Understanding Dropped Frames ??

RalphM wrote on 4/14/2008, 2:46 PM

Have you turned off anti-virus software or any other programs that may be running?

will-3 wrote on 4/14/2008, 3:24 PM

Well... How do I "quit" Norton ?? I see it in the 'tray' at the bottom right of the XP windows... most ap's there you can right click and then click clise... but with Nortion you can only click "stop auto protect" ... but the Norton Icon still appears at the bottom right of the screen... but has a big red X on it... wonder if that is good enough... or is there a way to just turn Norton off completely w/o uninstalling it?

--- Ditto for AVG... how to actually make it quit... stop running in the background... etc... without uninstalling it.

We don't have the capture computer on the net when we are capturing anyway... so no need for virus protection then... I guess.

Thanks for any help.

Terje wrote on 4/14/2008, 5:34 PM

Well... How do I "quit" Norton

"Easy".
- Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs
- Remove every trace of any Norton program you can find

Then
- Google "completely uninstall norton antivirus"

Follow the steps recommended.

Buy or download a free version of an anti virus program that doesn't actually cripple your computer almost beyond reasonable usability. I recommend Avast, but others may have other preferences. Never let Norton anything near your computer.

Himanshu wrote on 4/14/2008, 5:43 PM

Assuming the OP actually wants/needs virus protection on the PC, uninstalling it is not such a useful suggestion. There may be two ways to stop any service running on your system: (1) the application itself has an option that turns itself off completely, so look through all options, or ask their support team. (2) Go to Windows Adminstrative Tools > Services menu and Stop the service.

If you want to keep the service running and still exclude Sony Vegas exe's and all video file types, that may be possible via the AV's UI.

And while it's easy to blame AV, there may be other unnecessary services running on your system too, take a look at all non-MS services consider turning them off while you're working with Vegas.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/14/2008, 7:38 PM

I wrote the dropped frame portion of the FAQ over at VASST (along with a few other sections). Here is a link to the dropped frame portion. Hope the link still works:

Dropped Frames VASST FAQ

Laurence wrote on 4/15/2008, 4:01 AM

[i]
"Easy".
- Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs
- Remove every trace of any Norton program you can find

Then
- Google "completely uninstall norton antivirus"

Follow the steps recommended.[/i[

I 100% agree and you'll find that most of us do. Norton will suck up about 25% of your computer's resources.

Two good free ones are AVG Free and AVAST. I am currently using AVAST.

Even when you have the better antivirus instaled (yes the free ones are a lot better), you should still disable your anti-virus when you are capturing HDV.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/15/2008, 10:00 AM

Here's the link to the Norton Removal Tool:

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool

Everyone should download and run this tool and get rid of this horrendous software.

Steve Mann wrote on 4/16/2008, 9:38 AM

"Everyone should download and run this tool and get rid of this horrendous software."

I did, now everything runs a little faster.

My next step is to upgrade to XP (from Vista) and speed things up even more.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/16/2008, 9:44 AM

Vista ... brrrr ...

Richard Jones wrote on 4/17/2008, 3:35 AM

Why Uninstall Norton when you can open its Control Panel (by clicking on the Norton icon), go to the Internet Security page, open Settings and uncheck the boxes)? This frees up any extra power you may need.

By the way, why are some of you down on Norton? I know you have to pay for it, always a disadvantage, but at least they employ numerous people to try to keep up to date with and correct any new or developing problems wheres this can't always be guaranteed when using some of the freeware anti-virus programmes - or can it?

Regards,

Richard Jones

johnmeyer wrote on 4/17/2008, 9:41 AM

Why Uninstall Norton when you can open its Control Panel (by clicking on the Norton icon), go to the Internet Security page, open Settings and uncheck the boxes)?

This is a good first step. However, the problem with Norton/Symantec Anti-Virus, and the reason why so many of us are down on it (actually I viscerally hate it), is that it "takes over" your computer and can cause performance degradation that is almost criminal. I have witnessed, on dozens of client computers, applications that take over thirty seconds to load, rather than one second or less, as they should.

