Dropped Frames / Audio Sync (New Question)

[RjBeals]

I started new thread becuase this is a different situation from the other Audio Sync Solution? thread.

 

My issue - I hook my sony hi-8 video camera up to my capture card via S-Video. Audio is through a 8mm audio in. Both work fine for my needs. I have tons of hard drive space to capture to (500 gb). I use the Huffyuv codec to capture at 352x480 res. Huge file sizes, but almost no quality loss in the capture process....

 

that is until....

 

I get a dropped frame or 2. It seems like the video frames will drop, but the audio will not. Therefore video is out of sync from the audio. It's always the dropped video as well. Meaning I can see someones lips move before the sound comes out. Sometimes it happens 20 seconds in, sometimes 5 minutes.

 

Question:

Is there a way to drop the audio also when the video frames are dropped? On my PVR, when I get a dropped frame from video, it automatically drops the audio to keep the file in sync. I don't see that option w/ Roxio 7.5 Videowave 7. Is this an option w/ Roxio 9?

 

Also - 3.2 P4 Hyperthread / 1gb ram - I shut off all processes & unplug internet while capturing. I do not use computer when capturing.

 

Thanks -

Rob.

[gi7omy]

At the risk of the obvious:

 

Did you defrag the drive prior to the capture? Sometimes the captured file will have bits scattered all over the place and the heads have to shuttle round to find the next sequence and that, in itself, can cause dropped frames.

 

I take it that you have done a malware sweep - sometimes there is stuff lurking on the computer you don't spot

[RjBeals]

Thanks for the reply -

 

The drive is a new Western Digial that was purchased primarily to capture video. Its only a few weeks old. A few weeks ago, I completely reformatted my drives & reinstalled Win XP Pro SP2 fresh. Registy is clean.

 

My next purchase is going to be a "real" digital video camera and not a hi8 digital with only super vhs quality. But until then, I have about 20 hi8 camera tapes that need to be captured & edited & encoded to mpeg2 / DVD.

 

gi7omy - I never thought about the hard drive sectors related to dropped frames - but it makes total sense. Any more "obvious" info that some of us may not have thought of

[gi7omy]

gi7omy - I never thought about the hard drive sectors related to dropped frames - but it makes total sense. Any more "obvious" info that some of us may not have thought of

 

Just the malware scans is all - we do tend to keep repeating the 'defrag, run spyware sweep and shut down running apps' mantra so often that we sort of assume most people know it

[RjBeals]

Just the malware scans is all - we do tend to keep repeating the 'defrag, run spyware sweep and shut down running apps' mantra so often that we sort of assume most people know it

 

 

When I view my task manager / processes - is there a way to know what to SAFELY shut down? Granted that most of these processes require barely any memory... They probably do not affect much.

 

Thanks again though.

[gi7omy]

Usually just the apps is enough - no need to worry about processes. The spyware sweep should take care of those and also you'd know if you had IMs and so on running anyway.

 

One thing that has cropped up (not that often tho) is the screensaver kicking in - I normally disable that and also the power saving to the monitor. In my opinion the BEST screensaver and power saver is the big button on the front

[RjBeals]

Usually just the apps is enough - no need to worry about processes. The spyware sweep should take care of those and also you'd know if you had IMs and so on running anyway.

 

My comp stays on almost always because I run PVR software also (BeyondTV). I have a simple screensaver start in about 2 hours. Power savings are always OFF.

 

Later.

[Guest ml]

My comp stays on almost always because I run PVR software also (BeyondTV). I have a simple screensaver start in about 2 hours. Power savings are always OFF.

 

Here are some suggestions that you probably have already tried.....

 

Capture in smaller segments. The longer your capture, the more likely that you'll get dropped frames. (I know that this is a royal pain when you're capturing analog video.)

 

If your capture card came with software to capture, try using that software.

 

Restart your computer before capturing to clear out the RAM.

 

Is your camcorder a digital Hi8 or analog? You mentioned a Hi8 digital. If it's digital, you'll get better results if both that camcorder and computer have an IEEE 1394 connection.

 

Also, make certain that DMA is enabled on your hard drive, set your Virtual Memory settings to minimum of your RAM, max twice your RAM and adjust the computer's Performance Settings to Adjust for Best Performance.

 

Are you capturing to your main hard drive or another hard drive?