Hauppauge USB-Live 2, VirtualDub unable to start capture?

Oakleaf · #1 05-03-2019, 01:27 AM

I'm trying to digitize VHS tapes. My computer is Intel Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.4 GHz, with Quad Core, 8 logical processors, and Hyper-V support running Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit. Graphics card is GeForce GTX 650. I have the capture file set to the root directory of a Glyph Studio external drive plugged into a USB 3 port. VirtualDub did manage to create the capture file on this drive.
VCR has built in TBC and S-Video output which I am using.
I have the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 and was able to use its software to successfully capture a 30 minute tape.
I downloaded and installed/extracted LordSmurf's VirtualDub 1.9.11 + Filters and the HuffyUV-multithreaded.rar without any problems.
I carefully read Sanlyn’s very helpful post to help me choose the proper settings for VirtualDub.
I tried to capture with Virtual Dub which recognized the huffyuv_mt.dll driver which I selected, but when I tried to start the capture (F6), I kept getting the error message “Unable to start video capture.” I looked at all my settings to see if I might need to change something--
Device choices are:
0 Microsoft WDM Image Capture
1 Hauppauge Cx23100 Video Capture (Direct Show) – this was my selection
2 Screen capture
3 Video file (Emulation)
The Audio menu has three choices
0 Capture device
1 Analog Audio In (Hauppauge USB-Live2)—this was my selection
2 Hauppauge Cx23100 Audio capture
I wonder if the Device menu should have another choice specifically named USB-Live2 like the Audio setting has?

Video Source = Video SVideo

Please help me get VirtualDub working with the USB-Live2 to capture my tapes. Thank you.

jwillis84 · #2 05-03-2019, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

... the error message “Unable to start video capture.”

This almost always means the crossbar for the driver is not "looking" at the correct Input, or that the signal has not started sending a video signal.

You can usually tell if there is a video signal "detected" or not by opening the capture driver from the video menu.. it goes by various names but looks something like this. I do have a USB-Live2 but its not handy.. this is for a 700-USB. The (important) part to pay attention to is that "0" after [Signal Detected: ] it should say "1" before you try to capture.

If you try to capture while it says "0" the graph will fail to start and give you that generic message.

Oakleaf · #3 05-03-2019, 10:39 PM

Thanks for your reply. I had forgotten to mention that the USB-Live 2 device has two LEDs that indicate whether the device is active and whether the video signal is detected. Both were lit. What a pleasant surprise when I turned my computer back on and restarted VirtualDub--it showed a blue screen with the VCR channel number instead of the nothing but black screen! I had inadvertently left my VCR on with the USB device hooked up when I turned my CPU off. Maybe rebooting with those on made it start working? I was able to do a test recording with VirtualDub and the Huffyuv codec. Still, I'm disappointed that I can't tell a dime's worth of difference among all three of the captures I've done of the same tape using (1) my camera's passthrough feature (2) the software that came with the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 and (3) VirtualDub w/Huffyuv and the USB-Live 2. I guess I should start a new thread and ask for help because I don't know how to improve what I'm capturing.

sanlyn · #4 05-04-2019, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

Thanks for your reply. I had forgotten to mention that the USB-Live 2 device has two LEDs that indicate whether the device is active and whether the video signal is detected. Both were lit. What a pleasant surprise when I turned my computer back on and restarted VirtualDub--it showed a blue screen with the VCR channel number instead of the nothing but black screen! I had inadvertently left my VCR on with the USB device hooked up when I turned my CPU off. Maybe rebooting with those on made it start working? I was able to do a test recording with VirtualDub and the Huffyuv codec. Still, I'm disappointed that I can't tell a dime's worth of difference among all three of the captures I've done of the same tape using (1) my camera's passthrough feature (2) the software that came with the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 and (3) VirtualDub w/Huffyuv and the USB-Live 2. I guess I should start a new thread and ask for help because I don't know how to improve what I'm capturing.

You should definitely start a new thread and post a sample (or multiple samples, if you wish) of your capture. The sample should include motion of some kind, such as people moving or gesturing, an object or animal moving, etc.. Don't filter or otherwise alter the sample. Your capture should be the original YUY2 color with huffyuv compression. Edit your sample in VirtualDub to about 8 to 10 seconds, which in YUY2 huffyuv should be well within the 99mb upload size limit. After cutting your sample in VirtualDub, be sure to click "Video.." then -> "direct stream copy" before saving the file, to prevent colorspace and compressor conversion.

If you previously used your Hauppauge software to capture to a lossy codec, it's inconceivable that there is no difference between that capture and a lossless version. More than likely you just haven't learned what elements to look for. If you previously captured to MPEG, you can submit a sample, edited .m2v video file using the free DGindex utility and the guide http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/news...ad-sample.html . If you captured to .h264 you will have to use something like copy mode in Avidemux to make a short sample that isn't re-encoded (re-encoding a lossy codec will invalidate the comparison).

Congratulations on solving the problem.

jwillis84 · #5 05-04-2019, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oakleaf

Both were lit. What a pleasant surprise when I turned my computer back on and restarted VirtualDub--it showed a blue screen with the VCR channel number ...

Unfortunately.. you need to know this..

DirectX "toggles" signal detect [one-time].. once a valid signal is detected it "latches" until cleared.. that means once you "Start" a capture it will seemingly continue.. even if there is "No Signal" but continue to report "Signal detected".. infuriating to say the least.. and most people don't catch on to this and think its "flaky".. well seemingly unpredictable..

Its totally predictable once you understand how lame it really is.

Basically, the behavior you witnessed is "totally expected".

Starting from a "fresh" reboot if it has never detected a signal "0" is correct and reliable.. once a signal has passed it becomes toggled "1" unless your capture software resets it.. lame.

I presume the same occurs with your capture device LED.. once its had a signal.. it toggles on and stays that way until reset.. so its predictably "unreliable".. unless you reboot.

Signal has to "Start" sending frames "before" capture begins.. if there is nothing in the pipeline when the capture button is pressed the DirectX driver will report an error.

People seemingly always want to "Capture" before pressing "Play" on a VCR.. I guess because they want to capture the first frame.. you can't really do this.. unless you have an NTSC signal on the inputs of the VCR and allow that to be captured until you press "Play" on the VCR.. then the VCR will autoswitch to the Tape playback signal.

There are other tricks.. but basically you can't get around "Must have signal before Capture".. even if your LED says signal detect.. or your capture app says "Signal detected" when there really is no signal.. worse.. you can trick it into capturing "Blank" frames..and that trick will de-sync your audio and video.. give it up.. always make sure your signal is sending video.. before pressing "Capture".. and make sure your device is watching the correct Input..

Oakleaf · #6 05-04-2019, 10:18 PM

jwillis84, Thanks so much for all the tips--I'm sure knowing these quirks will save me a lot of frustration.

Oakleaf · #7 05-04-2019, 10:38 PM

Sanlyn, thank you so much for your instructions. I'm anxious to do the video clips, post them, and learn how to capture properly, but I will wait until I receive the ATI 600 USB I'm ordering. I'm encouraged and hopeful that with the help of this forum, I can learn how to get better quality videos.