Video is jerky when I capture it

[af847]

Hi guys -

This never happened with VideoStudio 6, which worked like a charm! Now I'm using VideoStudio 9 and when I capture files from my Sharp Viewcam as AVI it comes in jerky/choppy and unusable.

Then when I switch to MPEG 2 format, the output is pretty grainy and unusable. What's up with this?

Do I need to return the program and go back to the old one?

I'd like to make the new one work; after all I spent 50 bucks!

Please help!

Thanks!!

[Ken Berry]

We need a fair amount more of information. First, how are you capturing your AVI files -- via Firewire or something else? Is it DV/AVI or uncompressed AVI? If it is DV, what Encoder did you use -- Type 1 or 2? Type 2 is often the default on installation, but equally often causes problems of the kind you describe (choppy video and/or audio). Change it to Type 1 (Options cogwheel on the Capture page) and try again...

What format of mpeg-2 did you use? Right click on one of the files in VS9 and tell us the properties.

It would also be useful to know your computer specifications and operating system.

[af847]

Hi Ken -

I'm capturing video via Firewire - just like I was doing with Videostudio 6.

I'm capturing in AVI format - selected from the drop-down menu in the Capture mode of Videostudio.

DV type 1 has been selected from the start.

As far as the mpeg-2 file the properties are all normal. It just shows the file size.

I'm using a Win XP-Pro Dell box with 1 GB of ram. It's the very same machine that ran my VS6 flawlessly for 2-3 years.

Please help!

[jchunter]

Re the AVI(DV) files: Is playback jerky in the Capture module or the Edit module? What are your project properties set to?

Re Mpeg2 capture: If the Mpeg2 files are grainy, either the video bitrate property is set too low or the frame size is set to a low value. Try setting 720x480 frame size and 8000Kbps bitrate before you capture. How fast is your CPU?

[af847]

Hi there -

Playback is jerky in both capture & edit. Also when I play the AVI files on their own - direct from the Ulead folder - they're also jerky.

Project properties are 720 x 480 DV Type 1 NTSC. Just like they were in Ulead 6 when I never before had this problem (on this same computer.)

I have a Pentium 4 processor with 1.99 GHZ and 1 GB of Ram, but that shouldn't matter at all since - once again - I never had this problem with Ulead 6 and I used the same box.

Please help!

[maddrummer3301]

Even though your "Project Properties" may be set to DV-Type 1 are you capturing DV-Type 1?

It sounds like your capturing straight avi and not DV-Type 1.

In the capture module choose "DV" as the format.

MD

[af847]

Yep this is what I've done exactly. If this is the best advice I can get then I'll have to ask for a refund. It seems to me like your old product worked better/more reliably than the new one. What a shame; VS 9 is loaded with lots of new features that I've been wishing for.

[maddrummer3301]

Hi,

I would hang in and wait for an answer (contact tech support).
Maybe some other experienced people can help you out here.

Maybe a codec issue or something.
In the meantime can't you capture with version 6 and edit with 9?

VS9 works great and is a big improvement over version 6.

Hope you get it working.

MD

[raymondbertoia]

I had a similar problem. The easy work around is to just capture using V6 and then open it using V9. V9 is really a lot better than V6, so don't give up on it.
Ray

[pangelino]

I was using an OEM version of VideoStudio 7 and the capture worked fine. I had to upgrade to version 9 to get the DVD burning options enabled. Now I'm having the same problem that you are when I capture. I'll let you know if I figure anything out, but tech support should be able to come up with a real answer. I have to say, although this product has some decent features, it's pretty buggy.

[maddrummer3301]

I would search the forum for posts from THoff.
You may have to register the DV Codec with the system.
Sounds to me like the program is using the old DV Codec and not
VS9's DV codec.

There is a windows command executed from a command prompt
that registers the codec with the system.

Also posted on this forum is a link to a program that lets you assign and
view the registered Codecs in the system. It's a handy tool.

Somethings definitely wrong. VS9 works nice on my system.

MD

[raymondbertoia]

Did you try using V6 to capture, save as a project, then open project with V9, OR find where V6 stores your AVI files and then just import them into the V9 library yet? You can have both versions installed on the same computer, but only one at atime can be running.
Ray

[pangelino]

I haven't tried that yet but I will. I'm not optimistic though because I did just download WinDV and tried capturing with that and it's dropping frames like crazy. I also tried defragging my hard drive to no avail. If your suggestion doesn't work, then I may try dropping an second hard drive into my system that is completely clean and use it just for capturing. I think my drive may just be too fragmented even though I have over 40 GB of free space.

Thanks for your post!

[af847]

Oh what a mess. Thanks everyone for responding.

I contacted Tech Support. They said to uninstall my upgrade VS9 and download a full version. I uninstalled VS6 and installed VS9. Ugh. Same problem.

Reinstalled VS6 and captured with that. Went to edit with VS9. So far so good. Great functionality. Until ... I added background/companion music with my video.

Then when I adjusted the volume in the video, the audio volume in my companion music adopted the same volume, rendering it useless. In all my years of working with ProTools, Cool Edit/Audition & Samplitude, I've NEVER seen one track's audio properties slaved to another!

I'm about to give up. Too bad; lots of VS9 functionality that I really want. Maybe I'm stuck with 6 or will have to hold my breath and buy Pinnacle.

No hope of getting my $50 back, right?

Didn't think so.

Welll, thanks for reading this.

[dbz2000]

Had similar issues and tried everything I knew from past experience and from this forum. As a last resort I decided to change my playback from "Instant" to "High Quality" during capture and voila - it worked!

Whether this is a solution or not, I don't really know. All I know is that it worked for me after hours of stumbling around in the dark for a solution. Hope this can help you as well. VideoStudio is worth keeping if you can!

DBZ