Guide: Capture SDA Acceptable Video (includes live streaming)

2013-07-05 11:01:21 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

I need to update this guide to include yua since it is now the standard.

NullVideoPass error might be related to this: https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/anri_chan_3.3_nullvideopass_5.html#anri_chan_3.3_nullvideopass_5

The user said yua fixed it so should be fine after that.

Last thing, MediaInfo might be bugged but if the fps is 25 then this is PAL and you should set the resolution to 720x576.

lecorbak

2013-07-05 11:17:32 am

Vanilla H is mai waifu

when I put 720x576, le video is glitched

TheThrillness

Edit history:

TheThrillness: 2013-07-05 11:39:54 am

2013-07-05 11:28:42 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

That's weird. I'm currently rewriting step 8 in the OP to include yua encoding so you can try using that (eta 5/10 minutes till finished).

Edit: Done. It should now be good enough for you to have a bash at using it.

lecorbak

Edit history:

lecorbak: 2013-07-05 11:55:28 am

lecorbak: 2013-07-05 11:55:06 am

2013-07-05 11:54:45 am

Vanilla H is mai waifu

so, I did a HQ encoding to the video with yua, it looks really cool, but the final video is now in 320x240.
it is normal ?
the basic video was in 640x480

TheThrillness

2013-07-05 02:20:41 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

That is correct and as expected (this allows proper deinterlacing).

p-p-j

2013-07-08 10:41:42 am

Ok now I got the official EzCap from amazon and I still have problems in VirtualDub. I can't choose NTSC_433 at the Capture filter part. It chooses PAL_B as the standard and sometimes the video is a second behind in VirtualDub.

TheThrillness

Edit history:

TheThrillness: 2013-07-08 11:00:00 am

2013-07-08 10:57:32 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

PAL_B is the correct standard if you are playing a PAL game. Smiley

What do you mean a second? It the audio and video is desynched then try messing with the timing options window.

p-p-j

Edit history:

p-p-j: 2013-07-08 11:59:29 am

2013-07-08 11:57:04 am

Sorry, should it be writed like ''the video is second late in VirtualDub''? English isn't my first language :/
It has been working fine now.

TheThrillness

2013-07-08 03:17:28 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

What you said was fine. It's just sometimes VirtualDub can modify audio in different ways.

I'm glad it's working!

Apparition

2013-07-24 04:09:30 pm

I bought the ezcap from the amazon link in the OP. The video works just fine, but I'm having serious audio issues. Problem is, I can't get audio to register at all through the ezcap. I've tried running it through virtualdub and OBS. The video is fine, but no audio. I've tried switching drivers around and installing different versions of the drivers. I know it's not the a/v cables, because I've tested them through other devices. This is a little disheartening right now, because I would really like to start running attempts soon. Any help with this is appreciated.

TheThrillness

2013-07-24 04:41:13 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

I was just about to say try the way on the guide.

"Open up Device Manager then go to Sound, video and game controllers. Locate the USB EMP Audio Device. Right click and go to Update Driver software. Select browse my computer for driver software then let me pick from a list. Click the top option (USB Audio Device) and then Next. It should install and playback audio fine now."

But looks like you did that. If all else fails you can route the audio to the line on on your computer's soundcard.

Apparition

2013-07-24 04:45:45 pm

I tried switching the driver, but I suppose I'll keep messing with it. I also tried using the line in port on my motherboard. I was able to get it to play through OBS, but not through virtualdub via the line in. I will continue to tinker, but suggestions are definitely helpful.

gredgie

2013-08-21 06:59:16 pm

And I'd do it again...

I know this thread is for creating videos, but is there any method of enabling audio playback that wont drop capture frames in the name of streaming with EzCap?
I imagine it's not really designed so much for live streaming.

4kizan

Edit history:

4kizan: 2013-11-01 09:17:51 am

2013-11-01 09:17:34 am

i have a little question about Ezcap.
Is it possible to use it for playing with the live streaming directly ?
I mean if i have a playstation 1 without a screen TV, can i use the ezcap for play on my computer from playstation 1 ?
thanks

TheThrillness

2013-11-01 01:18:00 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

Yes but you would have some slight delay.

burningsteel

2013-11-23 10:12:04 pm

Soulless Killing Machine

Hello, encountering some issues with VirtualDub / Ezcap.

