Capture problem with Canopus ADVC50

[jfeldmeier]

I have an ADVC50 installed in a DELL8400 with XP SP2 that has worked fine for years. Recently I upgraded from Ulead Video Studio 9 to Video Studio 11+. As part of this upgrade I also installed the latest DirectX updates from Microsoft. As a result I am no longer able to successfully capture with the ADVC50.

To try and debug the problem I have been using WinDV as a simple capture program. To verify the problem is with the ADVC50 I first tried to capture from my Canon DV recorder over a different port on the same Firewire board that the ADVC50 shares. This capture was successful and the .avi
file works fine in any of my other programs.

When I try to capture from the ADVC50 source WinDV appears to be working. I see source file playing in preview window and an .AVI file that looks to be the correct size is created. The problem is that this file is not usable. windows Media Play and the Real Player will not play it back. VS 11+ and MS Movie Maker 2.1 both reject it as an incompatible file format.

I have tried two different analog sources connected to the ADVC50 a High8 recorder and a VCR. The High8 recorder is what I have used successfully in the past. Both produce the same results.

Another piece of data that might give a clue is that When trying to capture with WinDV it will only create the .avi file if the DV capture is set to Type 1. If I set it to Type 2 WinDV creates a temp .AVI file but when I complete the capture the temp file disappears. This leads me to believe that nothing is actually being captured when Type 2 is selected.

Any help on this issue would be much appreciated. I have spent hours trying to debug it.

[GrassValley_BH]

What do the two (Canon and ADVC50) files look like when you put them in GSpot? There must be some kind of difference as DV is DV, though it's possible that the OS is using a Canon-specific driver and it's causing a difference...

[kbosward]

I don't suppose you happen to have some ADVC50 capture files still lying around from before your upgrade? If so, do they still work?

Ken.

[jfeldmeier]

Brandon,

This is the container info from gspot for some AVI files captured before things stopped working. These were capture from my Canon DV using Video Studio 9. I know these were captured as Type 2 so something is definately wacked.

File Length Correct
Compatibility Note: DV Type 1 AVI
Multipart OpenDML AVI (2 parts)
(14108 frames in first part, 0 frames follow)

Note: 1.81 GB unneeded bytes at end of file
Compatibility Note: DV Type 1 AVI
Multipart OpenDML AVI (5 parts)
(60621 frames in first part, -1 frames follow)

Note: 7.49 GB unneeded bytes at end of file
Compatibility Note: DV Type 1 AVI
Multipart OpenDML AVI (5 parts)
(111320 frames in first part, -2 frames follow)

This is a capture from the ADVC50 since things stopped working. This was captured as Type 1.
File Length Correct
Compatibility Note: DV Type 1 AVI
OpenDML (AVI v2.0)
DV Audio/Video: 46.0 MB (99.59%)
AVI Overhead: 195 KB (0.41%)

This is a capture from my Canon DV since things stopped working.
This is the only file that will play back on my computer
File Length Correct
DV Type 2 AVI
OpenDML (AVI v2.0)
DV Audio/Video: 94.4 MB (94.36%)
AVI Copy of DV Audio: 5.04 MB (5.04%)
AVI Overhead: 611 KB (0.60%)

Ken,

I can't locate any old .AVI files captured with the ADVC50 but as you can see from the above nothing works at this point except new files captured from my Canon DV. Anything captured before the VS 11+ upgrade is broken.

[jfeldmeier]

My problem is definately related to the codec(s). I played around with some codec downloads and one in particular XP-Codec-Pack_2.3.4.exe allowed me to capture with the ADVC50 and the Canon DV but it did not solve the playback problem with my existing avi files. When I uninstalled it I was able to play my older files and the files I had just captured with it but I could no longer capture through the ADVC50.

I am getting closer to a solution but still not there. I really don't understand enough about how the codecs work so any help would be great.

[GrassValley_BH]

Be VERY WARY of "codec packs" - many of them contain spyware, and the great majority of them are illegal, either because they're hacked commercial codecs or because they violate the terms of the codec redistribution.

General rule of thumb: If the download contains contents from a number of manufacturers, it's probably not direct from the source.

Here's a good codec info site:

http://www.fourcc.org/

That said, yes, your problem does sound codec-related.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Uninstall codec pack
2. Scan for viruses/spyware with your installed virus scanner
3. Scan for viruses/spyware with another virus scanner (Trend Micro's online scanner, etc)
4. Download and install the latest DirectX runtime from Microsoft.
5. Download any applicable updates from Microsoft Update/Windows Update

If that fails, I'd try uninstalling the VideoStudio upgrade - or check their site for a newer version or known issues.

[kbosward]

This is the container info from gspot for some AVI files captured before things stopped working.

The other important thing to look at is the Codec listed in the Video section of GSpot. For example, I found a few DV-AVI files on my laptop and when I look at them with GSpot they have one of two Video codecs: CDVC (Canopus DV Codec) or dvsd (DVC/DV Video). The container info shows no errors for all the files, however GSpot reports codec NOT installed for the CDVC files and when I try to play them (in WMP) no video is produced. The dvsd files play okay.

Ken.