VideoStudio Ultimate X7 Capture Video Not Working.

[MailmAn]

I've already had enough problems installing VideoStudio Ultimate X7 and getting it to work with the DivX Codec. However, now just when it seems I have gotten past that major hurdle, now I get another one thrown at me. After I installed VideoStudio Ultimate X7 (32 bit only version - so it will work with the DivX Codec...) on my computer, the Capture function seemed to work - well, sort of. I would have to switch back and forth a couple of times between Edit and Capture and select my video capture card from the drop-down list and listen to hear if the audio was coming through or not. If it was, then chances are I was all good, although a couple of times I ended up recording video with no audio and I had to delete the MPG file and re-record it again, which is kind of annoying.

However, now all of a sudden I cannot capture ANYTHING with VideoStudio X7! Now when I go to Capture and select my video capture card from the drop-down list, I can see the video in the preview window but I can't preview any audio for some reason. I have checked all of my settings and everything looks good. If I press the Capture Video button, it will start to capture video, but the audio is still silent. When I click on Stop Capture after it has recorded for a while, I get an error message saying "The captured video file is corrupt and unusable and has been deleted." So, it deletes the file it just created and I get nothing out of it. Then, if I try to click on the Capture Video button again, it just crashes VideoStudio on me and the program closes. If I restart the program and try to capture video again, I get the same thing - the program crashes on me. I have to restart my computer and try it again in order to get it to give me the error message again. Very strange...

I have tried uninstalling and re-installing VideoStudio Ultimate X7, uninstalling and re-installing the video capture card drivers (via ATi Catalyst), multiple reboots of my computer... all to no avail! I cannot seem to get VideoStudio X7 to capture video anymore. However, like I said, it WAS working just after I first installed the 32 bit version of VideoStudio X7 and I was able to capture a handful of videos with it... until I restarted my computer and then it never worked again after that! So very strange... What gives, Corel???

My video capture card is an older ATi Theater 550 Pro PCI card. It has both coaxial and composite/S-Video inputs, which I use the composite (RCA cable) inputs directly from my cable box to record video onto my computer. It used to work fine for me in VideoStudio X5 and I captured a lot of video with that version before I decided (stupidly) to upgrade to X7. I just can't figure out what the problem is and why it is not working with my video capture card now. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Terfyn]

Have you tried "Import from Digital Media"?

[BrianCee]

just confirming - you say you use the composite (RCA Cable) - does that mean RCA cableS

ie are you using more than just the yellow phono socket - because you are describing the sort of problem I have had in the past when trying to capture video without sound cables connected.

[MailmAn]

just confirming - you say you use the composite (RCA Cable) - does that mean RCA cableS

ie are you using more than just the yellow phono socket - because you are describing the sort of problem I have had in the past when trying to capture video without sound cables connected.

Yes, sorry for the typo, I was trying to type this out quickly last night before I went to bed, lol... Yes, I checked to be sure that all three RCA connections (Yellow = Video, Red = Right Audio, and White = Left Audio) are securely plugged into the adapter box that plugs into my video capture card. (Plus, technically it is all incorporated into one cable, but it happens to have three connectors on each end...) Besides, even if it was just a matter of the audio cables weren't connected, that still wouldn't explain why my VideoStudio X7 program keeps crashing repeatedly when I try to capture video. I would just end up with silent video, but the program should still record it fine, which it is not.

Also, in reference to what Terfyn said, no I have not tried "Import from Digital Media" because I am not doing that. I believe that is only for recording directly off of a DV camcorder, which is not what I am doing. The Capture Video option is indeed what I am trying to do and as I had already said before, it worked fine in VideoStudio Ultimate X5, which I was using before I upgraded to X7. I also have Roxio Creator software which has a video capture applet included with it and I can record video fine with that. However, it has a very limited number of presets (3, actually) and even the highest recording preset still isn't very high quality, so I was hoping that VideoStudio X7 would be able to record video in much higher quality initially so then I can re-encode it into DivX format to burn onto a DVD. (Yes, I know, I could probably find an easier way to just record directly from my cable box to a DVD recorder, but this way I can import it into VideoStudio, resize the video so it fills the screen (instead of the extreme letterboxing I get from the Roxio Creator Import program), and edit out the commercials before I burn it to a DVD. I can even include a fancy menu if I'm feeling ambitious...)

[Terfyn]

Also, in reference to what Terfyn said, no I have not tried "Import from Digital Media" because I am not doing that. I believe that is only for recording directly off of a DV camcorder, which is not what I am doing.

No it is the other way round. Import from digital media is for bringing in files from your PC folders, your SD card or any digital media source.
Capture video I use for downloading from a 1394 source such as a DV camcorder.
To quote from the User Manual:-
Click Capture Video to import video footage and photos from your camcorder to your computer.
Click Import from Digital Media to add media clips from a DVD-Video, AVCHD, BDMV formatted disc or from your hard drive. This feature also allows you to import video directly from AVCHD, Blu-ray Disc or DVD camcorders.

Or in my case a SD card.

[BrianCee]

Well although "Import from Digital media" will work like that it is not my first choice for files which are already on the PC - surely Import Video/image is the best option for files you already have - Import Digital media is best used for inserting from a DVD.

But Terfyn what MailmAn is trying to do *IS* get files from an external device {camcorder} onto a PC - so my choice would be capture - the files are not on the computer yet.

[Ken Berry]

Did your capture card come with any software of its own? I ask since capture cards are more often than not tweaked by their manufacturers to work only or properly with the software supplied with them. This is not Corel's or anyone else's fault: the card manufacturers are simply unwilling to share their proprietary "secrets" with other software companies. In the distant past, some hardware makers even licensed limited copies of Video Studio but then tweaked them to work with their cards.

So the suggestion we have been making for the twelve or so years I have been on this Board has always been to use the software which came with the card or capture device to capture the video to your computer, then simply open those captured files in VS for editing.

I realise you probably want VS to do everything, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the workflow I have just suggested. Many of us here use a variety of programs for any one project. I use VS for editing, yes, but I also use programs like Audacity for audio editing, SonicFire Pro for my SmartSound audio editing, Xara 3D or BluffTitler for my titles, and even sometimes Nero or ImgBurn to burn discs from ISO files or DVD/Blu-Ray Folders made in VS... And I don't think twice about doing it. You choose a tool which you know can do a better job than VS on a specific task. And sometimes, like the situation you are in, you can beat your head repeatedly against a brick wall trying to capture video when the simple answer might be that VS is simply not made to work with that card.