1) EzCap -Sometimes the video / audio drivers seem to reinstall when I reboot my machine. Is there setting somewhere that you know that might be doing this?
2) VirtualDub
a) I had to re-record two levels because the compression was gone and the audio raw capture format were back at 96000Hz, and one or two other things reset (forgot what those ones were) for some reason.
b) I seem to have this 500 ms audio shift to my recording. I originally thought it was coming from Audio=>Interleaving on the window before the Capture window, but I turned that off and that was not it. Any ideas where that is coming from? Completely removing EzCap, then re-installing does not help either.

So I do not have to re-record this one level I just completed (beat my time even with my testing with save states), can I crop the video with VirtualDub, then use "Direct Stream Copy" for Audio and Video, and only shift the audio 500ms so it aligns properly using "Audio skew correction" in Interleaving? Or would there be some other issue later with the file?

Sorry for having a lot of questions.

Hello, encountering some issues with VirtualDub / Ezcap.

1) EzCap -Sometimes the video / audio drivers seem to reinstall when I reboot my machine.  Is there setting somewhere that you know that might be doing this?
2) VirtualDub 
     a) I had to re-record two levels because the compression was gone and the audio raw capture format were back at 96000Hz, and one or two other things reset (forgot what those ones were) for some reason.  
     b) I seem to have this 500 ms audio shift to my recording.  I originally thought it was coming from Audio=>Interleaving on the window before the Capture window, but I turned that off and that was not it. Any ideas where that is coming from?  Completely removing EzCap, then re-installing does not help either.

So I do not have to re-record this one level I just completed (beat my time even with my testing with save states), can I crop the video with VirtualDub, then use "Direct Stream Copy" for Audio and Video, and only shift the audio 500ms so it aligns properly using "Audio skew correction" in Interleaving?  Or would there be some other issue later with the file?

Sorry for having a lot of questions.

TheThrillness

Edit history:

TheThrillness: 2013-11-24 10:54:46 am

2013-11-24 10:53:20 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

1) It might be an enumeration issue with the device/your computer. Do you always have it plugged in? You may want to unplug it and only replug it in when you are about to use it.
2) a) and b) I've realized VirtualDub has more issue than any other program I have used. I direct you here for now and see if you get similar issues: https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Amarectv_configuration

Your plan to fix seems to have no issue so you should be fine. Additionally those two levels would have been salvageable since you can convert to 48000 Hz inside VirtualDub and maybe the other things were to. 96000 Hz is not bad it's just we choose 48000 so anri/Yua handles it properly.

burningsteel

Edit history:

burningsteel: 2013-11-24 12:07:52 pm

2013-11-24 12:07:19 pm

Soulless Killing Machine

Quote from TheThrillness:

1) It might be an enumeration issue with the device/your computer. Do you always have it plugged in? You may want to unplug it and only replug it in when you are about to use it.
2) a) and b) I've realized VirtualDub has more issue than any other program I have used. I direct you here for now and see if you get similar issues: https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Amarectv_configuration

Your plan to fix seems to have no issue so you should be fine. Additionally those two levels would have been salvageable since you can convert to 48000 Hz inside VirtualDub and maybe the other things were to. 96000 Hz is not bad it's just we choose 48000 so anri/Yua handles it properly.

Ok, maybe I should have asked before I started to re-record those, was not sure which things were completely necessary for the recording to meet SDA standards. Aha oh well. I have ended up with a faster time anyway (1 sec), and it also looks a bit cleaner. I will try to not unplug that the EzCap from now on and see if that resolves that reinstalling issue. Also will give that Amarectv a try a little bit later. Thank you for the link and response.

[quote="TheThrillness"]1) It might be an enumeration issue with the device/your computer. Do you always have it plugged in? You may want to unplug it and only replug it in when you are about to use it.
2) a) and b) I've realized VirtualDub has more issue than any other program I have used. I direct you here for now and see if you get similar issues: https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Amarectv_configuration

Your plan to fix seems to have no issue so you should be fine. Additionally those two levels would have been salvageable since you can convert to 48000 Hz inside VirtualDub and maybe the other things were to. 96000 Hz is not bad it's just we choose 48000 so anri/Yua handles it properly.[/quote]

Ok, maybe I should have asked before I started to re-record those, was not sure which things were completely necessary for the recording to meet SDA standards.  Aha oh well.  I have ended up with a faster time anyway (1 sec), and it also looks a bit cleaner.   I will try to not unplug that the EzCap from now on and see if that resolves that reinstalling issue.  Also will give that Amarectv a try a little bit later.   Thank you for the link and response.

burningsteel

Edit history:

burningsteel: 2013-11-29 08:26:07 pm

burningsteel: 2013-11-29 08:25:42 pm

burningsteel: 2013-11-28 06:13:04 pm

2013-11-28 02:38:35 pm

Soulless Killing Machine

Update: Saving that recording is not that important, I was able to get another recording that I am happy with.

