Print To Tape Glitches

Freebird wrote on 11/27/2002, 9:25 AM
Ok, I am on the verge of giving up! I have read just about all the video forms there are, I have worked with Dell tech support (that was fun), Microsoft (they were helpful), Dazzle (they were somewhat helpful), MIG/ROXIO, and Sony. I know this is kinda lengthy but I am very frustrated. My set up is:

Dell Dimension 8100 - 1.7 gig, 256 RAM
2 Internal Hard Drives (7200 rpm) – 60 gigs (with the OS loaded) and 100 gigs (for the final rendered AVI files)
XP Home Edition
Dazzle’s - DV.now AV board (packaged with Dells Movie studio II)
Sony TR520 Digital Camera

I started out with Video Wave 4 and after 7 months finally switch to VideoFactory (Very nice product). Like so many others out there, Capturing, editing and rendering work great!! But… I cannot get this or any other product to print back to my Video Camera without some sort of glitch. Sometimes the glitch is minor, but a glitch nonetheless. The movies play fine on the PC itself (no glitches).

I have tried all the hints and tweaks out there. I have tried a Siig Firewire IEEE 1394 board vs. the Dazzle – DV.now board – no luck)

I have defragged both hard drives (many times). The avi file is on a different drive than my OS.

I have physically move my DV.now card to isolate to it’s own IRQ.

I have disabled every nonessential piece of hardware.

I have shutdown or have not started every nonessential piece of software (all background jobs, virus checker, etc.)

I have raised the priority of the ‘Print To Tape’ program (can’t remember the name right now) to abovenormal, high, and real time.

All my device drivers are up to date.

Nothing works.!! I have come to the conclusion it is not possible. This does not seem ready for Prime Time yet…

I have a question to anyone out there who has successfully and consistently rendered any video over 1 hour back to tape. What is your setup?

My videos are always over an hour and up to 2 hours. Usually the ‘Print To Tape’ is OK for video less than 20 minutes. After that it is a crapshoot as to when and where a glitch will occur.

I have tried three different applications to Print To Tape – Video Wave 4, VideoFactory 2.c, and Microsoft’s beta Movie Maker 9. All three exhibit the same problem, after about 20 minutes into Printing To Tape one or more Glitches occur. CPU usage is always minimal for Printing to tape. Based on all three behaving the same, I believe it is not a software issue.

I am beginning to wonder if the PC is too fast? Is it possible that this is some sort of buffer over run with the Camera? What type of hand shaking (communication) goes on between VideoFactory, the AVI board and the Camera? I assume that the Camera has to notify the AVI board/VideoFactory that it received the video packet and either needs it re-sent or send more packets? Does Video Factory have any configurable parameters for this? It just does not make any sense why this is happening.

Question to a Sonic Foundry Tech: What configuration(s) do you test with? I would like to see the system specs (including the camera(s)) you guy’s use and what length of video you use to test with. I assume testing is done on multiple systems with varying system specs?

I really want this to work!! I do not know what to do any more… HELP!!

Comments

hendo wrote on 11/27/2002, 11:17 AM
Hi
Try Scenalyzer, this prog is dedicated to video capture and print to tape, you can download the demo version here

http://www.scenalyzer.com/

Andrew
ralphied wrote on 11/27/2002, 12:17 PM
Do you have any power management features on your system enabled, such as shuting down the monitor after a certain period of time, etc.? You need to disable ALL power management features.

I have a 1.6 Ghz P-4 computer (cheap-o barbones kit from TigerDirect) running Windows 2000 Professional with a Panasonic DV401 camcorder. I have NEVER had one glitch printing to tape in the 8 months I've had my system and my system is VERY generic -- nothing special about it at all. I work with videos longer than 1 hour all the time.

What kind of "glitches" are you referring to? For example, every once in a while (say, every 5 minutes or so), a few random black dots might appear in the video printed to tape. (These "dots" also appear in the VCR recording that I do simultaneous to the digital recording to the camcorder.) But, I just right this kind of stuff off to the fact that I'm working with low-end equipment.

I hope somebody comes across the solution for you.
Freebird wrote on 11/27/2002, 12:40 PM
Thanks for responding. I did forget to mention that I also turned off my screen saver and monitor power management. I do not have any black dots, the glitches I am talking about is usually a slight hesitations in sound and video (a stutter) and then it continues along fine. It may happen again before the transfer to tape is complete or may not happen until the next time I try and Print To Tape.

I will check out Scenalyzer and give it a try.
joey515 wrote on 11/27/2002, 2:38 PM
Freebird,

I have the same exact problem as you. Different system, different camera, same software. I've been tracking this forum for months hoping for an easy solution. I think Grazie has found the cause, but I have a different system than her so I can't use FanGUI like she can. I hope you can solve this. If so, please let me know. Here's the link to get you on her discussion thread...

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=129039&Page=0

Joe
Gryphon wrote on 11/27/2002, 3:34 PM
I regret to say that I'm experiencing the same issue.