The reason for running the removal tool is that the standard Add/Remove function found in the Windows Control Panel does not remove all DLLs or registry entries and there is some thought that these may still interfere with normal Windows operations.

I have ten computers, only one of which has any form of anti-virus software installed. In ten years, I have had three viruses, two of which were on the computer with anti-virus software. I have a teenage son and twenty-year-old daughter that use most of these computers. I also do not enable ANY of the automatic Windows updates, and the computer I am typing on now has not been updated since 1993 (I'm still using XP SP1).

Now, I'll admit that I have done a few "tricks" to keep out viruses (like a HOSTS file that blocks access to thousands of known virus and adware sites). I don't download shareware from hack sites, and I don't go to altavista.box or any similar site.

I also have all the computers set up with the main drive partitioned into a "small" C drive (about 10 GBytes) with the remaining space set up as a data D: drive. I can do an image backup of C: in about ten minutes, which I do every few days. Nothing much changes on C: because it contains only Windows and my program files. In the three cases where I did get a virus, I restored that C: image in ten minutes, and was back up and running, with my data completely intact.

Richard Jones wrote on 4/18/2008, 3:49 AM

John,

I'm impressed not only by the extent of your knowledge and your readiness to share it (as ever) but also by the fact that you don't use any anti-virus software and never update Windows.

I had to gulp when I read that. The fear of a virus is real and shared by so many and despite what you say about partitioning, the potential for loss of data is frightening. Do I have the courage to go down this route? Frankly I don't know.

I update Windows automatically and have had only one problem which was solved by the next automatic update a couple of days later. Why are you so cautious about updating in this way? Is it a known source of virus infection? And, yes, I do wish we could break Microsoft's almost virtual monopoly, especially when I see how efficient and safe my son's Apple Mac is!

Regards,

Richard Jones

0.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/18/2008, 1:00 PM

I realize that most people would not feel comfortable without anti-virus software and therefore I certainly do not recommend that they get rid of it if it would make them uncomfortable to do so. My only point in sharing what I do is to remind people that the threat for most people (unless you download lots of cracked software, go to porn sites, trade files using peer-to-peer clients, etc.) the threat is almost non-existent. The worst viruses come from EXE files that are infected. They can carry any payload and can wipe out hard drives, etc. But, if you purchase all your software, and download shareware from reputable sites, you won't be infected. Browser exploits get a lot of attention and account for a very large percentage of the "fixes" in Microsoft's infinite updates, but very few of those exploits are actually in use (i.e., they are theoretical), and the sites that actually deliver them are easily found out. The "hosts" file I use block access to all known sites.

As for hackers actually gaining access to your computer, as long as you access the Internet through a router (which EVERYONE should be doing), it is virtually impossible for a hacker to get to your computer (although if you use remote control software, and have a tunnel through your router's NAT logic, then it becomes possible, although unlikely, that someone could get through).

The one infection I got on this computer was the result of trying to use some software that was not 100% "kosher," because the trial version didn't let me fully test (before I purchased) so I could tell whether it would work, or not. So, I violated one of my rules above and, appropriately, I paid the price.

farss wrote on 4/18/2008, 6:34 PM

I run Kapersky on PCs that do capturing, no problem.

However I suspect none of the above has anything to do with the original posters problem.
I have seen Vidcap report dropped frames during capture and yet in the summary show none. This doesn't seem to relate to dropped frames in the sense that the disk couldn't keep up and hence frames were lost. What it does seem to indicate is there were dropouts on the tape and Vidcap couldn't handle them. That Will is hearing audio problems adds to that conclusion.
Cleaning the heads would be a wise move and then try recapturing the tape might ease the problem.
You can also make life hard for Vidcap if your tape was recorded with 12/32K audio. Check your camera before you shoot to ensure the audio is set to 16/48K audio. Many Sony cameras seem to always default to 32K.
Also be very careful how you use Vidcap. Never start a capture from blank tape. If you're only capturing DV then you might get more joy using SCLive.

Bob.