I have Windows XP Home, Sp 3. My video card is an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700. I have been trying to convert my VHS tapes to DVD. I have tried several video software programs, but all rely on the basic NVIDIA board to do the capturing. If I send the VHS signal from any one of three VHS players to the capture card I get so much of what I call “color banding” that the recording is useless because there are far to many flickers to edit out. The attached link to a picture shows what I mean by “banding”. There is not much choice of recording parameters. They are as follows: DVD High (NTSC) Standard: NTSC, resolution: 720x480, Audio format: MPEG-1 Layer 2, Audio sampling rate: 48.0 kHz, Rate control: VBR, Average bit rate: 4.80 Mbps/s, Maximum bit rate: 9.60 Mbps/s, Noise reduction: On, De-interlacing: on, Inverse telecine: On, DVD-compatible. If I send the VHS signal to the capture card from a recorded VHS-C tape using my Panasonic camcorder there is very little of the banding during a 4 minute recording—maybe 2 or 3 flickers. If I connect the camcorder or a VHS player directly to my TV, there is no evidence of banding. There seems to be some combination of effects between a VHS player and the NVIDIA card which causes the problem, but I know nothing of capture or playback methods. Although VNIDIA only allows for 3 (good, better, best) versions of mpeg for recording, I have several suites which offer a variety of recorded formats. All exhibit the same banding problem. This brings up an interesting point, however. I’m no expert in video definitions, but for the purpose of this discussion let me define “capture” as the process by which the video board captures the composite VHS signal and converts it into a viewable picture on the monitor. Then define “record” as the process by which the captured signal is converted into various file types. In my system, the only board which captures the signal is the NVIDIA. This captured signal is then recorded on the NVIDIA board or sent to whatever software package I choose to do the recording. No matter which recording process (mpeg, avi, etc.) I use, the captured signal is flawed (banded) on the monitor even before the recording takes place. If the signal is flawed from the beginning, I don’t see how it could be recorded any better, regardless of the format used. It is for this reason that I think something is wrong with the way the NVIDIA card processes the VHS captured signal. Although the NVIDIA card seems to have no problem with TV. At times, when the NVIDIA board is set to FM (never really use it) the normally black screen will have a flickering green band, the same as seen in composite only without any video. This is another thing which seems to point to NVIDIA. With regard to cables, I use the same cables to connect the VHS player (or camcorder) to the television set and the TV views everything just fine. This, again, says to me that the problem is not with the VHS player(s) but with the front end of the NVIDIA board. This is what has prompted me to throw money at the problem and consider some other board or adapter, although it would be a bit of a gamble unless I have an idea of what the problem is. I would appreciate any advise you can give me. Here is a link to a picture of the problem: http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p163/sdculp/Web Page/ColorBanding2.jpg Thank you, sdculp
Hi... I have to say I completely agree with your analysis... It looks to me like the nVidia is letting the side down... I have always found nVidia Very Reliable, however I have never used the VIVO facility... I have always used a dedicated device... Pinnacle do good hardware, however a previously visited thread showed they don't always work with other applications... Hauppenhaugh seam to do decent enough hardware... My one still serves... I bought an unbranded stick that uses the same Philips capture chip as the Pinnacle my Daughter uses... These devices all allow me to use uLead software, which is my favourite...
Something occurred to me after I posted... The VIVO sockets are modelled on S-Video Sockets... It's possible that Video In is seperate Chroma/Luma lines... Maybe there's a timing issue putting them back together..?? Try setting the capture pin to the same settings as are native to the VCR - PAL, NTSC... If it's PAL, there are several standards in use... Typically 720x576 @ 25Hz over 625 lines now, but a VCR could be anything from 352x288 @ 25Hz over 230 lines up to 704x576 @ 25Hz over 625 lines... More than anything, it the number of lines that need matched... If you are NTSC, then 525 lines... If it PAL try 625 first, then 230 then... Well... Hope something in here helps...