Something is also making both virtualdub and amarectv record tinny audio on occasion. A simple restart fixes my sound quality issue for that now, as long as I keep the USB for the EzCap in the same USB port.

I am wondering if that video skip is due to the computer doing some other job, or some other program interfering. I also turned off the randomly changing wallpaper so it is a static image (Was thinking about that and it had caused an issue with an entirely different program, but that might have been it).

Now when I am ready to record I do a restart on my machine, and make sure not to run other programs while recording. So far for the past 8 or so hours of recording it seems to have been working :). Crossing my fingers.

Alright new issue. I completed a level after a couple days of working on it, and go figure during the one run that I wanted to be fine there was an issue. Using AmarecTv it skipped two seconds of footage, that particular issue never happened in previous footage I reviewed either in VirtualDub or Amarectv.

1) Is the missing footage recoverable?
2) If not, do I really have to re-record?
3) How can I make sure it does not happen in the future?
4) If I buy a new Hauppauge HD, and decide to use that for the rest of the game, can I still use the video I recorded from the EzCap for the levels I have done so far, then use the Hauppauge for those?

Re-recording is getting very old, very fast. For now while waiting for a response I will try to record a good play through again.

[b]Update: Saving that recording is not that important, I was able to get another recording that I am happy with.

Something is also making both virtualdub and amarectv record tinny audio on occasion.  A simple restart fixes my sound quality issue for that now, as long as I keep the USB for the EzCap in the same USB port.

I am wondering if that video skip is due to the computer doing some other job, or some other program interfering.  I also turned off the randomly changing wallpaper so it is a static image (Was thinking about that and it had caused an issue with an entirely different program, but that might have been it).

Now when I am ready to record I do a restart on my machine, and make sure not to run other programs while recording.  So far for the past 8 or so hours of recording it seems to have been working :). Crossing my fingers.[/b]

Alright new issue.  I completed a level after a couple days of working on it, and go figure during the one run that I wanted to be fine there was an issue.  Using AmarecTv it skipped two seconds of footage, that particular issue never happened in previous footage I reviewed either in VirtualDub or Amarectv.  
  
1) Is the missing footage recoverable?  
2) If not, do I really have to re-record?
3) How can I make sure it does not happen in the future?
4) If I buy a new Hauppauge HD, and decide to use that for the rest of the game, can I still use the video I recorded from the EzCap for the levels I have done so far, then use the Hauppauge for those?

Re-recording is getting very old, very fast.  For now while waiting for a response I will try to record a good play through again.

DerpyTails

Edit history:

DerpyTails: 2014-01-22 12:26:31 am

2013-12-29 06:34:51 am

Pinkie Pie's Bro

Hey There

For when I try to setup the "Raw Audio Capture Format" option, the list is completely empty, is there anything I'm doing wrong?

EDIT: I figured out what I did wrong, I had to have the device plugged in first

TheThrillness

2014-03-02 03:01:21 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

After nearly 2 years I updated the guide to v2. It now loosely covers any capture card that has DirectShow drivers and works in the YUY2 colorspace. I also moved from using VitualDub to AmaRecTV.

http://www.thethrillness.com/2014/03/capturing-and-encoding-video-for-sda.html

honorableJay

2014-03-02 12:22:54 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Nice guide. I think the next area you might want to tackle is how to capture video that isn't in the standard framerate. I believe the NES is slightly above 60fps, which can cause audio desync.

TheThrillness

Edit history:

TheThrillness: 2014-03-03 05:04:45 am

TheThrillness: 2014-03-03 05:04:34 am

2014-03-03 01:27:00 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

Quote from honorableJay:

Nice guide. I think the next area you might want to tackle is how to capture video that isn't in the standard framerate. I believe the NES is slightly above 60fps, which can cause audio desync.

Thanks man. You have always been a big help in improving my knowledge over the years and I appreciate it.

I actually looked at the "Important! Analog Capture, Frame Rates, and Mysterious Gained Seconds" thread again and both the SNES and NES have an identical frame rate ("yeah, NES and SNES have identical frame rates apparently").

