Looking for a 480p capture card*

[MaggIvy]

Oh I see, I have those to...it's just the frames. I guess it makes motion appear smoother to...

[mistical]

My Intensity Pro came today, LOVE IT. Question so far, using Blackmagic Intensity 2.0 Software (Everything is up-to-date software and drivers). When I am capturing using Media Express, each capture (done less than 30 second videos so far to play around) the audio seems to go out near the end, usually the last 6-8 seconds or so.

I know I read about audio problems in this topic, can't remember if it was related to this card and what not. I do remember reading about someone having to restart their computer and such to fix the audio each time, that is not happening in my case just to put a note of that, if that person was even using the Intensity Pro.

I'm going play around and capture with Adobe Premiere CS3 shortly and see what goes on there with audio and other stuff I'm interested in.

[MaggIvy]

Yeah that was me...I only have to restart when I'm changing the settings. It causes a glitch in the audio for some reason.

Maybe you should try uninstalling and re installing the drivers...I did that 3 times already.

Also is it only on playback or when you are actually recording? When I record using media express I have no audio at all, unless I'm not recording. The only thing I can record and have audio at the same time is in IUVCR.

[mistical]

Yeah that was me...I only have to restart when I'm changing the settings. It causes a glitch in the audio for some reason.

Maybe you should try uninstalling and re installing the drivers...I did that 3 times already.

Also is it only on playback or when you are actually recording? When I record using media express I have no audio at all, unless I'm not recording. The only thing I can record and have audio at the same time is in IUVCR.
It was when I was changing the settings, so I did a restart, that annoying high pitched sound is gone for now.

It is/was there when I opened up Media Express and was sitting at the Record tab. I'd have to mute to not hear it. I know the audio stops when I start recording. I've tried IUVCR and I'm pretty sure I am still having that problem with the audio cutting out towards the end of the capture. Still need to try Adobe Premiere CS3.

What's the best video compression codec to use with IUVCR? I've tried multiple so far. I've always love the XviD MPEG-4 codec but not sure if it's the best or right one to be using for this type of compression. Tried a few others too. I'm was thinking I was getting audio problems as sometimes I am getting a drop in frames but changing codecs, I don't always and still problems, trying to work out.

[MaggIvy]

Never use Xvid for on the fly encoding. Xvid alone takes 40 minutes to compress a 2 minute 720 p video.

What I use for IUVCR is Huffyuv or uncompressed. When I used IUVCR it would glitch and all every so often on the video but when I pressed stop it reported absolutely no dropped frames. But my CPU usage was insane, 98-99 percent. You should check your CPU usage.

What you could do is use graphedit. I somehow came up with a graph that can preview and record at the same time using IUVCR's Tee tree preview thingy. Doing that, my CPU usage was 48-50 percent at most. Only bad thing is telling whether or not I have dropped frames or not.

Here's my graph, it works...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/MaggIvy/grapch.jpg

[mistical]

Thanks, going to check this out now. I like the Huffyuv codec so far but having problems with dropped frames.

Could you tell me the drive your using write speed having used the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test application?

[MaggIvy]

Huffyuv is great, its fast, but huff does have its issues with frames. I have had times where it creates bad frames. If I could I'd use Lagarith but that is very slow. But in total I have had only 3 dropped frames from a 10 minute capture.

If worse comes to worse, you can just get Cineform Neo.

But anyway...my write results are for the hd it writes to, don't laugh lol:

Data read/rate in MB/s: 57.5

Data write rate in MB/s: 57.0

I don't have a raid or anything amazing, it's just two hds, one for running programs and the other for storing my caps.

[mistical]

Huffyuv is great, its fast, but huff does have its issues with frames. I have had times where it creates bad frames. If I could I'd use Lagarith but that is very slow. But in total I have had only 3 dropped frames from a 10 minute capture.

If worse comes to worse, you can just get Cineform Neo.

But anyway...my write results are for the hd it writes to, don't laugh lol:

Data read/rate in MB/s: 57.5

Data write rate in MB/s: 57.0

I don't have a raid or anything amazing, it's just two hds, one for running programs and the other for storing my caps.
I'll try out Cineform Neo soon. Have you tried Adobe Premiere while capturing at all? Haven't tested it yet but was wondering.