Nasty frame-loss when printing back to tape. About every 3/4 a second there is a total loss of the audio for an instant, although there is no jitter in the video. It was able to capture just fine using this very camera and system (although I'm not sure if it still is able to... I think that I tried capturing after trying to print to tape and I lost frames.) I've rendered and re-rendered the project using differnet codecs, to different partitions on both drives (defragged thoroughly) and with printing to tape directly, and rendering to a single monolithic file and THEN printing that to tape. Nothing works at all.

Sony Hi-8 DV camera
OHCI compliant Firewire card
custom built system
- 900 mhz Athalon
- 1Gb PC 133 RAM
- 2 7200 RPM drives on an ATA 100 controller, with an ATA 100 cable
- all other devices with same IRQ (and some others without) have been disabled
- ACPI disabled
- ALL background apps disabled
- Vegas30.exe task set to highest system priority

I've got a project due in 2 days for college, and if I don't have it in, I'm going to fail the class. I guess it's time to suck it up and call Vegas support. =[
Grazie wrote on 11/27/2002, 11:33 PM
Joey - "I think Grazie has found the cause, but I have a different system than her so I can't use FanGUI like she can" - Yeah, my Mum might wanna talk to you! Our profiles aren't Gender specific - guess what Joey? You were 100% wrong! I'm a bloke of the male type [Ho ho ho! - like my Santa Claus impersonation?).

Okay and "Just when I thought I was out! - They drag me back in!" a la Godfather - I've got a Dell Inspiron 8000 Laptop. Because of the complex cooling requirements of the Laptop, Mr Michael Dell and his happy band, have come up with a very clever piece of heat exhaust management. Dell has made the cooling fan/s somehow operate NOT indepenedantly of the OS - ie when the heat sensors ( and I understand there are several on chasis, hd and cdrw areas ) register a markedly major rise in temperature, the fan/s (there are 2!) can be brought into play AND at different speeds. This is complex! It is very clever. It is very much "designed-in" belt and braces engineering - one drawback! As the fan/s kick in and out they actually, somehow, interrupt the flow of video/audio out through the firewire when I Print To Tape. - Very aggravating indeed.... thanks Mikey D! I can only think that Dell Boy is so aware of the possibility of customers "frying" eggs on their hot little laptopies, and unaware they would be doing this, the Heat cooling system "mixes" it with the BIOS and OS - Get onto DellTalk and see the forum/s there on the subject of fan/s and cooling and BIOS - larf! I did and I almost wet meself!

I have been reading this thread, but as your system is not a laptop - yes? - then maybe you had escaped this "feature". Anyway, turn all ambient noise to low, get rid of noisy kids, mother-in-laws, stop the nieghbours from cutting their lawns, switch off any music or ..... basically get the place as quiet as you can. Now, repeat your Print To Tape procedure and see if the symptoms recur when you can hear your PC fan switches on or off. I wouldn't have thought your Dimension system would have this problem as it is a Tower system - yes?, and not a Laptop. FanGui has been designed and offered as freeware for Inspiron 8000.

Freebird, put "FanGui" into a search engine and see what you see - but reeeallly get onto DellTalk. There is a gaziilion bits of useful information to be read.

AND - In the words of Kate Bush - that famous linebacker for the '49ers [that is for Joey ;) ] - "Don't give up"!

Regards

Grazie "The Bearded-One" [Yeah yeah On my face! ON my head yeah!]
Freebird wrote on 12/1/2002, 8:09 AM
I have a Dimension 8100 Desk top not an Inspiron laptop so FanGUI is not really an option. I did try Scenalyzer - the Glitches were even worse. With Scenalyzer they started almost immediately.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!!
joey515 wrote on 12/1/2002, 9:37 PM
Sorry about that Grazie. I don't follow this forum frequently enough to determine gender. So just that I'm clear, you're a bearded-male martian with a funny accent right? haha.
Grazie wrote on 12/2/2002, 2:34 AM
Hmmmm.... Joey how can you pick up my accent from an email? Oh yeah, you must be a Vulcan - yes? No need to apologise. It was probably the fishnet stockings and handbag that gave it away - yes? Must remember to check my seams when I go out ;)

Still playing with my Canon XM2 and Loooooove it love it love! Doing a Muso-Pub shoot tonite! If you're around NW London (UK - not Ontario/Winnepeg/Auckland/France etc etc) drop in and share a cool one or beersky or bitter or an Intergalactical Gaggle-Blaster [those who know the "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy", will remember Zaphod Beaglebrox - yes? He invented and mixes a mean SOB of a drink]

No need to apologise Joey. Hell, I need to have some light relief from DMAs; DirextXs; MPEGs; PTT glitches etc etc.

Regards

Grazie

PS - Oh yeas.... Yesterday, Sunday, caught up by phone line with one of our forum contributors who lives in the UK. It was reeeeally neat to speak to a member - YOU KNOW WHO you are! I won't say anything unless requested..... THIS Forum and its members Rock 'n Roll!
IanG wrote on 12/2/2002, 7:09 AM
Grazie - neat indeed!

Cheers

Ian G.