capturing from xl2 at DVinfo.net

Danik Error · June 7th, 2005, 02:56 PM

i recently just baught the XL2 camera and am not very happy about the quality when transfering it via firewire to my computer i have used ulead capture, newest pinnacle studio program and even adobe premier 1.5 and still not happy about the quality of the video i capture it as a dv of course and have also tried mpeg2 but still not the best quality even dvdrip's have better quality! so im wondering and askin 4 suggestions on what u are all using to capture video (software names) thanks

Jay Gladwell · June 7th, 2005, 03:32 PM

At this point, it could be any number of things, from your shooting ability, or lack thereof, to your computer to the software you're using. Does anyone close by have a system you could capture to?

Jay

Dan Mumford · June 7th, 2005, 04:03 PM

The first reply would imply that your shooting ability is less than acceptable. I won't make that assumption. However, the XL2 does have a s**t load of settings which affect how your video will look. If you are proficient with the camera, or had it in full auto, your video should be just fine.

You didn't say what you were shooting (lighting conditions, etc.) nor the mode your camera was in. That said, each of the programs you mentioned should import video with no loss in quality, it's digital. I use ScenalyzerLive to capture video, but I have also used Ulead's Media Studio Pro, and Premiere Pro, with excellent results.

If you have a lot of pixelation, it could be that your video head needs cleaning. I had this problem with my XL2 when I first got it. Get a dry type (one that does NOT have a fluid additive) cleaner and follow the instructions.

Hope this helps.

Dan

Jay Gladwell · June 8th, 2005, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Mumford

The first reply would imply that your shooting ability is less than acceptable.

What's up with that, Dan? I wasn't implying anything. I was simply covering the gamut of possible issues. He didn't supply enough information to make a educated guesstimation of what the problem might be--no more, no less.

If you're willing to omit certain "assumptions" from the overall equation, then you'll find yourself coming up short in making any viable conclusion of a given situation. You must take everything into consideration!

Jay

Steve House · June 8th, 2005, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danik Error

i recently just baught the XL2 camera and am not very happy about the quality when transfering it via firewire to my computer i have used ulead capture, newest pinnacle studio program and even adobe premier 1.5 and still not happy about the quality of the video i capture it as a dv of course and have also tried mpeg2 but still not the best quality even dvdrip's have better quality! so im wondering and askin 4 suggestions on what u are all using to capture video (software names) thanks

Can you be specific about what you're finding unacceptable? What exactly are you seeing you feel you shouldn't, or vice versa, what are you not seeing that you feel should be there?

Lauri Kettunen · June 8th, 2005, 12:10 PM

What about if there's a simple explanation for Danik's problem: First of all, if the colors of the monitor are not calibrated, what Danik sees may indeed appear odd. Second, there's this issue of interlaced video on (progressive) monitor, and furthermore, if the picture on the monitor window is scaled to fit the window, sharpness is degraded.

Danik, try to connect the XL2 to your TV with a SVHS cable. That should give you a good idea of the quality of your footages.

Danik Error · June 9th, 2005, 12:38 PM

forgive me 4 not explaining it correctly! what i have a problem with is deinterlacation (deinterlace video) the horzontal lines after sum motion! and well, i think i figured my preoblem out is that my monitor is set to 1280x960 and the video i capture in is at 720x480 so when i go to full screen the video seems to be stretch way far and the quality/sharpness looses! anyways how about codecs? i used to use Dv2 then tried MpG2 and now i just found out about this MJPEG which is really nice! anyways thanks to all of u that replied

but any sugestions on what i have to do to prevent those horizontal lines forming instead of applying a filter (deinterlace (evenfields)) in virtual dub? or is it normal to have thise lines cause a computer monitor has mor pixils than a tv should have?

and what codec's do u all prefer to capture in?

and what software do all of u use? (just wondering & comparing) maybe i could get to kno a new proggy!
thanks

Kevin Kocak · June 9th, 2005, 01:18 PM

Are you viewing on an external monitor or computer? If on the computer then any movement will probably look bad. That's what happens when you watch something that is interlaced on a non-interlaced screen. How does it look on an NTSC monitor or TV?

Kyle Ringin · June 9th, 2005, 05:39 PM

If you are transferring DV over firewire, you'll have to capture to DV anyway. You may be able to write an mpeg file directly, but the program will be taking the DV, then rendering on the fly to mpeg - but that'll never be better than the pristine DV straight out of the camera.
Short of dropouts and dropped frames, the DV will be as good as you'll get as far as transferring video to your computer.

As others have suggested, connect to a tv via s-video and evaluate that, if that's unacceptable to you it could be: dropouts, lighting problem, exposure problem, bad camera setting, faulty camera, badly adjusted tv (or maybe DV just won't cut it for you...)

If that's ok then it could be: dropped frames on capture, dropouts on playback on the camera, your computer not being able to handle playback (unlikely) or badly adjusted monitor/s.

