Vertical blanking signal

[Couch Potato]

I'm using SnapStream 2.0 with a Hauppauge USB tuner. When I use the WinTV2000 application that came with the tuner to watch live TV, the image is fine. But when I record something with SnapStream and watch it later (or watch it as it's being recorded actually), there's a one or two pixel thick line of static across the top of the video. A friend said it was the vertical blanking signal; is it? And, how do I get rid of it?

Thanks..

[Tuck]

Originally posted by Couch Potato
I'm using SnapStream 2.0 with a Hauppauge USB tuner. When I use the WinTV2000 application that came with the tuner to watch live TV, the image is fine. But when I record something with SnapStream and watch it later (or watch it as it's being recorded actually), there's a one or two pixel thick line of static across the top of the video. A friend said it was the vertical blanking signal; is it? And, how do I get rid of it?

Thanks..

I do not know if this is classified thusly, but it has been noted as an issue. The only way to get rid of it currently is to manually edit it out of your final recording. Some video editors will allow you to "trim" pixels off any border of the recording.

[Couch Potato]

Can you recommend an offline tool that would do the trimming? Something that's free and runs in batch mode on Windows would be ideal..

It'd be kinda cool if there was a "post-processing" step in SnapStream - so I could tell it to go and run some program against a video after it's been recorded automatically :-)

Jeff

[Tuck]

Originally posted by Couch Potato
Can you recommend an offline tool that would do the trimming?

They're VERY difficult to find, since the WMV format is owned by Microsoft.... I'll let the implication hang.

If you can find an older version of VirtualDub (1.3c or before, if memory serves) that can handle WMV's (support was removed at the behest of one of Microsoft's many heads ), I'd recommend using that. VDub has a "crop" filter you can use to trim these annoying lines, has "batch mode" capability -- and it's free.

In addition, unless you really need to be able to stream, I'd suggest that you change the .WMV's into... well, nearly anything but .WMV if you intend to do ANYTHING with them from that point forward (including burning to VCD / SVCD / DVD). Almost nothing (!!) can manipulate a .WMV. For, say, trimming commercials from a .WMV, I came up with two "solutions" after searching for an hour (and I know my way around a search engine, I am DOWN with the Booleans):

One was Windows Movie Maker, which has an interface that would be laughable were it not so absolutely unintuitive. After messing with that for an hour, I decided there was no way to TRULY omit the commercials from the file and looked around some more.

The other was "Video Edit Magic," which is tragically not free and, (in a divine feat of nonpareil and abject asininity, in my opinion) will NOT allow you to specify exactly what bitrate and resolution you wish to use but instead limits you to "profiles" -- which, it should be noted, cannot be added, removed, or modified in any way.

It'd be kinda cool if there was a "post-processing" step in SnapStream - so I could tell it to go and run some program against a video after it's been recorded automatically :-)

Jeff

*snaps fingers* A good suggestion, neighbor. Just a batch file would be a nice start for command-line compressors... (Entering under "Internal Feature Requests" in bug-tracking software) The only problem I see with it is that these programs would snag resources needed by PVS to do another recording... But it's a start. A good one. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Couch Potato]

Thanks. I'll look around for an older version of Virtual Dub.. SourceForge only went back to 1.4.6 or so.. Maybe their CVS repository has older version :-)

I never really cared much for trimming commercials, I actually enjoy them once in a while (a few, here and there anyway :-). converting them wouldn't be a bad idea - as soon as the post processing filter is implemented, I'll do that :-)

With respect to the vertical blanking signal, or whatever it is that generates the extra line or two of garbage, is this only an issue with the Hauppauge USB tuner, or do other tuners have it as well (i.e. if I were to buy another one, are there any that work well)?

Thanks..

[Tuck]

Originally posted by Couch Potato
With respect to the vertical blanking signal, or whatever it is that generates the extra line or two of garbage, is this only an issue with the Hauppauge USB tuner, or do other tuners have it as well (i.e. if I were to buy another one, are there any that work well)?

Thanks..

My Hauppauge WinTV PCI has the same problem. It might just be a peculiarity of Hauppauge cards, but I doubt it. Perhaps switching to the BTWinCap drivers solves this problem... [shrug]

Does anyone else have any feedback on this?