I'm having many dropped frames using Huffyuv, like 150+ and this is just messing around videos, getting use to things and videos around 40 seconds or less...

Thanks for the read/write speeds. I'm not using or planning on an raid setup either and I don't want to put more money into doing so. I've got 6 hard drives setup on here, and most of them get 55-68 MB/s read/write speeds as well close to yours, I was thinking that may be the problem. I should be using HD720 59.94p 8-bit 4:2:2 right?

My setup isn't that old, just an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual 4400+ 2.21Ghz processor with 4GB dual ram (dual running in each 2 of the 4 slots as my motherboard can do so) though cause I am not using a 64-Bit Windows XP Pro operating system, only can use 2.75GB of that ram, don't feel like upgrading either.

[MaggIvy]

Well you can use whatever you want. But for when I'm capturing from PS3 it's 720p 59.94fps, that way it records progressively. I'm also taking my PC in for repairs since it seems I have an overheating and power supply problem. Hopefully its a fixable issue...anyway...and no I haven't tried any editing programs yet.

I'd say download a trial of Cineform Neo and see if you get the same problems using that. Or try a different codec, like...MJPEG. I used the one that came with black magic the first time, its ok for testers and stuff.

[Dot50Cal]

Yeah, the PV4 is a great card. Just too bad the video codec is somewhat lossy.
And yes, the card only takes stereo not multi-channel.

Anyway, you could use something like this for RCA to Optical.
However, I'm sure there are cheaper ones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Analog-RCA-to-Digital-Optical-Coaxial-Audio-Converter_W0QQitemZ330238808175QQihZ014QQcategoryZ14965QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Dot50Cal posted one he uses that was like $20 or something and is somewhere in this topic.

Edit:

Ah, on page Two:
(but I was wrong on price, it is $50)

http://www.sys-concept.com/Analog_to_Digital_Converter.htm
http://www.sysconcept.ca/product_info.php?products_id=168

Don't use that one, it has all kinds of problems. Audio drops out, which stops capturing as well as it screwing up the DC BIAS, so if you make cuts of your video the audio will click and pop. I got the Gefen version of the first link you posted. It has neither of those problems. I wouldn't be sure with a generic one like the ebay link is.

[miraged]

Ouch...I got that converter, I hope mine wont fuck up the audio :|.

[Dot50Cal]

:( If your recording drops out, thats the cause. It was extremely frustrating for me, because it would just drop out at the worst times (during cutscenes which I was recording). Another big issue like I said was the DC Bias which was adjusted. Normalizing it helped, but clicks and pops were still there if you navigated as it wasn't 100% on the 0 line. This was made worse by the fact that I needed to use some RCA attenuators when recording from the Wii as its audio is overblown by default with no way to adjust it. I'd get peaks and valleys in the audio that went off center and it was a massive pain. Id suggest returning it.

[miraged]

Well I should get mine the next days, hopefully yours was just eh ... faulty xD? I hope it will work here because I didnt plan on investing too much money into that. I read you're using a geffen now, I think those are available here too but extremly expensive, which one do you have?

[Dot50Cal]

http://www.gefen.com/gefentv/gtvproduct.jsp?prod_id=5278
That one there.

[cortexlegeni]

Hello,

I'am lokking into buying a 480p capture card and strugling between PV4 and Monster X.

Can You point me the best one for this resolution ?

And where can I buy it for a shipping in Europe (France).

Thanks

[ajp_anton]

If you only need 480p, read this post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1129692#post1129692). I got it from here (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-135-LT). Notice the low price.

[cortexlegeni]

I already have a PxDtv2300H, but my vidéo are very blurry, Because if I want to record 480p I need to use WinTV, I don't know if it's the source but when I see capture using PV4, they are a lot sharper than mine.

[Blimblim]

Looking at this thread, I can totally confirm that both PV3 and PV4 support AC3 5.1 capture. Been using such cards for a long time now, they are somewhat lossy but sooo convenient :)

[Mysteriouskk]

Looking at this thread, I can totally confirm that both PV3 and PV4 support AC3 5.1 capture. Been using such cards for a long time now, they are somewhat lossy but sooo convenient :)

Are you only using the PV3/4 for all of your videos on gamersyde?

I'm in the process of getting my PV4 replaced under their warranty. Hopefully it won't take too long before I can start using it.

