RonnieDP:

I am guessing that you are trying to capture Sony Hi8 digital camcorder video. If that is not the case, ignore the rest of the message and please report back because if your video files are already in a digital format, like .m2ts or .vob, you can just import those files directly into the PD media library and proceed to edit them.

I have never had much success with PD capturing my Hi8 and VHS video. I use a different product, and software, to capture that video as .mpeg2, which I then import into PD and can edit very successfully.

Forum rules prohibit me from mentioning the product, and software because it might be construed as "competing" software, since it does include limited editing capabilities. I only use it for the video capture because PD is a far more powerful video editor. If you want more information, please send me a Private Message, and I will tell you what I have been using for years and has succcessfully captured the video from hundreds of tapes, both VHS and Hi8.

I hope this helps. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil Windows 10 Pro x64
Dell XPS 8930
Intel CoreT i7 (4.6 GHz)
32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM
1 TB PCIe -x4 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
PD14 Ultimate x64, 4207
CD4 Ultra and AD6 Ultra
Bleeping Computer Malware Response Instructor

Quote RonnieDP:

I am guessing that you are trying to capture Sony Hi8 digital camcorder video. If that is not the case, ignore the rest of the message and please report back because if your video files are already in a digital format, like .m2ts or .vob, you can just import those files directly into the PD media library and proceed to edit them.

I have never had much success with PD capturing my Hi8 and VHS video. I use a different product, and software, to capture that video as .mpeg2, which I then import into PD and can edit very successfully.

Forum rules prohibit me from mentioning the product, and software because it might be construed as "competing" software, since it does include limited editing capabilities. I only use it for the video capture because PD is a far more powerful video editor. If you want more information, please send me a Private Message, and I will tell you what I have been using for years and has succcessfully captured the video from hundreds of tapes, both VHS and Hi8.

I hope this helps. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

Thanks Phil. Sorry, I'm having problems replying. This is my 2nd attempt. Just briefly, it is DV format. The profile in PD shows as "DV-AVI". Also a box that says Sony DV. Ronnie.

You need the right pc and software to do the job. Do a google search for dv capture software and you will have the answer in 1 minute. The software is freeware.

Quote You need the right pc and software to do the job. Do a google search for dv capture software and you will have the answer in 1 minute. The software is freeware.

Don't know what happened to my comment. I have found free software that does the job. But not so nice to work with. The good one's are pay software. So I will keep looking. Thanks.

RonnieDP:

I can't speak to PD11, but PD 16 is supposed to directly support the import of DV-AVI files. See specs here, second from the bottom of the list of supported formats (Format and Device Support). You should be able to connect your camera to your computer and directly copy the DV-AVI files to a folder on your hard drive, and then import the DV-AVI files into PD from there, at least with PD16. It is best not to "capture" video, if you can import it directly, as there is no quality loss, which can occur during the "capture" process.

I would recommend that you check the PD11 help files or "google" the specs for PD11.

I hope that this helps. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil Windows 10 Pro x64
Dell XPS 8930
Intel CoreT i7 (4.6 GHz)
32 GB DDR4-2666 RAM
1 TB PCIe -x4 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
PD14 Ultimate x64, 4207
CD4 Ultra and AD6 Ultra
Bleeping Computer Malware Response Instructor

Thanks for all the suggestions. (Still cannot move to the next line using the enter button.) What convinced me it was PD11 initially, was that I had tried 2 tapes with the same problem. After reading comments here, I checked that PD11 did support DV-AVI, so tried a tape that was marked as Digital8. No problem. It worked. So I tried a 3rd Hi8 tape, and it worked. Tried another Hi8 tape, which at first gave the same problem until lI did a FF and REW. That sorted matters. So in conclusion, the problem lay with 20 year old cassettes, that have been stored here at the coast in fairly high humidity conditions. Hope of I have not wasted anyone's time, but thanks for the help. Ronnie.

Hi,

As a general principle, it is always useful to take care with using any tape source to ensure the tape runs freely, and is at the room temperature and humidity.

The issue of sticking tapes and interference glitches being picked up and interpreted as copy protection, or other problem can often be solved (or at least minimised) by careful "housekeeping".

Any sort of tape and player should be "serviced" by, as you did, FF RW and generally ensuring everything works freely, making sure everything is dried out, use a tape head cleaner etc. etc.

I had to leave a friend's old camcorder and DV tapes above a radiator for a couple of days before they eventually worked properly and I could capture stuff onto my system!

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

Quote Hi,

As a general principle, it is always useful to take care with using any tape source to ensure the tape runs freely, and is at the room temperature and humidity.

The issue of sticking tapes and interference glitches being picked up and interpreted as copy protection, or other problem can often be solved (or at least minimised) by careful "housekeeping".

Any sort of tape and player should be "serviced" by, as you did, FF RW and generally ensuring everything works freely, making sure everything is dried out, use a tape head cleaner etc. etc.

I had to leave a friend's old camcorder and DV tapes above a radiator for a couple of days before they eventually worked properly and I could capture stuff onto my system!

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Here I go again. 4th attempt to post. So far not happening. Thanks for the tape advice. Will check them all. Rgds Ronnie.

Quote Hi, Any sort of tape and player should be "serviced" by, as you did, FF RW and generally ensuring everything works freely, making sure everything is dried out, use a tape head cleaner etc. etc.
Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

Tape head cleaners are a pestilence upon humanity. Rather use electronic type q-tips (not regular q-tips!), and 97% or more alcohol.
Might even be a good idea to Google a video on cleaning, but NEVER use a tape head cleaner. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Quote


Tape head cleaners are a pestilence upon humanity. Rather use electronic type q-tips (not regular q-tips!), and 97% or more alcohol.
Might even be a good idea to Google a video on cleaning, but NEVER use a tape head cleaner.

Thanks for the advice Barry. I really like your website. Lots of valuable information.

I notice you scan negative film. We do not have really good servies here where I live. I have been doing some colour negative stuff lately, and was wondering if you could recommend a suitable scanner. Affordable but also good quality scans.

Regards
Ronnie.