signal.

Attached the image.

[Attachment 81260 - Click to enlarge]

[syssykat]

An update: I messed around with the VC500 on my laptop with Windows 10 and it's outputting video! That is when I use EzGrabber. When I try to use that source in OBS it doesn't work. Any ideas?

[syssykat]

Another update: Following a guide on how-to I've got OBS capturing video. I think the audio problems are from the RCA cable I got, it's cheap and not wired up properly. That said, I think this thread can be considered closed.

[lordsmurf]

- OBS is not for analog videotape capture.
- Win11 treats captures cards like webcams, which is a problem.
- VC500 is a lousy card anyway, AGC issues (random sudden bright/dark of video during play)
- "still frame" can be false anti-copy detection, ie lack of frame TBC

Honestly, this thread seems to be user error, trying to "make it work" without reading anything about the process. Video requires RTFM, but the "M" is guides, from places like this or digitalFAQ.com. Just be sure the guide is quality, not mind vomit from some random nobody Youtuber. Forums are for when the guides fail, you run into issues beyond the guides.

[syssykat]

Lordsmurf, your reputation precedes you...

Jokes aside, you were the user I saw in every thread I looked at so it makes sense I'd see you here too.

- OBS is not for analog videotape capture.

I am interested in using the camcorder as a webcam on my streams, so making it work with OBS was a high priority. I'm not in the business of getting the best absolute quality out of my tapes, and I've seen too many threads mentioning how much of a rabbit hole it is, so OBS being something I know and something that "works" is good enough for me.

- Win11 treats captures cards like webcams, which is a problem.

It works for what I want to do right now. I've seen many people talk about how modern OSes make it harder to capture but modern OSes get support and security updates. Maybe later down the line, I'll mess around with old OSes and hardware, possibly through a VM if it's doable.

- VC500 is a lousy card anyway, AGC issues (random sudden bright/dark of video during play)

From my limited knowledge and presence on this forum (and digitalfaq) it seems the VC500 went from being good to bad. I don't know why, I assume the copycats out there use low-quality chips. What I summarised from all my snooping around was that USB capture cards in general were not worth it, but the things people recommend instead are expensive, require older OSes, and are hard to find. Do you have any recommendations for something cheap that works with modern OSes?

- "still frame" can be false anti-copy detection, ie lack of frame TBC

I got it outputting video so we can tick that off. When I was using EzGrabber (because it was the only thing getting an image) I found a fix online that made the preview window work on Windows 10/11. After that worked I realised other software probably worked too and it's just a preview issue. Either way, it's outputting now and I'm too scared to mess with the black magic that is A/D conversation.

Honestly, this thread seems to be user error, trying to "make it work" without reading anything about the process.

I'll admit I probably screwed up in this area, but as a software developer, I know the importance of RTFM. I had more of an issue finding the right manual/guide. The ones from Diamond were outdated, for videohelp and digitalfaq it was hard to find recent threads on making the VC500 work on Windows 11. What I did find were replies telling them to ditch the VC500 and get an ATI AIW of some sort. That just isn't feasible for me so...