Capture issues!

[miochza]

I have a Pc Chips PCI Capture Card... and I am trying to convert my old 8mm movies. However, the light areas in my captures from my camera are way too light... it seems like bleeding, since even darkening it or changing the contrast doesnt help much. I tried hooking my camcorder up to my VCR... it looked terrible. My camcorder is like 20 years old... is this macrovision?
Look at this example:
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/images/guides/p806318/brook.JPG

I've tried changing brightness, contrast, sharpness, on preview and onthe card, nothing has looked right. I have tried recording to a VHS then recording to the card via VCR, but that didn't work either. It just doesnt make any sense. I hooked up my Xbox to the A/V input in the card, no bleeding. It just doesn't want me to get this working. I have even tried RF in, and get lower quality AND still bleeding. Its like an incompatibility with anything the old camera has ever recorded. I even burned it to a DVD, and played it on my TV, same thing as it looks like on my monitor. I am almost ready to give up. There is nothing else I can think of to do. Maybe my card just sucks. I thought a 9-bit video decoder would be good enough, but I guess a $50 card isn't enough?

[Fredledingue]

If the cassette is 20 years old, it's no surprise that it looks like that.

[Arachnotron]

The reason it caps like this may simply be because that is what is in your source by now.

You might try a histogram equalisation. Look in this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71357) thread for some info on this.

[edit] Whith the above I mean: cap with default settings, and try to repair the damage in post processing. The vdub EOD plugin could be usefull here, but as mentioned in the thread, there are issues.

And try a forum search on histogram equalisations, there might be other solutions.

[trevlac]

Have you tried to record new footage and play it back? It's probably worth the effort. If your sample is new footage, you should try a different camera for a play back test.

I have a friend who could not play back from his old hi-8. He got a new Digital8. Fastest and easiest way to 'digitize' 8mm tape. Solved all of his problems.