Aspect Ratio

[ravibot]

Hi,
Hope that someone will be able to help me.
I'm attempting to capture video from my Sky+ decoder via it's SVHS using easycap 108 and Videostudio 10 on a recent DELL Win XP laptop. I can see a picture and get sound, however the picture isn't showing in 16:9 ratio even though I checked this box on the first splash screen in VS10. I've tried recording something and it stretches the picture and has the black border either side of the picture. I've tried various resolutions and they don't give me what I want.
In addition I notice some white blocks at the top left of the picture of whatever I record. And the sound is often distorted and can show as interference (horizontal lines) on the picture. Is it my usb port or a faulty easycap device?
One last thing, can anyone say the best settings for a decent recording off of the sky box. The recordings look good until you resize to view on a 20 inch widescreen monitor.
Many Thanks.

[EZ-Fan!]

The EasyCap 108 can only capture PAL at a maximum resolution of 720 x 576i which is 4:3. What you will need to do is capture the 16:9 programmes from your Sky-Box at 4:3 (it will look squashed horizonaly) and then export it/upscale it to 16:9 (which is 1024 x 576), this will restore the picture aspect ratio! I have to do this with all my video's, see here.

As for the other problems, it is more likely that they are down to software and system compatibility issues rather than a faulty EasyCap.


1) What XP service pack do you have, 1,2 or3?

2) Is your EasyCap 108 a DC60 or a DC60+?



 

[ravibot]

Thanks for that, so the hardware can't capture in 16:9 rather than the software. I'll look at getting the additional software to upscale the image afterwards.
I believe I have SP2 but I will check, it may be SP3.
It says DC60+ on the box.
Many Thanks.

[EZ-Fan!]

If you have the DC60+ model then you are in luck! You can download the latest drivers from the EasyCap website, they come included with some video capture software called AMCap 9.02. Click here for a direct link.

IMPORTANT! You must uninstall the old driver BEFORE installing the new one and the EasyCap MUST BE PLUGGED IN when you install this new driver! I think it actualy updates something on the device itself.

Let me know how it works out for you.


 

[ravibot]

Thanks, I may be mistaken but I thought that this is the driver I had already downloaded, how will I know that is the case?
Is there an option to record in 16:9?

[EZ-Fan!]

I did'nt know you had already downloaded a driver, I assumed you had inatalled the driver of the CD that came with EasyCap. This driver is an update (May 17th, 2008) and is probably newer than the ones that come on the CD's, it also comes with video capture software that will capture very high quality in AVI format with very low CPU load. I don't think there is 16:9 capture included in the update although some sellers on ebay say the DC60+ can capture in 16:9.

When you install the driver off the CD you have to unplug the EasyCap first, but when you install the updated driver you have to plug the EasyCap in as I think it updates the hardware on the device itself.

SP2 or 3?


 

[ravibot]

Yep, I'm on SP2 and already have the latest drivers. In Video Studio I was looking under the advanced button on the video option and there is an aspect ratio drop down box with 16:9. I'll try the DVD PAL Template to see the result.
AVI appears to create the best picture but the size of the file produced is way too large.

[ravibot]

I tried to change the resolution somewhere and the Video Studio software told me that the hardware (Easycap) didn't support capturing in that resolution.  It appears that capturing with the AVI format will only come out in 4:3. Also I noticed that playing back a captured bit of a recorded Sky2 program showed the light and then dark sort of macrovision protection. I wonder if this is something new in the Sky HD box because my old Sky + box never did that.
Also there are vertical lines running down the screen which weren't so noticeable whilst capturing the video.
Are you able to see anything like vertical lines when playing back the captured PS3 stuff on a larger monitor/TV?

[EZ-Fan!]

I'm running XP-SP3 on my PC and cannot use Video Studio at all for capture, I have not used it for editing or conversion so unfortunately I am not at all familiar with the program. I know nothing of problems with Sky as I don't have it, sorry I can't help with that one! I use AMCap 9.02 which came with the DC60+ driver update, because I am only recording short video's for you tube I don't mind large AVI's. The files I capture are pretty much immaculate as regards percieved video quality, I then use a freeware program called MPEG Streamclip to upscale, deinterlace and compress them with and they look great to my eyes. You can watch my PS3 video's in full screen/HD and see for yourself if you click here, scroll down and click on one of the video thumb nails, then click on Watch In HD and go full screen!

A lot of people have trouble with Ulead Video Studio 10 SE/Plus, there are mixed reviews of it, see here. I would suggest trying out lots of different capture/editing/conversion software until you find something that works on your system and you like. Here is a good place to start.