VirtualDub capture not recording?
 

I'm trying to capture some cherished home videos and basically decided to follow this guide that was recommended a bunch from around the net: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdGDwNwmyVo

I got myself an S-VHS player with s-video out, a Panasonic dvd recorder for the TBC, and hooked them all up to an IO-Data GV-USB (this thing) which seemed to be a decently reviewed device for the price.

I followed the instructions in the video (starting at about the 6:50 mark) to the letter, and this is where things get weird.

I only get the video preview when my device is set to "WDM Image Capture", not when I select the GV-USB2 device. However, virtualdub will ONLY record when it's set to the GV-USB2 device, not when in WDM.

To make matters weirder, I can hear the audio just fine when it's being previewed in virtuadub, but when I record to a file I only get the video, no audio. The GV-USB2 isn't showing up as a recording device in windows 10 for audio but I'm getting the audio just fine in preview mode, so clearly it's coming through, just not translating to the captured video.

In short, I can capture videos on the wrong setting, without a preview, and I can get sound in preview mode, but no sound on the resulting video capture.

I don't get it.

Any idea what might be getting messed up here?

-- merged --

Okay well the audio part of this was obvious - when I set the audio capture source to the wrong device ("capture device" and NOT the GV-USB2), it records audio and video.

Still no preview of either when I'm in the only mode they'll record in though. I guess that's not the biggest deal since it technically outputs, but if anyone knows why I have to select the incorrect device selections to get it working (without preview, that is) I'd love to know.

Try with virtualvcr (works on 7, not sure on 10 but worth the try). I've always captured with it successfully for +10 years
http://virtualvcr.sourceforge.net/
edit: in the settings, "View" make sure to enable "smart Tee for preview"

I have one of these GV-USB2 beauties and it works well with VDub. I prefer VDub over other capture programs because of the histogram.

Here's my setup:
Win 10 20H2 64bit.
Virtual Dub 1.9.11 (from this site). I think this is where that guy is leading you astray; he's using VDub 2.
Device>GV-USB2
Video>Preview
Video>Preview>Accel Off
Video>Histogram On
Video>Video Source>S-Video
Video>Set Custom Format>720x576 YUY2
Audio>Top 3 items on
Audio>0 Capture Device

That's it.

To adjust your video Proc Amp capture levels:
Download and run Graphstudionext (it's a "portable" program and won't install on your system, it just runs).
Graph>Insert Filter
Scroll down to GV-USB2, Analogue capture and click it
Click Insert
Close the Filters window
Right click on the GV-USB2 Filter box in the main window and go onto the Video Proc Amp tab.
You can then control various levels. Brightness and Contrast can be adjusted with the VDub histogram: brightness controls the left hand end and contrast the right.

You can save that "graph" for quick access later: File>Save as graph...

-- merged --

Who knows. Does it matter? VDub development ceased many years ago. With particular settings, it works. That's all that matters.

-- merged --

If you're not aufait with Video>Compression, you'll need to install a lossless codec such as Lagarith or HUFFYUV.

Let us know if you need help installing those codecs.

It's best to capture in a lossless format, then do your editing, then export into MP4 for viewing on your computer, TV or You Tube (although you can upload to YT in Lagarith or HUFF format, the issue being the lossless files are around 450mb per minute (720x576, 25fps) whereas MP4 is much smaller for good quality, around 50mb per minute.

Appreciate the response.

Just got HuffyUV installed after like 15 attempts, haha.

Does anyone know what "I Frame Interval" and "quality" reffer to in the capture pin settings? By default they seem to be 15 and 0.5 respectively but I see absolutely no mention of these settings anywhere and most walk-throughs show this section entirely blank...

Yes, sorry about not warning you! Cough cough. :smack:

I have 15 and compression quality 1. I've never looked at them before now.

They don't do anything when "Color Space / Compression" is set to an uncompressed format like YUY2. For devices with hardware encoding to MJPEG or MPEG, they could change the compression settings.

This might be a bit late but I found a solution to your audio problem. You set the audio setting to Capture Card rather than the GV-USB2 in VirtualDub.

I appreciate this info! I recently revamped my entire hardware/software setup for VHS captures because I wasn't satisfied with what I was getting before... so the GV-USB2 and VirtualDub are all new to me.

Do you have any tips on getting my video capture to display in a 4:3 format? The GV-USB2's default seems to be 720x480. If I try anything else (like Video>Set Custom Format>720x576 YUY2 in VDub), the display goes blank... I assume it's because I need to change the format in the GV-USB2's "Light Capture" software BEFORE it feeds into the VDub software... but with all the non-English text, I can't find a place to change the video format. Any suggestions?

A lot has happened in 3 years! :wink2:

I no longer use VDub for capturing; I use AmarecTV. It's simple and it keeps the audio in sync. I still use VDub to set up the histogram though.

Anyway, on to your issue. All analogue captures are either 720x576 for PAL or 720x480 for NTSC, both Interlaced. Those frame sizes are the analogue standard that all digitisers/capture cards use.

For your particular issue, make sure the Video Standard (ie PAL or NTSC) set in Video>Capture Filter>Video Decoder tab is paired with the appropriate frame size. You can't have 720x576 if you have NTSC set in the video standard (720x480 is the NTSC standard frame size). I just tried and I too got a black screen with PAL_B and 720x480. With PAL set, 720x576 gave me a (good) blue screen.

The Lightcapture software plays no part in this capture process and should not be used; it's simply GV-USB2 straight "into" VDub.

If you were going to use Lightcapture, it would be instead of VDub. And I suspect it would be the same: for PAL, it would capture at 720x576 and for NTSC, it would capture at 720x480.

The next step after capture is to deinterlace your video and then resize it (or otherwise export it) either to a square-pixel 4:3 frame of 768x576 or 640x480 or with an appropriate SAR (Sample Aspect Ratio, in the Save Video process) so the 720x576 or 720x480 source video displays as 4:3.

Hope that helps!

Good to know! This stuff is so much more complicated than I would have ever imagined - I think every response I get results in a different recommendation, ha! But I'm sure that's just the nature of such a complex hobby. I'll definitely check out AmarecTV - thanks!

Interesting! So in other words, I shouldn't stress over starting out with a proper 4:3 aspect ratio while capturing, but rather that's something that I can take care of post-capture, while applying my deinterlacing and other filters. I'll note this as my main lesson for today. Thank you very much! :):thumb:

I think my confusion here must not be so much with the Lightcapture software, then, but with the GV-USB2's built-in settings.

In VirtualDub, when I click Video > Capture Filter, I get the standard settings for the GV-USB2 that I would see if using Lightcapture.

My concern is under the "VID DEINTERLACE METHOD" section of those settings (see attached image). I don't see a simple "None" or "Off" option. Does this mean there is no option to capture unfiltered, uncompressed video without deinterlacing through the GV-USB2?

No. Just select "Weave" and you'll get an Interlaced capture. :congrats:

FYI:
1. that "Custom Properties" panel is basically the same for every device out there.

2. Lordsmurf recommends using VDub 1.9.11 for capture. It's on the site somewhere.

Oh! I guess that was a dumb question on my part, haha - I had the idea that "Weave" was a form of deinterlacing. I feel like I've been studying up on this stuff for months and still have so many gaps in my knowledge on how it all works and what certain terms actually mean... So please forgive any additional forehead-smacking questions I may ask in the coming months. :smack: :laugh:

Oh okay, I'll check that out - thanks! For what reasons does he prefer that particular version?

Don't worry, this is me: Weave? Bob? Huh?? :laugh: