Transferred videos don't open?
 

Okay, so i have transferred several Hi8 tapes into my system and i am getting different unpredictable results.

My Rig:
Sony TRV-608 into Datavideo TBC-1000 into Pinnacle USB-510 into a Windows 7 Pro system by way of VideoDub. Then i transfer the videos to my Win10 Pro machine where i use Vegas 18. I copy them to this machine by way of a 2TB USB thumbdrive.

What i am running into is this. Some of the videos play on their own (windows media player) AND opens on my Win10 machine with Vegas....other videos transferred the exact same way...DONT!

When i look at the videos in windows explorer the ones that DO play show a thumbnail image. The ones that dont, dont have a thumbnail. I am doing EVERYTHING exactly the same but getting unpredictable results.

I have attached some shots of what these videos look like in Windows Explorer and Sony Vegas.

Needless to say the ones that WONT play with the Media Player ALSO will not open in Vegas.

What is going on? Am i overlooking a 'finalize' step in Virtualdub? Are the files too big and it maxes out some bizarre Windows File size limit?

I am stopping ALL of my Transfer efforts till i sort out what the heck is going on.

I need all of Y'alls help and advice on this one!

Denicio

(Side note, back in the day when i just used a Canopus 100 to Xfr video INTO sony vegas using Vegas capture....ALWAYS worked....sigh)

Do they play on the Windows 7 machine?

The ones with Thumbnails do, the ones without thumbnails dont.

Very strange.

It could be a bad USB drive corrupting the files.

BUT....before i Transfer them via USB drive....some play on the Win7 capture machine and others don't.

How are you capturing? what format? what are the file properties using MediaInfo app? We can't help you without any info about the files themselves. What are you using Vegas for? and lastly who still uses MS media player? get yourself MPC-HC.

All solid questions. DO talk to me like i am a 3rd grader...as Video Capture via VD is VERY VERY new to me.
The BULK of my previous experience was successful captures in Vegas via a Canopus 100 ...years ago.

I've no idea what format. What ever format VirtualDub captures in. Isnt that .avi ?
Format? Dont know how to answer this.

I provided images where i clicked on the file properties. Is that the info you need? If not, where is the info your need found at?

Again, spell it out to me like i am a newbie 3rd grader. My goal is NOT to truly master VD for all of time. I just need it to capture about 75 videos and then i am done with it. All my editing will be done in Vegas.

I use Media Player thats built into Win7. On my Win10 machine i use the player that uses the shape of orange cones (odd choice) i forget its name. VLC sound right?

Is MPC-HC better?

You're going to want to use the "HuffYUV" or equivalent lossless codec for capture. You can get it here. If you're using 32-bit VirtualDub then you'll need the 32-bit HuffYUV. Or for 64-bit VirtualDub, get the 64-bit HuffYUV. Then follow the VirtualDub Settings Guide.

I don't know if this will solve your particular problem, but it needs to be done in any case.

Traal,

I am all over this! Thanks for the suggestion. Yeah, i have not been using Huff.

It appears its a .dll. Thats not executable, right? What is the best way to install this so VD sees it?

In the world of Audio DAW's you have to drop .dll files in specific folders for them to be 'seen'. Same apply here?

I am running Win7 64 bit but a 32 bit version of VD.

There is a tutorial on how to use vdub and how to add pluggins to it like HuffUYV, just follow it, it's here somewhere. Download MediaInfo app to get file info and try MPC-HC it is better than VLC for me.

Here are links to the info latreche34 is referencing:

on this forum

And a maybe more straightforward instruction referenced at the end of the above thread.

BW

Does HuffUYV increase or decrease the file sizes?

"AVI" is a container, not a codec and can "contain" various video "codecs" within it, compressed or not, lossless or not, etc. That's one reason you need MediaInfo or similar to determine what is actually inside. HuffYUV is a lossless compression codec so using it to capture with VirtualDub creates smaller, lossless YUV files than using uncompressed YUV with the same video and audio setting. Here's a brief discussion worth reading.

I spent 2-3 hours mucking about with my Win 7 machine trying to get Huff installed.

