Beginner Needs Help!!

erikrich wrote on 5/26/2002, 8:10 PM
I'm trying to capture my video through a ATI Rage Fury Pro using my VHSC cam corder. It captures the video fine but the audio is recorded at a much faster rate and is not in sync with the video. I made a couple videos a few months ago using the same setup and everything worked fine. I have no idea what has happened nor where to even start. Any suggestions?

Comments

kcarroll wrote on 5/28/2002, 7:48 AM
Audio sync is usually not a problem with Video Factory.

When you capture, do you get summary message that reports "Dropped Frames"? Lost frames can occur for a number of reasons, but their existance (or lack of it?) could explain your sync problem.

If you suspect this to be the case, there are several things you should do to minimize the problem:

1) Make sure you have plenty of free hard disk space.
2) Defrag your drive immediately prior to your capture attempt.
3) Shut down all programs running in the background (like virus checkers).
4) Do not try to do anything else on your computer while the capture is running.

Your source video can also be part of the problem. I am frequently presented with source video that has been taken under difficult conditions, where the camera has been bounced around, and the tape started and stopped many times. Sometimes this this kind of footage simply confuses the software, and it drops frames because it can't make sense out of them.

kcarroll
erikrich wrote on 5/28/2002, 9:21 AM
When I capture it says the capture is fine. On some attempts it will drop a frame or two, but on the majority it does not. On those that it captures fine, I still have the same problem. I forgot to mention also that sometimes the video lags also, but then it plays fine. The audio sounds like the chipmunks are talking and it ends way before the video video stops.

If there is any information that I haven't provided that may help please ask because I'm at a loss.
Former user wrote on 5/28/2002, 10:30 AM
Make sure your project properties match your footag captured properties, specifically video bitrate and audio sample rate.

Dave T2
erikrich wrote on 5/28/2002, 11:49 PM
How do I know what my project properties and my footage capture properties are?
JodoKast wrote on 5/29/2002, 4:25 AM
Ok, I think I have your answer. I'm guessing that these are MPEG2 files and that you are using the ATI software for capture? If so there is a known bug in with the software that can cause audio to play back 10% faster than video. Downloading the newest Multimedia Center AND DVD player software from the ATI site should fix it.

From the DVD 7.6 read-me file
"F) ISSUES RESOLVED

Captured MPEG-2 video clips play back 10% too fast.

DVD 7.6 includes an updated MPEG2/DVD decoder which corrects the issue where
MPEG2 video clips captured using the ATI Multimedia Center TV application will
play back a little to quickly. This symptom is generally noticed during
playback due to the slightly higher pitch in the audio."
erikrich wrote on 5/29/2002, 9:24 AM
I've actually been using the software from VF to capture. My video properties are set at Frame rate: 29.970, Color Space/Compression: UYVY and output size 640x40. My Audio is set at 44,100 Hz 16 bit stereo 172 kb/s. I just looked at some short clips I captured while trying to figure this out and under their properties it has them listed as a Microsoft YUV file?? Never heard of that. But it has my Audio properties at 58,237 Hz on one and 58, 170 hz on another. I tried capturing just from my ATI software last night and it captured AVI files just fine. Default capture was MPEG-2 but I guess I need to buy a plug in to use those files on VF? Is it worth it to buy the plug in?

Sorry for so many questions, but thanks a ton for all you help!
erikrich wrote on 5/30/2002, 11:36 PM
Anybody have any ideas?
erikrich wrote on 5/31/2002, 12:10 AM
I found out my problem. As always its the simplest of things. Under preferences in the capture section in the capture tab, there is a little box that says master stream. Audio, Video or None. Put none and problem solved.
JodoKast wrote on 5/31/2002, 4:00 PM
Sorry I was of no help. Glad you found your answer though.
HeeHee wrote on 5/31/2002, 4:25 PM
ATI capture cards are notorious for sync problems. I wouldn't be suprised if you started getting sync problems when you capture larger clips.

I have an ATI AIW Rage 128 Pro and have had sync problems from the start on large files. I'm not sure when it starts getting bad, but I know it ocurs on 15 minute or longer captures. I also have wired snap, crackle, and pop sounds on the audio in XP. I have bypassed the ATI card and go directly to the sound card to resolve that, but that's another story.

Anyway, I am solving the sync problem with an expensive but highly recommended way. I just purchased a Canopus ADVC-100 Analog to Digital converter. You may have seen this device mentioned around the forum. You hook it up to your analog device like a camcorder or VHS VCR with the composite or Svideo jacks and to your computer via firewire to a 1394 card. The deice has a built-in DV encoder, so you get the smaller DV avi files. It also is suppose to lock the audio/video sync. No more stretching or compressing the audio, yehhhhh! That was a pain. BTW - The unit costs around $302 shipped from DV411.com. The other benefit is that you don't lose a generation of the media you are capturing.