digitalFAQ.com Forum - Picture shifts to a dark grainy when capturing tapes

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Originally Posted by alco3

Hello. I don't know what the video community would do without you.

Thanks! :)

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What I'm trying to do is copy some old vhs commerical tapes to dvd. I have a JVC HR-S9800 S-VHS VCR, a canopus 100 box, Studio 11 and a pc with w7x64 8gb 2 1td hdd and iQuadcore.

Excellent VCR, decent capture box, awful software.
For capturing DV -- which is what the Canopus ADVC-100 is -- you want to use WinDV. It's freeware, available at http://windv.mourek.cz/

Studio 11 is very buggy, as were many(most) versions before it. The best version I've used to date was Studio 12, but even it had a number of stability quirks.

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When I attempt to capture I get a reasonably good picture for a few seconds then the picture shifts to a dark grainy almost negative effect. Then it may snap back to a good picture in 1 second or 10 seconds and then back to the dark grainy picture. My real problem is I don't know what this problem is called and I haven't had any luck in scouring the forums. Oh yes, it does it on a variety of commercial tapes, while some commercial tapes capture just fine as do non-commercial tapes.

What you're seeing is either legitimate or false detection of anti-copy. The copyguard/anti-copy protections are nothing more than artificial video errors. The copy-protect detections schemes used in consumer devices -- always in the name of "protecting copyrights" -- are almost always over-sensitive to legitimate non-artificial errors. The Canopus ADVC-100 is just another consumer device plagued by this Hollywood/corporate boondoggle.

However, like a number of capture devices, there's a way to bypass the detection. It's not 100% foolproof, but it often does the job.

Try this: Press and hold the "Input Select" button on the front panel for about 15 seconds. Your captured image should freeze. When the video starts playing again, you can stop holding the button. Macrovision copy-protection is now disabled until you switch off the ADVC-110

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I have a datavision TBC-1000 on the way ... maybe it will solve this problem but I decided it was time to ask a pro. As you can surmise I'm determined to get this job accomplished ... the fact that I love hardware and it gives me a reason to get some really cool stuff is a bonus!

Honestly, the only foolproof way to eliminated video errors -- artificial or otherwise -- is to use a time base corrector.

More on TBCs at http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/show...base-2251.html

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Thanks in advance for your time. You can email me direct if you prefer. Thanks again, Paul (alco3 on the forum)

Glad to help. Consider signing up as a Premium Member (only $20, helps the site), to get the best continued video advice on all your DVD projects.

Thanks. :)

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