Cusswords were uttered so loud over a sustained period of time that the dogs went into the other room. I never got Huff to show up in VirtualDub and i followed every tip and suggestion on the VD thread.

I honestly feel like i am chasing my tail with all this virtual dub stuff.

Over this weekend i am going to try transferring my stuff in a very UN-Digitalfaq kinda way. Pass-Through my MiniDv right into Vegas 18's capture function. For better or worse....if it works, then it works. I honestly feel like i can spend the next 3 months digging around in Window 7's registry looking for clues or the next 3 months transferring video and getting this project behind me.

If i sound exasperated, its because i am.

For now, try Lagarith instead.

Sure, i got nothing to lose at this point.

Is there a LordSmurf approved link to download Lagarith ?

I have installed Lagrith AND it showing up in Virtual Dub.

Now.....which setting should i use for old Hi8 tapes?

RGB
YUY2
YV12

Remember, i am an idiot on this stuff and have no idea what any of this stuff truly means. I do know RGB is Red, Green Blue....but outside of that.......no idea which setting to use.

Of those, choose YUY2.

Well, this weekend's test with the other codec did not help at all.

I am resorting to this set up so i can finish the project as tweaking out this system for the rest of 2021 does not interest me.

Hi8 into TBC-1000 into Sony Mini DV with firewire out into Sony Vegas. At the moment, it works!

Don't just install the codec. You must also set it.
In the capture window, set the codec in the Video>Compression menu.

I had set the Codec in the main VD menu. Had no idea i had to set it twice.

I did it and it DID create a much smaller sized file (welcomed news) BUT when i put it on a flash drive and put it on my Win10 machine it says it cant find the codec need (in Windows AND in Vegas). See attached images.

Does this mean i also need to install Lagarith on my Win10 machine too?

Yes.

And that should be easy, Lagarith has modern installer.
If you're not getting dropped frames with Lagarith, great!
It has more overhead, can cause dropped frames, hence why Huffyuv is better. But Lagarith is a good fallback.

You're well on your way to capture goodness now. :)

Thanks Sir Lord Smurf!

I shall install it tonight and cross my fingers that Vegas 18 does not barf up Lagarith.

As for dropped frames, i noticed no dropped frames but according to VD the CPU usage is much higher than previous transfers without it.

Just in case the install doesn't fix your problem, another thing to make sure you're doing is if you're cropping the video while capturing (which you shouldn't really do anyway) make sure the video dimensions are even numbers. For example, not 711x553. VirtualDub won't tell you anything is wrong but the codec will mess up.

Thanks for the tip.

I am not cropping anything in my Xfr and rarely do any while editing.


Installed Lagarith on my Win10 machine and Vegas played nicely! So last night my Win10 machine was editing/rendering while my Win7 machine was Transferring.

Each tape is about 60 to 120 minutes long. I have noticed that at times Video Dub adds some odd color noise. See attached picture. Yes the picture is from my iphone and not great quality but i snapped it quick when it started doing this. It did it ONLY on the Win7 computer and NOT on the Hi8 camera.

What could be causing these green artifacts? (Note: Her outfit has NO green in it). It only did this during this part of the capture. The rest of the capture had zero artifacts like this.

You're getting some sort of illegal threshold issues with chroma. It's hard to say much more, why, where it comes from. VirtualDub isn't doing that, it's hardware causing it. But the tape may be to blame.

ILLEGAL? I promise you Officer Smurf that i was now weaving. I never drink and Transfer video at the same time :-)

I will rely on your expertise here......but i gotta ask....how can the tape be to blame if i am not seeing the illegal stuff on the Hi8 camcorder screen?

No idea. Some things are hard to troubleshoot over the interwebs.

LS,

BTW, i have a video i transferred PRE lagarith and last night transferred the exact same video with the Lagarith codec

Pre Lag: 140 Gig
With Lag: 40 gig

That one thing in and of itself is worth the price of admission!

For the colour threshold limit, you could try tweaking the hue up or down. Video->Capture filter...->Proc amp settings. See if that has any effect.