No Video captured

Klavisha wrote on 4/20/2003, 11:58 AM
Suddenly today, when trying to capture video from my Sony digital camcorder, as soon as I click on the capture button a window pops up stating "No Video Captured." I have always captured successfully before. VF Capture does recognize my camcorder, as before. Any ideas on what might cause this?

Changes to the computer since I last ran Capture: My son has installed & uninstalled video games recently, involving DirectX 9, and I've downloaded and installed Satish's plugin for use with TMPGEnc. Could either of these actions make a difference?

What should I check out to solve this problem?

Comments

Bear wrote on 4/20/2003, 2:55 PM
First thing I always do is check the cable. Second thing I do is open the camcorder lcd and see if the footage is showing there. Third thing I do is check my menu to make sure the D/V settings are correct. It has always been one of those three things for me.
Klavisha wrote on 4/20/2003, 5:18 PM
The video is playing fine in the camcorder lcd. I opened my old VideoWave program and hitched up the Dazzle breakout box I used to use before installing VF2.0 - Capture worked from VideoWave, so I'm assuming my cable connections, video card, and other hardware are not the problem. I can't recall having made any changes to my VF2.0 settings, but will check them. Thanks for your suggestions.
DaveCT wrote on 4/20/2003, 6:49 PM
Klavisha,
It could very well be something invloving DirectX. There is a DirectX diagnostic program called dxdiag.exe. It should be in your computer's system folder. Run it and see what turns up.

-Dave
Klavisha wrote on 4/21/2003, 4:38 PM
Thanks, Dave. I had already run the Dx diagnostics, but I've run them again to make sure. No problems found. Would a reinstall of VF be jumping the gun at this point?
DaveCT wrote on 4/21/2003, 6:54 PM
Klavisha,
Uninstalling and then reinstalling software usually gets it working again. It can't hurt. Just be sure to backup any project files and video files in case they get removed accidentally.

-Dave
DaveCT wrote on 4/23/2003, 10:00 PM
Klavisha,
In a cruel twist of fate I too have just started to experience this problem, and my own advice(reinstalling)does not fix it! Have you been able to find a solution?

Thanks!
-Dave
IanG wrote on 4/24/2003, 3:29 AM
You could try using another capture program, such as Scenalyzer. That would at least give you an idea of whether the problem's in VF/Vidcap or if it's more general. You could also try running vidcap25 directly.

Ian G.
Klavisha wrote on 4/24/2003, 3:26 PM
Unfortunately I haven't found the solution yet. I haven't tried reinstalling because I'm in the middle of a project and wanted to complete that first, just in case my reinstallation really fouled things up! Did you make any changes to your computer system prior to experiencing the problem? My son had installed/reinstalled video games and had downloaded updates to our video display drivers; these actions involved DirectX 9, so I'm wondering if that is involved. Also see my reply to IanG's message.
Klavisha wrote on 4/24/2003, 3:32 PM
I did just that - used my old VideoWave 4.0 program and the Dazzle breakout box which came with my Dell computer. I was able to capture from my digital camcorder both via my Firewire cable routed through the Dazzle and via RCA and S-Video cables through the Dazzle. Therefore I am guessing the problem is specifically with VF and possibly drivers, rather than with my general system or hardware.

A gold star for anyone who can solve this!
DaveCT wrote on 4/24/2003, 5:02 PM
OK, I was able to fix this. The problem appeared to occur after getting the latest "Windows Update". Maybe that was just a coincidence. A simple uninstall-reinstall didn't work, nor did uninstalling and re-installing my firewire capture card (but that's worth a try). I was also able to capture video using Windows Movie Maker under Windows ME installed on another disk partition, so that ruled out a camera and/or capture card problem. Anyway, here's what I did.

(1) Uninstalled Video Factory.
(2) Search through the registry and delete any references to the program. (Well most of them...there are quite a few).
(3) Reboot.
(4) Reinstall Video Factory.
(5) Reboot.

I think the reboots were a very important part of this process because I tried this without rebooting to no avail. Maybe you could try it without deleting the registry entries if you're not comfortable with editing the registry. Tinkering with the registry can really get you into trouble!

Hope this helps.
-Dave
Klavisha wrote on 4/24/2003, 8:00 PM
Thanks for posting your solution, Dave. Once I've finished the project I'm working on, I'll try your instructions, and post my results. I may have to yell for help in editing the Registry, which I've never had to touch.
DaveCT wrote on 4/24/2003, 8:37 PM
Klavisha,
If you've never touched the registry before try skipping that step. It's less "dangerous" that way.
-Dave
Klavisha wrote on 4/26/2003, 4:59 PM
OT: Dave, uninstalling, rebooting, and reinstalling without touching the registry did not work, so I'm ready to venture timidly forth with editing the registry. A question for you: how do I find all the VF files there? Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SonicFoundry are a number of subfolders. Do I just delete them all? Or may there be other rogue SF files in other sections of the registry tree?
DaveCT wrote on 4/27/2003, 1:39 AM
Hi Klasvisha,
Uninstall it again. In the registry editor click on EDIT and then click FIND. Type in "Sonic Foundry" (without the quotes). When it finds an entry, delete it. To find the next occurence press the F3 button. To be safe, you may want to back up the registry before you do this. The info should be in RegEdit's help file.

There were so many entries related to Video Factory that I didn't delete them ALL. Many had to do with plug-ins. And I didn't do it as methodically as I should have. Don't be too scared...as long you do not delete entries unrelated to Video Factory you should be fine. After you delete the registry entries, reboot the computer and reinstall Video Factory.

Let us know how it all turns out!
-Dave
Klavisha wrote on 4/28/2003, 4:05 PM
Dave, VF Capture is working! I sat there for half an hour deleting a neverending list of registry entries, even the plugins - you weren't kidding when you said there were lots of them - but it was time well spent. There is a smile on my face and a song in my heart, and you have earned a gold star. Thank you so much for posting your solution!
DaveCT wrote on 4/28/2003, 4:54 PM
Your welcome! Now if we can only isolate the specific registry entries that were causing the problem. Maybe Video factory tech support personnel could chime in here.

Dave
IanG wrote on 4/29/2003, 7:31 AM
It's probably too late to find out the specifics of this problem, but I've found that some (all?) of VF's dlls can become unregistered on my PC. I've no idea how it's happening, but it's unique to VF so I'm pointing the finger!

Ian G.