No captured sound from analogue video?
 

Been having real hell with capturing audio to digital from both VHS and Umatic decks. The video captures fine, but the audio is always ruined with intermittent glitches regardless of the set-up. And yet the video's audio plays perfectly fine through my JVC monitor.

I first noticed it with captures from my JVC SVHS HR-S7500EK to my Sony Z1 camera using a standard phono to 3.5mm jack video lead. The captures were of some home video movies from the 1980s. The picture captured just great, no problems. But I noticed that every time the picture cut from one scene to another, the sound would blank out on the digital capture. Sometimes, halfway through the scene the sound would intermittently cut out, with no rhyme or reason as to why.

To get around this, I captured the sound from the VHS deck directly to a ZOOM digital audio recorder via the line in. Set a manual recording level. This captured audio perfectly so it seemed. There were no silences at the scene cuts. No blank spots. However, the ZOOM capture introduced a completely different set of glitches. Now, at random places, particularly where people are talking close to camera, the sound will glitch. It's difficult to describe the effect. It sounds as if the audio level has peaked, or more like a badly tuned radio, just momentarily. Checking the levels on the ZOOM there is no peaking. Turning the recording level way down has no effect. However, when I check the audio on the first set of failed digital captures from the Z1 at those very spots, there is no issue at all.

So now I have one set of audio captures from the Z1 that would be great if it were not for the random and numerous blanks. And one set of audio captures from the ZOOM that would be great if it were for not the random glitches at totally different points.

I have tried different tapes and different combinations of leads running from the scart lead output of the HR-S7500EK and from the phono outputs. Same results. There is no headphone socket on the HR-S7500EK (not one I can find anyway), so I can't test it there.

Tried capturing from my Sony 9850 Umatic deck, with totally different recordings and different leads. I get the same audio capture problem on the ZOOM and the Z1. Cutting out at random places on the Z1 and glitches on the ZOOM.

Does anyone have any idea where the fault could lay?

That depends on what video capture card you are using and what software which you didn't mention.

Then feel free to upload an audio example to the forum.

The z1 is a Sony DV camera. As I said, that is what I am capturing to.

How are you connecting your camcorder to computer and what application you are using?

You may have a gain stage issue with the Zoom. The signal may be distorting inside the Zoom but before (upstream of) the manual adjuster.

Which model Zoom recorder are you using and where are you adjusting the level manually? Photos might help.