Dropped frames and Integrated Graphics

Wayne1 wrote on 11/10/2002, 5:29 PM

I have Vegas Video 3.0 LE and the new Canopus ADVC1394 analog and DV capture card. I don't have a camcorder, so I am test capturing from a satellite dish and VCR. Video capture is fine, except for about 10-30 dropped frames per hour in a non-stop capture from either satellite dish programing or VCR tape playback. A few audio pops and snaps spoil a professional result. I have 512mb DDR Ram in an Intel D845GRG motherboard with the new Intel 64mb Extreme Integrated Graphics. I also have a separate Seagate Baracuda hard drive for capturing to. I often delete all files from the capture drive before capturing. The BIOS and graphics drivers have both been updated. I've tried adjusting the acceleration and performance settings in Windows XP Pro to no avail. Could the sharing of system memory with the Intel Extreme Integrated Graphics be causing the dropped frames?? It seemed like turning the video aperature and frame buffer settings to their minimums in motherboard BIOS helped reduce, but not eliminate dropped frames. Would a separate video card in the AGP slot end the dropping of frames? If so, what brand and model of video card do you recommend for a fairly new P4 and Vegas Video. Thank you for any advice!

Comments

SonyDennis wrote on 11/10/2002, 10:47 PM

I can't comment on the video card, but check for other processes that might be stealing CPU cycles, even if for a "little while". For example, on my home system, if the phone rings while I'm capturing, I drop frames. Why? Because Windows XP pops the "Hey, the phone is ringing -- do you want that I should receive a fax, boss?" (or something like that <g>) help ballon from the system tray. Bammo, dropped frames. I could probably kill a process somewhere, but I just unplug the phone line while I'm capturing and no more dropped frames.
///d@

riredale wrote on 11/11/2002, 4:57 PM

Don't settle for anything less than 0 dropped frames. A simple experiment would be to go into the CTRL-ALT-DEL window and manually kill every process except Explorer and Systray (this is how it works in the W98 world, XP may be very different). A much faster way to do this in the future would be to download the popular "Enditall" freeware program, which lets you kill all the processes in one step.

Once everything else is dead, try capturing again. With the horsepower you currently have, I can't imagine even integrated graphics being a problem. On a Compaq K-2 500 a few years back I no problems capturing, and that was an integrated graphics system with maybe 1/8th the horsepower you have.

If you really want to experiment with a video board, I would think that ANY AGP board will make a difference. Any board over $50 will make a huge difference in video game frame rates, not DV video capture, so if you're not a gamer, don't waste the money.

All these comments are directed at systems capturing DV through an OHCI card. Other capturing methods might give very different results; I have never tried it and just don't know.