Random Capture Failures

2G wrote on 8/31/2004, 7:23 AM
Every once in a while I'll capture a tape and get a strange result. After the capture completes, the picture is random checkerboard blocks. I can kinda see the remnants of the correct picture, but it is completely messed up. So far, simply erasing and recapturing works fine.

The last time it happened it was part of a multicam shoot. When I tried lining up the clip with a clip from another camera, I noticed that the failed clip was running slower (i.e. a 1 hour tape yielded a 1:15 video clip). So it looks like somehow Vegas and the camera never get the right sync info, and the tape captures at the wrong speed.

I've had this failure with two different cameras (digital 8 & miniDV) and on Vegas 4 and Vegas 5. The only thing that hasn't changed is the firewire card. It only happens in maybe 1 out 25 captures. But 1 out of 25 is still too many times.

Has anybody else ever had this problem? Other than erasing and recapturing when it happens, is there a better solution or a way to prevent it?

2G

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 8/31/2004, 7:32 AM
It often is the result of crappy information in a particular frame from the capture device. Erasing and recapturing works (usually) because you're not starting on the same exact frame again. There are a few threads on this here, seems one of them went pretty deeply. You might try searching for "corrupted frames" or something along that line.
SonyEPM wrote on 8/31/2004, 7:55 AM
Are you capturing from the very start of the tape? If so, try shuttling in just a little and start capturing at the start of stable video
Rogueone wrote on 8/31/2004, 8:51 AM
Yes, I too have had this problem, and on both Digital 8 and MiniDV cameras. Deleting and recapturing the tape does usually fix it, but it is a pain when it happens!
2G wrote on 8/31/2004, 9:18 AM
Thanks for the info. I'm just clicking the 'capture tape' button. Most often the tape is at the end. I prefer to just click the button and not have to wait around 10 minutes for it to rewind, press play, stop, then capture. If there's a way to automate this such that I can still press a button or two and walk away, then I'm all for it.

Isn't there some way for Vegas to detect that the frames are out of sync, stop, restart, etc. to get the capture back in sync? Just curious.
johnmeyer wrote on 8/31/2004, 10:17 AM
Next time, try to watch the video on your camera (not on the computer) as it is being captured. Is it messed up there? It could be that the heads are getting dirty, or the tape needs to be rewound (I have been told that some cameras are sensitive to this).
2G wrote on 8/31/2004, 8:43 PM
The latest failure was on a Sony PD-170 that was a week old.

Are you saying you think it would be messed up on the camera LCD, correct on the computer capture viewer, and messed up again on the disk after capture? How could it be bad coming out of the camera and be healed only long enough to appear correct on the screen?
farss wrote on 8/31/2004, 8:49 PM
Some of the glitches that can cause the capture process to fail maybe very short and easily missed.
On a similar but different note, yesterday my PC started dropping frames badly. Tried the usual things, defrag, switch off every service but still no go. Tried capturing to a different drive in the same PC. Perfection!

Bob.