Usb Capture Poor Quality - Fix?

[hmartinp]

Hi Gang,

 

I installed the Creator 2009 I bought at COSTCO and it works for capturing VHS tapes, but the quality is poor compared to my PCI capture card using InterVideo DVR3. I tried different settings and got choppy video results with the "DV" capture setting (max pixels=max quality??), so have been using the "SP" setting. As a test I recorded 5 minutes of the same video using the PCI capture card w/Intervideo and the Roxio-provided UB3 16-E USb interface and the mpeg version is a lot better using the PCI card.

 

The PCI capture card shows up in the dropdown box of available devices to Roxio, but when I tried that I got no input signal.

 

I see you can fiddle with the settings and adjust darkness, contrast, etc, but with what the Roxio capture device there is more of an overall instability to the image, as well as the color and contrast.

 

Any suggestion s for making the USB capture better? ....I don't find the "settings adjustment" helpful. Why not give an approximately good capture right-out-of-the-box?

 

My specs: Win XP, composite video only.

 

Thanks,

 

Marty

[ggrussell]

There is no such thing as USB 1.

From Wikipedia:

• The USB 1.0 specification model was introduced in 1996.
• USB 1.1 came out in September 1998 to help rectify the adoption problems that occurred with earlier iterations of USB, mostly those relating to hubs.
• The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 and was standardized by the USB-IF at the end of 2001.
• A Super-Speed (USB 3.0) rate of 4.8 Gbit/s (600 MB/s). The USB 3.0 specification was released by Intel and its partners in August 2008 with products to show up 2009-2010.

[hmartinp]

The device is USB 2 and will not work on USB…

 

There is no such thing as USB 1. There is USB or USB 2.

 

You might find it useful to spend a little less time arguing with the people who tried to help you and a little more following their advice???

 

Best of luck with this.

 

Great idea and will do that and ignore the mispoken comments, as any such dialog adds no value. Will also seek Roxio's help...actually was thinking there might be a Roxio person moderating or otherwise attending this forum, but guess not. Will also try their customer support.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

[REDWAGON]

From Wikipedia:

• The USB 1.0 specification model was introduced in 1996.
• USB 1.1 came out in September 1998 to help rectify the adoption problems that occurred with earlier iterations of USB, mostly those relating to hubs.
• The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 and was standardized by the USB-IF at the end of 2001.

 

You're right Gary. USB 1.x has been around for years now. And I have heard that there is another USB version that is a step up from USB 2 as well. Can't remember exactly the particulars though or where I read about it.

 

EDIT--Just found it

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9780794-7.html

 

Frank...

[ggrussell]

And as far as I know, most devices like mice, keyboards and external drives are backward compatible. However, there is a difference between the voltages used for data in USB 1 & 2 so some devices might not be backward compatible.

[ggrussell]

Why not give an approximately good capture right-out-of-the-box?

For most users, the USB capture from Roxio works just fine out-of-the-box. I just captured some footage from a really old RCA VHSC camcorder and it turned out fine.

 

Choppy video capture is a symptom of a slwo CPU, slow hard drive, or a very defragmented hard drive. Give me more info on your system.

[hmartinp]

[quote name='hmartinp' date='Dec 2 2008, 05:51 PM' post='240672'Why not give an approximately good capture right-out-of-the-box?For most users, the USB capture from Roxio works just fine out-of-the-box. I just captured some footage from a really old RCA VHSC camcorder and it turned out fine.

 

Choppy video capture is a symptom of a slwo CPU, slow hard drive, or a very defragmented hard drive. Give me more info on your system.

 

I tried the USB capture on my laptop, too, with the same result-

 

Laptop specs (because they are handy and I am here typing on it now)-

Dell D800 Pentium M

1.4ghz

1.25gb RAM

Win XP SR2

HD: 160gb Seagate, Momentus 5400.3, model ST9160821A

 

Just got this laptop HD back from Seagate as a replacement under warranty. I just went to C:/tools/defrag/analyze and it told me defrag wasn't needed.

 

Perhaps the PCI card does a better job because it has more "connection {=throughput?}" to the bus than the 4-pin USB???

 

The levels I did get to work (SP and less setting), best I can describe, include squiggly-fringes...find that in Wikipedia :- The PCI card capture (it is a TV tuner and capture card) gave a better quality at the same resolution.

 

 

Another experiment I tried was to assign the Roxio USB within the Intervideo capture s/w and got the same poor result.

Yet another I tried was to assign the PCI card as the capture device in the Roxio s/w and all resolution selections gave an "unknown error" a second into capture except the coarsest res: VCD setting, and the results were poor, no doubt because the res and frame rates were lowest.

 

Also, I tried a different VCR and no difference in results.

 

At the suggestion of one of this forum's tip sheets, I made sure the USB was connected to the computer and not a hub, but no improvement.

