VHS audio issues when using VirtualDub?
 

I've done some searching and I can't find anyone with a similar problem so I decided to make a post.

I am copying VHS tapes using Virtualdub and a GV2-USB with the settings from the video linked below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_TDa9zY1c

The video part of the transfer works great and I have had luck getting the audio to sync; however, my issue is the audio gets scrambled in a couple of different spots of the recording. I confirmed the VHS tape was fine by playing it and checking the audio at the spots that were scrambled when recording. I'm not sure how to exactly described the scrambled sound, but sometimes it has a distorted noise in the background that comes and goes while some other parts of the recording are completely scrambled. The scrambled audio can last anywhere from a minutes to ten minutes out of a 100 minute recording. It also tends to happen towards the end of the recording. I have also tried other VHS tapes and had similar issues with the audio. I've tried playing around with the settings in Virtualdub, but have had no luck.

Since the VHS audio itself is fine, I'm assuming this is an issue with my Virtualdub settings. Has anyone else had this issue or can anyone recommend better settings and/or another program to use to get around this issue?

Thanks for your help.

Audio preview must (usually) be off during capture. Is it?

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm trying the settings suggested in the link in the earlier post. I have looked though the menu system and cannot find "Audio Preview". Do you mean "Enable Audio Playback"?

I also thought about the sound scrambling I am getting and I guess you would call it more of a static sound if that makes sense. Unfortunately, I don't have a TBC, but I don't know if that would solve the problem.

Thanks for your help and I'll let you know how my attempt tonight goes.

-- merged --

I tried the setting suggested above and it actually made the sound issue worse. I think the difference between the settings I was originally using and the ones in the above link is on the "Capture Timing Options" I had set "Do not resync between audio and video" selected versus the suggested "Sync audio to video by resampling the audio to faster or slower rate".

Any other suggestions?

Try AmarecTV 310

Thanks for the program suggestion, but I would like to continue using Virtualdub if possible. I'm still having no luck on the audio issues though.

Post samples of normal, slightly and completely "scrambled" sound. Everybody is just guessing what is wrong.

Does it occur at the same tape time or it seems to be random?

Thank you all for the responses. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have uploaded a clip of a portion of a VHS with the audio issue that I'm facing. This is the noise that seems to come and go at various parts of the recording. I hope this clip will help you understand the issue I am trying to describe. Please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to remove this audio issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93hD...ature=youtu.be

Did it occur to you that the GV2-USB is junkware?

This is not noise, it is missing sound. If you open the sound in an audio editor you will see gaps, or straight lines, tearing the wave.

You can't really remove the problem, you have to capture the sound again.

There could be several reasons for this happen.

1. It may be Windows. Its sound system is a complete mess especially since Vista and has caused all sorts of trouble to me. Anyway, a long time ago, in XP era, the "scrambling" has happened to me. At that time I was using Sound Forge for audio-only recording. Since it allows changing both playback and recording buffer length, I experimented a bit and found that increasing the buffer length helps smooth the capture.
2. It could be VirtualDub trying to sync audio and video incorrectly. If this happens, video frame rate deviates too much. This means that you need an external TBC, that can output stable 29.97/25 FPS (depending on your source).
3. As sanlyn pointed out, it could also be the capture device. You didn't mention what your setup is, but I assume you capture both audio and video with the GV2-USB. The device itself may be generating invalid audio stream.
4. Last but not least, your computer might not be able to keep up with the input data.

Thank you so much for your responses. You are correct that I am using the GV2-USB capture device for both audio and sound. Do you all recommend another device and/or another method to capturing the audio portion?
I am going to try tonight on my newer pc versus the old laptop I used to determine if this is an issue with the computer being powerful enough.

It's probably the card. You're not using something that is suggested. Cheap cards use really crappy audio chips, in addition to crappy video chips.

IOdata makes nothing, complete rebadger.
And that cards appears to be a cheap EZcap (aka EZcrap).

Most GV2-USB fans are just video gamers. That crowd has horribly low expectations on video/audio quality (because their sources has low video and audio quality, compared to actual video). For whatever reason, this device was popularized somewhere where they hang out. That's not my scene, so not sure if a forum, Facebook, etc. What is truly amusing is some find it better than the EZcap, but I'm 99% certain it's the same item. :laugh:

Yeah, looks like the issue was the older PC. That is at least true with the one tape I tested. I'll try some more this weekend to see if the issue comes up on other tapes.

Appreciate all of your help.

I used a Hauppauge USB Live with Amarec TV 310 for 100+ tapes and never had a problem (but it clips blacks)

I read that GV2-USB uses a GrassValley video chip (considered good quality)

Whatever you read is false..

Grass Valley doesn't make cheap USB sticks, they make broadcast devices.

At most, due to the Canopus acquisition 10+ years ago, they sold some legacy Canopus items (ADVC, etc) for at least $200 for years after the buyout. But there's not been anything new to Canopus since the acquisition. And I think Canopus warehouse stock is all gone, as I see B&H has "discontinued" for most Canopus products now. I think the brand is now entirely phased out, defunct, gone.

GV bought Canopus for their tech, threw out the product sales as trash. Selling to consumers is not their customer base.

Even GV isn't GV anymore, bought by Miranda a few years back. GV name was kept, but little else.

Thanks for the clarification!