[miraged]

Looking at this thread, I can totally confirm that both PV3 and PV4 support AC3 5.1 capture. Been using such cards for a long time now, they are somewhat lossy but sooo convenient :)

Hmmm why do I get heavy sound errors then when I try to capture 5.1 from my PV4? Are there any setting that have to be done in the software?

[Blimblim]

Are you only using the PV3/4 for all of your videos on gamersyde?

I'm in the process of getting my PV4 replaced under their warranty. Hopefully it won't take too long before I can start using it.
Yeah we all only use PV3s or PV4s depending on when we bought the card. Worth every euros :)
As for capturing the AC3 audio, you guys are using pv3tool, right?

[miraged]

Didnt even know you guys are from Europe xD (well until now)!

As for the pv3tool, I think everyone here just uses the standard earthsoft sofware. Though I wonder why there is no 5.1 support in the original software then o.o . As for pv3 tool, I just found it (finally) but I havent gotten anything with it yet. Except 5.1 sound would there be any advantages of using it instead of the earthsoft software?

Btw Dot50Cal, I got my audio converter today in the mail. For me it works totally fine. I only have tested my PSP so far but the sounds seems to be 100% correct.

Did a little PSP Cap Video ~25MB: http://des.der-norden-rockt.com/bleachhts5.zip

(this is also for cortexlegeni since he wanted to see PSP cap quality).

[Seraphic-]

Didnt even know you guys are from Europe xD (well until now)!

As for the pv3tool, I think everyone here just uses the standard earthsoft sofware. Though I wonder why there is no 5.1 support in the original software then o.o . As for pv3 tool, I just found it (finally) but I havent gotten anything with it yet. Except 5.1 sound would there be any advantages of using it instead of the earthsoft software?

Btw Dot50Cal, I got my audio converter today in the mail. For me it works totally fine. I only have tested my PSP so far but the sounds seems to be 100% correct.

Did a little PSP Cap Video ~25MB: http://des.der-norden-rockt.com/bleachhts5.zip

(this is also for cortexlegeni since he wanted to see PSP cap quality).

miraged/Blimblim, you have a link to the pv3tool program? I have a hard time seeing how it can the PV4 can capture 5.1 audio as the earthsoft website lists two channel PCM only. But hey, maybe it can using the other app. Would be awesome to say the least.

[miraged]

The page is http://2sen.dip.jp/pv3/

Not sure but from what I've seen so far I think you have to use it with avisynth. Since I havent bothered with avisynth yet I am still waiting for blim to give us some more input of the advantages (since 5.1 is interesting but in the end I will only use stereo on my videos anyway...at least the moment) but maybe there are some capture advantages too.

[Seraphic-]

The page is http://2sen.dip.jp/pv3/

Not sure but from what I've seen so far I think you have to use it with avisynth. Since I havent bothered with avisynth yet I am still waiting for blim to give us some more input of the advantages (since 5.1 is interesting but in the end I will only use stereo on my videos anyway...at least the moment) but maybe there are some capture advantages too.

Thanks, I'll try it out. PV3Tool0901, right?

So is Blimblim saying it will accept DD 5.1, DTS 5.1, DPLII, and will capture it as AC3 5.1?

Edit:

Messed around a little, but was unable to get it to run.

[miraged]

He said he gets AC3, one of the programs from that side seems to be able to extract audio streams from .dv files in AC3, AAC and WAV. I wish I could tell more but the programs are fucked up for me and I only get question marks instead of kanjis so it even tells me less what it could be about. Anyone knows how to fix the question marks? Some aviutl options are in question marks too, while others are in japanese >.<

[Dot50Cal]

Are you sure it captures the full 5.1 channels Blim? I see it says AC3, but nothing about it being 5.1. Miraged, it usually takes a while for audio to drop out and stop recording. Just be aware that if it does happen, thats the cause. I checked out your file, and the DC Bias is off center like I said. So you will probably run into the same issues :(

I also forgot to mention. My audio de-sync's when I captured from a console that doesn't have native optical out. You can correct this in Virtualdub with the framerate adjustment though, so its not so much of a big deal. Its a steady de-sync so its easily corrected. A developer of Avisynth wrote some nice code to correct this by either adjusting the framerate like virtualdub, or resampling the audio to match the video. If you need them, check out the Avisynth forum for a post created by me.