I don't have a NES but if my SNES is anything to go by (being the same frame rate) the behavior I have noticed in Amarec is that both my Aver card and my Micomsoft card will drop a frame every now and again. I believe it does this to keep video and audio sync for a PC having to display 59.94. Granted I've never actually recorded for long sessions to see if desynch is a problem. How long do you think I should have a recording on for so I would know for certain? I'm guessing like an hour? I guess I could just loop Super Mario World constantly and check the timing after an hour of when he jumps on heads etc.

Edit: Recorded for 1 hour 36 minutes and this is my dropped frame numbers: http://puu.sh/7hkuZ.jpg

Video stayed in synch the whole time.

[quote="honorableJay"]Nice guide. I think the next area you might want to tackle is how to capture video that isn't in the standard framerate. I believe the NES is slightly above 60fps, which can cause audio desync.[/quote]

Thanks man. You have always been a big help in improving my knowledge over the years and I appreciate it.

I actually looked at the "Important! Analog Capture, Frame Rates, and Mysterious Gained Seconds" thread again and both the SNES and NES have an identical frame rate ("yeah, NES and SNES have identical frame rates apparently").

I don't have a NES but if my SNES is anything to go by (being the same frame rate) the behavior I have noticed in Amarec is that both my Aver card and my Micomsoft card will drop a frame every now and again. I believe it does this to keep video and audio sync for a PC having to display 59.94. Granted I've never actually recorded for long sessions to see if desynch is a problem. How long do you think I should have a recording on for so I would know for certain? I'm guessing like an hour? I guess I could just loop Super Mario World constantly and check the timing after an hour of when he jumps on heads etc.

Edit: Recorded for 1 hour 36 minutes and this is my dropped frame numbers: http://puu.sh/7hkuZ.jpg

Video stayed in synch the whole time.

honorableJay

2014-03-04 06:28:49 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Interesting, it seems like Amarec is already adjusting the capture framerate to the appropriate number. This would not only keep the A/V in sync, but would avoid the lovely issue people have been experiencing with Amarec where the audio playback speed is adjusted (either up or down) to keep things in sync. It's possible that the newer version of Amarec has finally addressed the issue of non-standard framerates.

Here's an idea for a quick test: setup Amarec to stream, and make sure the framerate you're capturing is below what the system is outputting (even if you have to put it below 29.97), then put the capture framerate above what the system is outputting and do the same thing. To be more thorough, make the framerate changes both on the Device tab and on the Recording tab separately (device at say 31 fps and recording at 30, etc etc). For each scenario, record the output in OBS/Xsplit and compare it to the Amarec recording. If the audio speed issue (you'll hear the audio pitch change either higher or lower) is not there, then the underlying issue is solved.

I'm expecting that the stream will experience the exact opposite of the Amarec recording (which is what I've seen other users post on the forums so far). I.E. if the Amarec recording is fine then the stream would have off-pitch audio, and vice versa. Hopefully that's not the case though.

Interesting, it seems like Amarec is already adjusting the capture framerate to the appropriate number. This would not only keep the A/V in sync, but would avoid the lovely issue people have been experiencing with Amarec where the audio playback speed is adjusted (either up or down) to keep things in sync. It's possible that the newer version of Amarec has finally addressed the issue of non-standard framerates.

Here's an idea for a quick test: setup Amarec to stream, and make sure the framerate you're capturing is below what the system is outputting (even if you have to put it below 29.97), then put the capture framerate above what the system is outputting and do the same thing. To be more thorough, make the framerate changes both on the Device tab and on the Recording tab separately (device at say 31 fps and recording at 30, etc etc). For each scenario, record the output in OBS/Xsplit and compare it to the Amarec recording. If the audio speed issue (you'll hear the audio pitch change either higher or lower) is not there, then the underlying issue is solved.

I'm expecting that the stream will experience the exact opposite of the Amarec recording (which is what I've seen other users post on the forums so far). I.E. if the Amarec recording is fine then the stream would have off-pitch audio, and vice versa. Hopefully that's not the case though.

TheThrillness

Edit history:

TheThrillness: 2014-03-05 02:33:26 am

2014-03-05 02:31:49 am

thethrillness.blogspot.com

Unfortunately I still have that Amarec audio issue: https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/amarec_and_xsplit_audio_issues.html

I guess I could just pipe the audio to the stream directly in OBS but if my live setup is having such a basic issue as not being able to listen to audio, I doubt I'll have any luck with the tests you want.