Bear in mind that if you play DV in certain software video players (ie the version of windows media player I have), they can interpret the pixels as being square (slightly stretched video in 4:3, very stretched video in 16:9)
I use Fast DV player. Once you go to full screen it plays in the correct aspect ratio. This last scenario seems likely but it's hard to say without all the info (programs used, workflow...)

Cheers,
Kyle

June 7th, 2005, 02:56 PM	#1
Danik Error Tourist Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3	capturing from xl2 i recently just baught the XL2 camera and am not very happy about the quality when transfering it via firewire to my computer i have used ulead capture, newest pinnacle studio program and even adobe premier 1.5 and still not happy about the quality of the video i capture it as a dv of course and have also tried mpeg2 but still not the best quality even dvdrip's have better quality! so im wondering and askin 4 suggestions on what u are all using to capture video (software names) thanks

June 7th, 2005, 04:03 PM	#3
Dan Mumford Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Daytona Beach, Florida Posts: 99	The first reply would imply that your shooting ability is less than acceptable. I won't make that assumption. However, the XL2 does have a s**t load of settings which affect how your video will look. If you are proficient with the camera, or had it in full auto, your video should be just fine. You didn't say what you were shooting (lighting conditions, etc.) nor the mode your camera was in. That said, each of the programs you mentioned should import video with no loss in quality, it's digital. I use ScenalyzerLive to capture video, but I have also used Ulead's Media Studio Pro, and Premiere Pro, with excellent results. If you have a lot of pixelation, it could be that your video head needs cleaning. I had this problem with my XL2 when I first got it. Get a dry type (one that does NOT have a fluid additive) cleaner and follow the instructions. Hope this helps. Dan __________________ Wow! That thing must have cost an arm and a leg! - - - It did! I used to have three of each.

June 9th, 2005, 12:38 PM	#7
Danik Error Tourist Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3	ok forgive me 4 not explaining it correctly! what i have a problem with is deinterlacation (deinterlace video) the horzontal lines after sum motion! and well, i think i figured my preoblem out is that my monitor is set to 1280x960 and the video i capture in is at 720x480 so when i go to full screen the video seems to be stretch way far and the quality/sharpness looses! anyways how about codecs? i used to use Dv2 then tried MpG2 and now i just found out about this MJPEG which is really nice! anyways thanks to all of u that replied but any sugestions on what i have to do to prevent those horizontal lines forming instead of applying a filter (deinterlace (evenfields)) in virtual dub? or is it normal to have thise lines cause a computer monitor has mor pixils than a tv should have? and what codec's do u all prefer to capture in? and what software do all of u use? (just wondering & comparing) maybe i could get to kno a new proggy! thanks

June 7th, 2005, 03:32 PM	#2
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	At this point, it could be any number of things, from your shooting ability, or lack thereof, to your computer to the software you're using. Does anyone close by have a system you could capture to? Jay

June 8th, 2005, 12:10 PM	#6
Lauri Kettunen Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Kangasala, Finland Posts: 445	What about if there's a simple explanation for Danik's problem: First of all, if the colors of the monitor are not calibrated, what Danik sees may indeed appear odd. Second, there's this issue of interlaced video on (progressive) monitor, and furthermore, if the picture on the monitor window is scaled to fit the window, sharpness is degraded. Danik, try to connect the XL2 to your TV with a SVHS cable. That should give you a good idea of the quality of your footages.

June 9th, 2005, 01:18 PM	#8
Kevin Kocak Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Tampa, Fl Posts: 149	Are you viewing on an external monitor or computer? If on the computer then any movement will probably look bad. That's what happens when you watch something that is interlaced on a non-interlaced screen. How does it look on an NTSC monitor or TV?

June 9th, 2005, 05:39 PM	#9
Kyle Ringin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 241	If you are transferring DV over firewire, you'll have to capture to DV anyway. You may be able to write an mpeg file directly, but the program will be taking the DV, then rendering on the fly to mpeg - but that'll never be better than the pristine DV straight out of the camera. Short of dropouts and dropped frames, the DV will be as good as you'll get as far as transferring video to your computer. As others have suggested, connect to a tv via s-video and evaluate that, if that's unacceptable to you it could be: dropouts, lighting problem, exposure problem, bad camera setting, faulty camera, badly adjusted tv (or maybe DV just won't cut it for you...) If that's ok then it could be: dropped frames on capture, dropouts on playback on the camera, your computer not being able to handle playback (unlikely) or badly adjusted monitor/s. Bear in mind that if you play DV in certain software video players (ie the version of windows media player I have), they can interpret the pixels as being square (slightly stretched video in 4:3, very stretched video in 16:9) I use Fast DV player. Once you go to full screen it plays in the correct aspect ratio. This last scenario seems likely but it's hard to say without all the info (programs used, workflow...) Cheers, Kyle