 

I tried playing the mpegs on our PS3 BlueRay to eliminate the possibility of it being the converter to DVD format and result was the same, so conversion to DVD format and burning is not an issue.

[ggrussell]

The Roxio capture device is USB 2 and if you use an older USB 1 port, that could be your problem.

[Jim_Hardin]

I do not believe the device will even work on a USB. I only have one PC like that and the import program locks up whenever I attempt to use it. Firewire never fails…

 

It does work without fail on my other PC with USB 2!

 

And keep in mind that it is a Hardware device and it could be faulty…

 

At the same time why would you not defrag your drive? Even though Windows may flash you sunshine and say it doesn't, ask yourself why is it still running hours later???

 

Defrag your HD and try it. If it still has trouble, call Roxio.

 

[grandpabruce]

I tried the USB capture on my laptop, too, with the same result-

 

Laptop specs (because they are handy and I am here typing on it now)-

Dell D800 Pentium M

1.4ghz

1.25gb RAM

Win XP SR2

HD: 160gb Seagate, Momentus 5400.3, model ST9160821A

 

Just got this laptop HD back from Seagate as a replacement under warranty. I just went to C:/tools/defrag/analyze and it told me defrag wasn't needed.

 

Perhaps the PCI card does a better job because it has more "connection {=throughput?}" to the bus than the 4-pin USB???

 

The levels I did get to work (SP and less setting), best I can describe, include squiggly-fringes...find that in Wikipedia :- The PCI card capture (it is a TV tuner and capture card) gave a better quality at the same resolution.

 

 

Another experiment I tried was to assign the Roxio USB within the Intervideo capture s/w and got the same poor result.

Yet another I tried was to assign the PCI card as the capture device in the Roxio s/w and all resolution selections gave an "unknown error" a second into capture except the coarsest res: VCD setting, and the results were poor, no doubt because the res and frame rates were lowest.

 

Also, I tried a different VCR and no difference in results.

 

At the suggestion of one of this forum's tip sheets, I made sure the USB was connected to the computer and not a hub, but no improvement.

 

I tried playing the mpegs on our PS3 BlueRay to eliminate the possibility of it being the converter to DVD format and result was the same, so conversion to DVD format and burning is not an issue.

 

I am actually very surprised that the software even loaded on your computer. It is extemely low end, and if you get any of the software to work, you are very lucky.

 

[78s2CD]

And as far as I know, most devices like mice, keyboards and external drives are backward compatible. However, there is a difference between the voltages used for data in USB 1 & 2 so some devices might not be backward compatible.

 

Veering back toward the original question, which had to do with capture quality of the new USB device, I find that DV (AVI) capture gives significantly better picture quality than DVD (MPEG-2) HQ. However, when capturing DV I get severe pitch distortion (wow) that is evident in background music, but not in dialog. At this point I don't find the capture device especially useful for that reason. On the other hand, the Creator software seems to be performing well in producing DVDs that play in my set-top players. Vista users with user account control enabled should note, however, that Creator needs to be run as an administrator.

 

I'm running a home made system under Vista Business with all system drivers up to date and an "experience index" of 4.1; so, I don't think system capability is an issue.

[hmartinp]

I do not believe the device will even work on a USB. I only have one PC like that and the import program locks up whenever I attempt to use it. Firewire never fails…

 

It does work without fail on my other PC with USB 2!

 

And keep in mind that it is a Hardware device and it could be faulty…

 

At the same time why would you not defrag your drive? Even though Windows may flash you sunshine and say it doesn't, ask yourself why is it still running hours later???

 

Defrag your HD and try it. If it still has trouble, call Roxio.

 

"...will not work on USB"??? It is a USB device and works...quality is the issue.

 

Not sure what is considered "low end" these days, since it is a moving target.

 

The USB port is "Intel 82801DB/DBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controler - 24CD". So I shouldn't try it on my P90 in the garage? ...just kidding.

 

I will try the defrag on this "new" drive even if it says it didn't need it.

 

Thanks

[ggrussell]

Well, it could be a faulty device. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction, contact Roxio Customer Service to see if you can get a replacement.

[Jim_Hardin]

"...will not work on USB"??? It is a USB device and works...quality is the issue.

 

Not sure what is considered "low end" these days, since it is a moving target.

 

The USB port is "Intel 82801DB/DBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controler - 24CD". So I shouldn't try it on my P90 in the garage? ...just kidding.

 

I will try the defrag on this "new" drive even if it says it didn't need it.

 

Thanks

The device is USB 2 and will not work on USB…

 

There is no such thing as USB 1. There is USB or USB 2.

 

You might find it useful to spend a little less time arguing with the people who tried to help you and a little more following their advice???

 

Best of luck with this.