Frame drop problem - frames don't make it to the final recording

Nick-Mick wrote on 8/21/2020, 10:56 AM

I use Video easy Rescue Your Videotapes! Version 8.0, to rip PAL VHS tapes. While the preview works fine, let aside a problem with the volume (it is lowered down at times), in the final recording, some frames are missing. While that happens to tapes that have aged poorly, this problem is also evident in recordings of tapes that are in good condition (albeit there aren't as many missing frames).

Though I know I may have poorly treated my video grabber in the past (using it to record too many tapes at once - pulling out the USB in a rush), I wanna know whether or not I can make the problem disappear. I have tried ripping tapes every once in a while to avoid heating, but the problem still appears.

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 8/21/2020, 11:09 AM

@Nick-Mick

Welcome to the Magix user to user forums.

In my experience, "Dropped frames" are almost always caused by the host computer being unable to handle the throughput of the data stream, either to disc when importing the video, or from disc when exporting.

So, please read this post and give us all the details requested there. Are you recording to an internal or external drive? If internal, what type and speed? If external, what type and how is it connected to your computer, USB2, USB3 or, less likely, Firewire?

If you can set different recording formats in RYVT, what format have you selected?

Perhaps you should also explain what you mean when you say you have poorly treated my video grabber in the past and by the words to avoid heating. 😉

Jeff
Forum Moderator

Nick-Mick wrote on 8/21/2020, 11:25 AM

I'm recording to an internal drive, though I very recently also tried recording to two external ones (hard drives; 4 TBs each; latter also has a USB hub with two USB ports). As you may expect, the problem was still apparent.

What's the difference between USB2 and USB3, and how can I spot which way is a external drive connected? Which way is most preferred?

Also, what do you mean by formats? If that's what I think you are talking about, I set the format as Very High. Whenever I set it at High, very little of what I recorded as a whole makes it to the final video (fe I record 80 minutes and only the first 5 make it). Plus, I'm not sure how to use User Defined.

In the past, I used my video grabber to record too many tapes at once (which I heard, is responsible for making the grabber heat and as a result not process all of the frames that appear in the preview). Also, I very rarely used the common safe removal option on my PC to remove the USB. There are even times I pulled it out in the middle of a recording.

Also, I've noticed that the program used a lot of ram, around 70%, when ripping. There's also a Windows Defender program that runs, and is very difficult to turn it down. I usually make sure to run no other apps while ripping, though. Plus yeah, the computers I use aren't really fast, as I usually use them by running a lot of apps at once.

emmrecs wrote on 8/22/2020, 4:21 AM

@Nick-Mick

Thank you for this reply.

However, please re-read my earlier post and give us answers to all the questions asked! Did you read the linked post which asks for very detailed information about your computer? At the moment we know almost nothing about it, not even about the exact version of Windows you have!

However, given what you say about the manner in which you have previously "treated" the Video Grabber, especially the fact you admit to pulling it out in the middle of a recording without using the safe removal option I am going to guess that you have done either or both of two things: the driver software on your computer has become corrupted; the grabber itself has been internally damaged.

To check on the first of these, you should completely uninstall all your RYVT software and drivers. The free Revo Uninstaller is recommended for this because it finds and lists for you everything connected with the program, including items the built-in Windows uninstaller misses. One word of warning: if you have any other Magix program installed, check carefully what Revo tells you it is going to remove, it lists everything on the screen for you and allows you to select or not every item.

Once it has finished, reboot your computer and reinstall all the RYVT software and drivers, ensuring you install the correct driver for your version of Windows, whether 32 bit or 64 bit. Then try another capture. If it works, without dropped frames, excellent! If not, try again but using the "High" setting. I suspect part of your problem is that "Very High", although you do not see the problem of it completely failing, is actually trying to pass more data to your hard drive than it can handle, hence the dropped frames.

If, after all that, you still have problems then I think the grabber may well be faulty! The only option then is to buy a new copy of RYVT if you wish to continue using it.

HTH

Jeff

johnebaker wrote on 8/22/2020, 5:21 AM

@emmrecs, @emmrecs

. . . . some frames are missing. While that happens to tapes that have aged poorly, this problem is also evident in recordings of tapes that are in good condition . . . .

There are many causes of dropped frames from video tapes, some can be minimised others not:

Loss of signal (Dropout) - all tapes can experience this - the recording is on a magnetic media and the strength of the signal on the tapes deteriorates with age and storage conditions.
Print through - this is where the 'magnetic information' influences the adjacent tape loop on the spool damaging the signal or creating ghosting - becomes prominent if the tapes are wound too tight.
Sticking - if the tape has been stored for a long while the tape loops can adhere to each other - before capturing always wind/rewind the tapes a few times.
Shedding - the magnetic coating gradually loses its adhesion to the backing film, can also be caused by worn/damaged/dirty heads in the VCR
Recorder heads - worn, misaligned or dirty.
Loss of tracking - check the tape is OK before capture, adjust recorder tracking if necessary, this will be necessary with every tape if they were not recorded on the same VCR as you are capturing from.
USB speed - this can occur if the port used by the capture device is also on the same internal USB hub as other devices which are accessing the PC at the same time eg external hard drives - USB shares available bandwidth.
VHS is very low resolution video - in terms of digital resolutions it is approx 330 x 480 (NTSC) or 330 x 576 (PAL) - the data capture rate is relatively slow - USB2 can cope with above provision.

. . . . There's also a Windows Defender program that runs, and is very difficult to turn it down. . . . .

Use a different AV program - I use Avast which I find does not bog down the computer like Defender, Norton, McAfee and several other AV programs. The only issue with it, that also affects just about every AV software, is the Protected folder/Ransomware/ Folder protection feature, I turn it off.

HTH

John EB