Hi, I recently brought a WinTV-PVR 250 to capture my old VCR tapes on to my hard-drive so that I can make DVDs. I can receive TV signals using an aerial but I can’t capture videos. How do I do this? I am using the software that came with the card – is there a better software to use? What cables do I need? By the way, my video doesn’t have an s-video to connect to. Please, could someone help me. Thanks.
Buy a scart adapter with s-video/rca connectors and select OUTPUT in its switch and connect this adapter to the VCR. Install audio cable from sound card's line-in to scart's rca and s-video cable from scart to TV card. Using WinTV2000, select a source in Remote Control (RC), so that you can see the video playing. Then record it and go.. Alternatively you can use VirtualDub for capturing AVI (select source to s-video) and then encode avis to mpeg2s by using other progs..
Hi stardust, thanks for your reply. This is what I’ve have done, but still could get the VCR onto PC. I connected a yellow RCA lead from the card (using an S-Video/composite video input connected to an S-Video port) to a scart adapted (like the one shown below) which doesn’t have a switch unfortunately. I then connected the video and card via RF (aerial). Finally I opened up WinTV2000, opened suite manager and done an auto-scan (with the tape playing) but nothing was found. Am I doing something wrong here?
I use different scart adapter. It has INPUT/OUTPUT switch. Have to use this output to get video source to the card. It has also s-video connector, so I connected s-video cable directly from scart to card for getting better result than composite. Then I only select source in WinTV2000's Remote Control (RC) and see the tape playing..
Alright, I try using the cables you’ve suggested and reply what happened. Also, where is the Remote Control (RC)? Don’t you have to select the VCR through ‘Channel Configuration’ ? Thanks.
Remote Control (RC) is located bottom right corner of WinTV2000. There is "RC" written, just click it and launch the remote control.. No need to touch the channel configuration.
I can now see the tape playing on WinTV 2000 after using the RCA Scart and s-video cable you suggested. However it comes up in black and white?? Would I be able to correct this? Thanks.
Well, touch the channel configuration.. Click Suite button and click on Add -> Svideo/Composite... Pick your video format and give it a name and description, then click ADD. Make sure to check the s-video box. Now you have own channel for s-video. Would this help? Btw.. I just realized, that Video Source button is also located between Channel Up and Channel Down buttons. It's quite small.
I think I may have a different WinTV 2000 to yours. I have the one that looks like the picture below. I can see the tape playing in WinTv but it is in black and white colour?
Hi, I have just read your emails (stardust & gonner). I have been having the same problem, I can get sound from my video but no pictuire it's just blue screen. Please could you send a picture/description of the cable you are using adn where I can get it from and how much - if you are from the U.K. Any help would be so much appreciated. Thanks
Hi Gonner & Kiranjit, I had the same problems as you but they should be easy enough to resolve,post back on here and let me know if you have resolved it or if you still need help and I will explain what you have to do.
Hi Marbek, The picture from the video is now playing. Sometimes it goes black and white but that could be the cable as it has worked in colour. The only problem I have now is that when watching TV or Video (via s-video input source) the sound cuts of after about a minute or two. It has not totally gone because when I switch input source and then revert back the sound works fine again. Any suggestions would be most helpful. Thanks
Hi Kiranjit, The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have some brand new good quality leads to connect your video player to your TV Card. You need to buy an S-Video to S-Video lead (about £10.00) also a Switchable Scart adapter with an S-Video socket + RCA Sockets for left and right audio and this usually also has a third RCA Socket coloured yellow for composite video (also about £10.00) and lastly a stereo audio lead being two RCA plugs to a 3.5mm stereo jack plug (about £4.00). You should be able to get these leads from any of the High street Hi-fi/Television/Home cinema stores or superstores. On the Switchable Scart socket set the swith to OUT.Connect the S-Video lead from the switchable Scart adapter to the S-Video socket on the TV card and also connect the lead with the two RCA plugs to the switchable scart adapter and then plug the 3.5mm jack plug at the other end into the TV Card. Also if you are trying to copy Pre Recorded Video films (which don't forget is illegal) you will need to get around the Macrovision protection, for that you would need to also buy an additional Scart lead with a Macrovision stablisier built into it.With out this your play back and recording will not be stable and will flash from colour to black and white and will also have other interference on it. You don't say which operating system you are useing so I will presume that it is XP. Now go to the Hauppauge site and download all the latest drivers and application drivers for the card and then uninstall all the old drivers and then reinstall the new ones following all the instuctions provided on the site. You can also if you prefer telephone the Hauppauge support line and they will also send you a new disk with all the latest drivers on. After you have reinstalled the latest drivers and tuned your TV Channels in,go back to the Suite button to add your Video Channel, now because you are coming out of the back of your Video by Scart lead, even though you are connecting to the S-Video socket on your TV card it really is not true S-Video but in fact is composite Video. So in the list of Composite and S-Video options in the Suite window click on Composite 2 and then click ADD. This should then install your video player onto Channel 200 in the Suite window, also in the install window that pops up telling you what channel your Video Player is installed to make sure you put a tick in the S-Video box. This should hopefully sort out all your problems,let me know how you get on by reposting on the forum.
Hi, Thanks for the adive. I have tried what you said and got the quality of the picture spot on. All is working fine except the sound. The sound does work normal (the wires are all new) but only lasts about a minute. I don't know what it could be because when you switch input source i.e. from video to tv the sound comes back on and vice versa. For this reason I don't think it is the wires as the sound would not come on at all. I will try a few more things Thanks for your help. Kiranjit
Hi marbek, Well I tried what you said above with two different videos, s-video cables and rca scarts but the video still comes out in black and white. Then I tried connecting the rca scart to the TV Card using a yellow cable but it still came out in black and white. I’ve tried connecting my camcorder to the TV Card using an s-video cable and it comes in colour. I dunno what the problem is ??
Nothing new under the Sun.. Forget the WinTV2000 for a while and try to capture AVI using VirtualDub with Huffyuv or Mjpeg codec and suitable audio compression. Select video source to 'Camera' and choose also S-Video under the camera option. As everybody knows, you can convert avi to mpeg1/mpeg2 with TMPGEnc. I use often this method, because the far better results.. Still black & white?
Hi stardust, i didn't understand what you were saying... what program should i try using instead of WinTV2000? thanks.
