Analogue Capture - Poor Quality

[starfighter]

I'm a new user and have a problem with video capute using VS8 from my VHS camcorder to either MPEG or AVI.

I am using all of the VS8 settings recomended in the procedures and the captured video is terrible. There is pixelation, the colours are washed out and there is an overall lack of definition in the picture. I am also getting some ghosting at the very bottom of the screen. I have played the caputre back in Power DVD and it looks awful there as well. I am getting the same capture quality using Movie Maker 2. So this does not feel like it is VS8 related.

The camcorder output to my TV is great using the same cables and I get the same standard of output using by domestic VCR linked to the PC so I am happy that the camcorder is not the problem.

Hardware details etc. are Windows XP Home (no SP2) running on A P4 2ghz with 768mb DDR to ATA100drive with 100gb free. Capture is from a GeForce MX460 using WDM driver 2.2.0 (downloaded this week).

My conclusions so far is that I have good source signal, VS8 capture settings appear to be OK and it is looking like my capture hardware is not that good.

Is there anything else that I can try or do I look at getting a new capture card / interface and if so which? My options are open on this as I have PCI, USB2 and Firewire ports available for capture.

I am also considering a miniDV camcorder, probably a Canon MV700. Would I be betting getting a MV700i/730i with the AV / DV in option and using that for A/D conversion and then capture via the DV?

[GeorgeW]

Hi,

If you are planning to get a dv camcorder, then I would recommend one that has a builtin feature of analog-to-dv conversion (pass-thru going both ways).

What resolution and bitrate does your capture card allow? maybe you just have to increase them (one or both). Can you tell what resolution/bitrate your current captures are?

[david reece]

the best way to capture vhs i have found is either via a miniDV camcorder beaware it doesnt solve everything! if it is bad picture quality the camcorder may have difficulty. My camcorder doest like quality below 50 mhz (UK) . SOme old camcorders recorder below this level.

I also have a Pinnacle Movie Box DV which can capture in the sameway as a camcorder and it can cope with lower quality video. I am sure there are other boxes available which do the same thing.

I am afriad the only way yo capture without pixelation is not to do direct MPG2 capture as this is what is causig your problem!

I capture as DV.AVi first at 720x576 and then convert to MPG afterwards.

If you are capturing as AVI i have found that if you set the parameters to 358x288 it tends to improve the matter. In the pinnacle manual it states AVi can be no larger than this. Only DV.AVI has 720x576 capture frame.

THe other problem with AVI is audio synch. it tends to go awry str8 away!

[starfighter]

How do I find my capture card settings?

Running Windows XP I have looked in Device "Mangler" and located my nVidia capture device but it only shows the driver details not the device capture properties.

[tyamada]

My suggestion is to use a hardware capture device that has MPEG hardware compression built in. The one I use is the Hauppauge PVR-250, the capture is excellent. They have a USB2 version of the device, I would like to try it for the reason it can be moved to different computers without much hassle.

[IronMike778]

I capture analog video all the time with no problems whatsoever. These are my settings:

format - NTSC DVD
variable 6000
upper field first

I use the TV Wonder Pro capture card.

[THoff]

You need to enable access to the capture device settings: in Preferences -> Capture, check the "Allow access to capture device’s settings" checkbox.

[thecoalman]

If your going to purchase a DV cam getting one with throuput capabilities is the way to go. If you want a seperate unit I suggest the ADVC 100 or DAC 100. There almost identical in quality and use, the DAC is cheaper.

All three of those will eliminate any audio sync/dropped frame issues you have unless your tape is very poor condition. There also very easy to use and produce great results.

My suggestion is to use a hardware capture device that has MPEG hardware compression built in. The one I use is the Hauppauge PVR-250,.

I've heard great reviews about the Hauppage cards from a lot of places. The only issue I have with them is they only capture to MPEG. AVI is a neccesity for me since I do a lot od editing so It's not a very good choice for me.