[miraged]

Hmpf, I have to admit I only captured short clips and it seemed to work there. What program do you use for the DC Bias thing?

The vdub thing would be awesome since I always use vdub anyway, I need to read more into avisynth.

[Dot50Cal]

Adobe Audition (Formerly Cool Edit until Adobe bought them). Just change the DC BIAS to 0%, and it should match it up ok, though some parts will still click and pop since they cant get 100% on center.

[Seraphic-]

How were you guys able to get PV3Tool to run? Would not run for me.

Also, anyone with a MonsterX and using MxCapture, does changing the saturation/sharpness under Video Proc Amp effect the video for you? Doesn't seem to change anything for me.

[Mysteriouskk]

How were you guys able to get PV3Tool to run? Would not run for me.

Also, anyone with a MonsterX and using MxCapture, does changing the saturation/sharpness under Video Proc Amp effect the video for you? Doesn't seem to change anything for me.

I just sent my PV4 to Earthsoft in Japan. Hopefully it won't take too long to get it back to me. Can't wait to try it out.

I think the monster x settings tool is the only way to change saturation/sharpness.

[Seraphic-]

Cool, good luck. Another user said there some way to capture 5.1 ac3 with the PV3/4. But we haven't gotten it to work yet with PV3Tool.

Also, I don't see a way to adjust sharpness, those MX settings tools just allows to adjust colors.

[mistical]

Can anyone point me to a good screen capture application? I have tried the snapshot in iuVCR, it's not working that well at all. I've tried Media Express, not impressed by it OR it's absolute terrible quality when captured(Grabbed Frame). I wish VirtualDub had it unless I am missing it, pretty sure I am not.

[MaggIvy]

GraphStudio is another option. So not even Cineform Neo helps?

That really sucks.

And for me, I have no idea what's going on but I can't get audio at all, no matter what program I use...

[Adub]

Hey guys, I have a friend who is looking for a capture device for some Japanese TV.

He would prefer it to be an external USB solution with support for HD, 1080i is fine, and audio capture.

Even coaxial is fine, but a variety of inputs is always nice.

It doesn't really matter which format it capture in, mpeg2 or h264.

price: ~200 or less if possible.

[mistical]

GraphStudio is another option. So not even Cineform Neo helps?

That really sucks.
I'll look for this and try it. If anyone else has any suggestions, like Mysteriouskk, what do you use to capture your screen captures? I'm pretty sure I've seen you post some or do you use the software that came with your card?

[Mysteriouskk]

I'll look for this and try it. If anyone else has any suggestions, like Mysteriouskk, what do you use to capture your screen captures? I'm pretty sure I've seen you post some or do you use the software that came with your card?

I've only used the Monster X card, and MXcapture allows me to capture screens using that.

[Seraphic-]

I've only used the Monster X card, and MXcapture allows me to capture screens using that.

Mysteriouskk, how did you resize from 720x480 to 853x480 (848/852) for your Super Smash Brothers Brawl video awhile back? Was it done before encoding or during by setting a AR flag?

[Dot50Cal]

Did you download the proper version of pv3tool for your card? I know they stopped supporting PV3 from a certain point on.

[Seraphic-]

Did you download the proper version of pv3tool for your card? I know they stopped supporting PV3 from a certain point on.

I downloaded PV3Tool0901, but I don't even see an exe to run the program anywhere. Do you have run it with other program?

[MaggIvy]

Gosh, looks like it's just one problem after the other...for no apparent reason I am not able to get any audio at all. Since I recorded myself fighting Sanctus in DMC4 on PS3.

I don't know what's wrong, absolutely nothing works. I uninstalled, reinstalled the card and the drivers, checked my settings and etc. Everything is fine. I can record video, but no audio at all...

Not that it matters anymore my pc is completely out of service...just in time for repairs.

[Blimblim]

I downloaded PV3Tool0901, but I don't even see an exe to run the program anywhere. Do you have run it with other program?
Simply copy both dll files to your the folder where your usual PV application is. It's a hooking dll, so just start the pv app as usual and it should work. Beware though, I had issues with recording until I used applocale or set my system to japanese unicode.
Believe me, you'll know immediately if it worked :)

[Seraphic-]

Simply copy both dll files to your the folder where your usual PV application is. It's a hooking dll, so just start the pv app as usual and it should work. Beware though, I had issues with recording until I used applocale or set my system to japanese unicode.
Believe me, you'll know immediately if it worked :)

Alright, I'll try it.

