Audio pitch problems capturing video from VHS

[sareide]

Hi
I started my project for this winter to digizite old vhs videos. I have these devices/tools:
a) vcr sony slv se80 (6 heads)
b)time base corrector (1t-tbc)
c) avermedia ez-capture based on bt848
d) virtualdub

I'm looking for the right setup, so I'm doings variuos tests. But I've realized that after various minutes audio pictch changes (it shifts to high frequences as donald duck voice).

Any suggestion about settings? I've found articles about audio sync, but this problem seems related to something that affects pitch

thanks in advance
sareide

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sareide

Hi
I started my project for this winter to digizite old vhs videos. I have these devices/tools:
a) vcr sony slv se80 (6 heads)
b)time base corrector (1t-tbc)
c) avermedia ez-capture based on bt848
d) virtualdub

Item #C is the weak link in your chain. That's a supremely lousy card, with almost a decade worth of complaints. I was telling people to not use that card as far back as 2003. The drivers are horrible, the chipset is flawed and passable at best, and the software options are pitiful.

Could you spend $50 to $65 to get a better card? Look at the ATI 600 USB card.
- page1 from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all
- page2 from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all

Prices vary from seller to seller, month to month. Right now I see the cards from about $35 (cheap!) to $150 (crazy!)
MSRP on these was in the $50-100 range, when new.

Quote:

I'm looking for the right setup, so I'm doings variuos tests. But I've realized that after various minutes audio pictch changes (it shifts to high frequences as donald duck voice).

That's a pitch shift for sure. Does it stay stable, or alter in the degree of damage as the file plays? In other words, is it variable or sustained? "Variable" would be like a boy hitting puberty, and his voice keeps changing up and down in pitch. "Sustained" would be like somebody inhaled helium.

Sustained damage may be a forced change of kHz. If you alter 48kHz to 44.1kHz, for example, without doing compensation. (Or the other way around, 44.1 to 48 -- I forget off-hand. Would have to do a test in Sound Forge to remember which way causes chipmunk, and which one is slow-mo.) Where that is happening, however, I'm not sure.

Quote:

Any suggestion about settings? I've found articles about audio sync, but this problem seems related to something that affects pitch

It may be an issue of sync, and the way the software is attempting to compensate. But since you're using VirtualDub, that just doesn't seem likely.

Welcome to the site.

[sareide]

hi
thanks for you suggestion. I have been using a dtv usb dongle with svhs, video composite and audio. But I tought that it would be better to use bt848 since the tweak with virtual dub. This dongle is based on the twinhan chipset . But I'm planning to buy a capture cart.

Considering the pitch shift i have this result: the video is normal at its start but after some minutes voice alters becoming chipmunk. Pitch shift doesn't alter changing down just like a flip flop: it goes up and remains up, sustanined.
Do you think that I have to change setup of virtualdub to compensate: but it's non a delay (out of sync). it's accelerated.
I'll try to use usb dtv dongle. But could You suggest me any trick to solve this problem?
thanks in advance
sa

[lordsmurf]

VirtualDub shouldn't need to compensate.
And given that the skew is so bad as to cause chipmunk sound, I doubt it could compensate that much anyway.

I've never seen an error like this. At least not one that I can recall in the past 10 years.

I wish I had more advice for you.