Macro blocking on long captures at DVinfo.net

Dale Guthormsen · November 3rd, 2009, 11:23 AM

Was wondering about this:

when I capture an entire tape the first half of the tape is fine, but then during the last half to 1/3 I am getting the big blocks for pixels.

I went back and checked the original tape via the camera and it was alright. I captured in Vegas to mt2 file all ok.

I went back and recaptured the end of the tape only and got good material.

any ideas on this or do I need to put in a slip?

Adam Gold · November 3rd, 2009, 12:56 PM

I've had the same problem and have threads both here and in the Premiere forum. All I can tell you is it seems to be a Cineform problem; when I capture within Premiere using a stock Premiere preset (to mpeg) without using Cineform, it doesn't happen.

Let us know if Cineform has a solution -- they didn't when I was asking about it so I gave up trying to get an answer.

David Newman · November 4th, 2009, 09:51 AM

The issue is the implementation of the Firewire port on some PCs. It is PC dependent, it means your Firewire port dropped packets. This can show up if you system is under load -- i.e. decoding MPEG2 and encoding to CineForm. This is why capturing to M2T only doesn't have the problem, no CPU load. Of the 2% of users that have this issue, many can solve it with a $20 Firewire add on card.

Adam Gold · November 5th, 2009, 02:07 PM

Just for the record, as mentioned in my other threads, I did add another FW card, and this did not solve the issue. Swapped out cards, ports, cables, capture devices. The only thing that ever consistently worked was capturing mpeg from within Premiere -- the issue still occurred when capturing m2t via HDLink.

David Newman · November 5th, 2009, 02:30 PM

Adam,
Then that is a different issue -- not one I've ever seen. You only need to replace the Firewire card/port if M2T captures work and conversions don't as that is a pack loss issue due to poor buffering in the Firewire hardware.

Dale,
If M2T captures within HDLink works fine, try a different Firewire card -- Adam might have a cheap one for you.

Adam Gold · November 5th, 2009, 02:34 PM

For me, conversions via HDLink work fine if I capture in Premiere as mpeg first. That's the only way I can get them to work flawlessly all the time, and I'm stumped as to what I can do about it. I basically have to set up two projects for each project I'm doing, one as native mpeg Premiere, capture, convert in HDLink, then set up another Cineform project and import.

Thoughts on a better way would be most welcome.

Dale Guthormsen · November 5th, 2009, 07:53 PM

thank you for the information.

I am using Vegas.

I have Neo scene

Can I capture in mt2 and then convert with what i have???

I will try a new fire wire card too!!!

David Newman · November 5th, 2009, 08:52 PM

I'm not sure NeoScene has a capture M2T only option. If not you could trial Neo HD (no hard to your NeoScene license) and see if the m2t only capture works with any glitches.

Matt Vanecek · November 5th, 2009, 09:13 PM

Or you could capture HDV with HDVSplit, and then use HDLink to convert the HDV to CFHD, and import the CFHD into Premiere or Vegas or whatever.
Thanks,
Matt

November 3rd, 2009, 11:23 AM	#1
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Macro blocking on long captures Was wondering about this: when I capture an entire tape the first half of the tape is fine, but then during the last half to 1/3 I am getting the big blocks for pixels. I went back and checked the original tape via the camera and it was alright. I captured in Vegas to mt2 file all ok. I went back and recaptured the end of the tape only and got good material. any ideas on this or do I need to put in a slip? __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

November 4th, 2009, 09:51 AM	#3
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	The issue is the implementation of the Firewire port on some PCs. It is PC dependent, it means your Firewire port dropped packets. This can show up if you system is under load -- i.e. decoding MPEG2 and encoding to CineForm. This is why capturing to M2T only doesn't have the problem, no CPU load. Of the 2% of users that have this issue, many can solve it with a $20 Firewire add on card. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

November 5th, 2009, 02:30 PM	#5
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Adam, Then that is a different issue -- not one I've ever seen. You only need to replace the Firewire card/port if M2T captures work and conversions don't as that is a pack loss issue due to poor buffering in the Firewire hardware. Dale, If M2T captures within HDLink works fine, try a different Firewire card -- Adam might have a cheap one for you. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

November 5th, 2009, 07:53 PM	#7
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	thank you for the information. I am using Vegas. I have Neo scene Can I capture in mt2 and then convert with what i have??? I will try a new fire wire card too!!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

November 5th, 2009, 08:52 PM	#8
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	I'm not sure NeoScene has a capture M2T only option. If not you could trial Neo HD (no hard to your NeoScene license) and see if the m2t only capture works with any glitches. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

November 3rd, 2009, 12:56 PM	#2
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	I've had the same problem and have threads both here and in the Premiere forum. All I can tell you is it seems to be a Cineform problem; when I capture within Premiere using a stock Premiere preset (to mpeg) without using Cineform, it doesn't happen. Let us know if Cineform has a solution -- they didn't when I was asking about it so I gave up trying to get an answer.

November 5th, 2009, 02:07 PM	#4
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	Just for the record, as mentioned in my other threads, I did add another FW card, and this did not solve the issue. Swapped out cards, ports, cables, capture devices. The only thing that ever consistently worked was capturing mpeg from within Premiere -- the issue still occurred when capturing m2t via HDLink.

November 5th, 2009, 02:34 PM	#6
Adam Gold Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodinville, WA USA Posts: 3,467	For me, conversions via HDLink work fine if I capture in Premiere as mpeg first. That's the only way I can get them to work flawlessly all the time, and I'm stumped as to what I can do about it. I basically have to set up two projects for each project I'm doing, one as native mpeg Premiere, capture, convert in HDLink, then set up another Cineform project and import. Thoughts on a better way would be most welcome.

November 5th, 2009, 09:13 PM	#9
Matt Vanecek Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 334	Or you could capture HDV with HDVSplit, and then use HDLink to convert the HDV to CFHD, and import the CFHD into Premiere or Vegas or whatever. Thanks, Matt