Also, are you saying that when using PV3Tool it will accept DD 5.1, DTS 5.1, DPLII, and will capture it as AC3 5.1?

[Mysteriouskk]

Mysteriouskk, how did you resize from 720x480 to 853x480 (848/852) for your Super Smash Brothers Brawl video awhile back? Was it done before encoding or during by setting a AR flag?

I believe it just captures in 856x480 or something like that. It doesn't capture in 720x480 for some reason. I also needed to zoom in more to eliminate the black bars on the sides of the video.

[Seraphic-]

I believe it just captures in 856x480 or something like that. It doesn't capture in 720x480 for some reason. I also needed to zoom in more to eliminate the black bars on the sides of the video.

Um, how did you do that? :)
It always captures 720x480 for me.

[mistical]

I found another capture application that takes great working pictures (it can record video from devices, among other stuff, too). It's called ChrisTV PVR Professional, his/their website seems to be down still http://chris-tv.com but you can download it at http://www.download.com/ChrisTV-PVR-Professional/3000-13633_4-10280870.html?tag=lst-3&cdlPid=10834949 - It's shareware and only has a 21 day trial. Pretty good though at least for taking pictures which is all I'll be using it for. Can't try out recording yet, waiting on RAID setup, should be here later today or tomorrow.

[Blimblim]

Alright, I'll try it.

Also, are you saying that when using PV3Tool it will accept DD 5.1, DTS 5.1, DPLII, and will capture it as AC3 5.1?

The PV3/4 can capture AC3 5.1 (or DD 5.1, same thing), AAC and PCM 2.0 streams (so stereo or DPLII works). No DTS.
You'll have to use dvtool to extract the ac3 stream from the .dv file, and use nicac3source+audiodub in avisynth to remux the sound.
PVTool just adds some more useful functions to the PV capture software, it doesn't magically change what the hardware can do though ;)

[Gabe Logan]

OK, so I finally got my hands on Cineform Neo. But I'm having problems, as soon as I open the program my CPU usage jumps up to 100 percent and my antivrius went crazy when I installed this the first time...is there any explanation for this and is this normal?

I'm running on a quad core CPU...

Did reinstalling help or how did you fix it because my quad core is in the high 90's which causes the video capture to be like crap.

[Seraphic-]

Simply copy both dll files to your the folder where your usual PV application is. It's a hooking dll, so just start the pv app as usual and it should work. Beware though, I had issues with recording until I used applocale or set my system to japanese unicode.
Believe me, you'll know immediately if it worked :)

Do you mean copy "ff_liba52.dll" and "winmm.dll" to "Program Files\EARTH SOFT\PV"? If so, what folder in "\PV\" or just the root?

Also, when you said "You'll have to use dvtool to extract the ac3 stream from the .dv file", were you talking about the AVI Utility use to convert DV to AVI/Audio? If not, have link?

Edit: Think I've got it working, the program anyway. When set to AC3/AAC, I get no audio input at all. Is below what is need to enable ac3 5.1?
I tried the Record and then Stop feature in the same menu, but the file size was 0. (only wav works, AAC and AC3 return a file size of 0)
Or do you still use the record feature from the main menu in the top left? (tried that as well, but when set to AC3, there is no audio)

http://www.temp.seraphicgate.com/ac3.jpg

[MaggIvy]

Did reinstalling help or how did you fix it because my quad core is in the high 90's which causes the video capture to be like crap.

Nope it did not help. But I installed the updated drivers and it went down to 75 percent. And I have spoken to someone about the cpu usage being so high, and they say its normal. It's a problem if its always 90 percent and up if you aren't doing anything.

On mine, it lags and and all during preview but I haven't had a dropped frame.

I ended up uninstalling Norton and installed Nod32. Things have been better since as well.

And I had my pc repaired today, it appears the power supply was fried. Everything else is fine.

I also use Graphedit with the Cineform codec and smart tee preview(from IUVCR). Doing that, it got my cpu down to 48-60 percent.

My graph: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/MaggIvy/smartcineform.jpg