external Soundcards

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by mallet, Sep 30, 2007.

  1. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    After fiddling with my external capture device, I finally got it working.
    The software that comes with the wintv it is terrrible and just makes these huge 100mb files.
    however theres a issue with the sound as if you play it within windows movie maker it requires line-in sound which from some strange reason cant be fed into my capture card even though I have full RCA connectors at the back of it.

    But one of the problems with that is I only have a headphonejack jack, mic-in jack and no line in jack on my laptop.
    Cant i get a stereo adaptor which looks something like this:
    http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1218&criteria=phono&doy=15m3
    and hook it into the mic jack or can it only go through to a line-jack?

    or can anyone recommend a external usb sound card?

    -mallet
     
    Certifications: MCP
  2. dominoe

    dominoe Nibble Poster

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    mic jack should work ok I think, (dont quote me on that though)
     
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  3. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    I also think the mic jack should work ok, I think I have done it before a long time ago.
     
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  4. Jakamoko
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    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    Been a while since I played with these kinds of setup, but I agree that using the mic jack *should* be OK, as long as you watch your levels (start low, and increase, rather than the reverse). Also, I seem to recall some kit using "auto-sensing" jacks, that adjust based on the input line level (that, however may be utter shite :biggrin)

    Let us know how you go :)
     
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  5. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    Like said above watch the levels when doing through the mic as it can blow it.

    You can get auto sensing kits for pc sound cards they're based on their larger cousins for amps n stuff in the music scene, (guitars etc)
     
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  6. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    Awesome, thanks guys :thumbleft
    And thanks for the heads up for the volume level, which I almost really blow my head :biggrin

    The laptop did detect the mic-jack and all I did was select the mic, and brought a adaptor from my local electronic store which cost little then £1.50. which looks like this:
    http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1218&criteria=phono&doy=15m3

    And hooked the audio cables to it :)

    However, Iam not sure what i could do about Windows movie maker 2.1, the devils creation :twisted: as it keeps hanging when I want to finish the capture or just crashes. Iam using WMM directly to my usb capture card to capture the video. Seeing as the software I got with it is really bad. WMM does work but not initially. virtual dub doesnt help either.
    My specs of my laptop is this:

    win xp sp2
    Dell inspiron 1300
    intel celerin m 1.60ghz
    Ram 512
    Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML
    Hardrive: total: 37GB, free space: 30.5GB

    I also defrag and still no hope.
     
    Certifications: MCP
  7. dominoe

    dominoe Nibble Poster

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    Im not sure if this is any good but I use this to capture my old VHS tapes and convert them to DVD. Its called NeoDVD7.2
    http://www.mediostream.com/download/index.html

    Its not free but there is a free trail before you buy, so you can at least see if it suites your needs.

    Other things you can try I think are nero, they also included capture software within their packages.
    Failing that pop down to your local Computer Store and browse their software section
     
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  8. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    thanks for the link dominoe.
    The problem with these programs sometimes is its not quite compatable with my capture card. as I tried it, but didnt want to work. I even select the correct output.
    Would something like adobe elements work in our case?

    -Mallet
     
    Certifications: MCP
  9. dominoe

    dominoe Nibble Poster

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    what Capture device are you using?
     
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  10. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    What specific error message are you getting when your card fails?

    or is the capture just stopping.

    It could be that your laptop just does not have the power to continue the capture process and this why its failing.
     
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  11. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    its a Hauppauge WinTV PVR USB2.

    The problem is I believe with the NeoDVD7.2.
    As my capture card works fine with Windows movie maker 2.1 and Hauppauges own software.
    NeoDVD doesnt crash or anything, it just doesnt show anything on the video capture.

    The laptop is really bottom end range in terms of power. even the graphics steals memory from the RAM.
     
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  12. greenbrucelee
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    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

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    The graphics card usually does steal from ram in Laptops.

    Sounds to me that NeoDVD isn't compatible with that capture card or there maybe some fiddly way to configure it, maybe you should look into some other software instead of NeoDVD

    But if you have the funds maybe upgrade your ram as well as getting the software.
     
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  13. dominoe

    dominoe Nibble Poster

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  14. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    We have a winner.
    camstudio doesnt work and fiddled with all the settings.
    But the deput software works :)

    Problem now is, the recording doesnt seem to follow the inputs on screen. Its best to describe it as delaying :cry:
    However, the settings seem to be where to problem lays with the codec setup.
    When you use the divx option the preview is really smooth but DivX with the fullscreen option doesnt capture the video but just the audio. and if you switch it to resize option it doesnt capture the top half of the recording.
    And with Xvid theres so many option I am not sure which one will work as its delaying just like divx.

    Iam not sure if addding another 1GB of ram will help it, as the ram slots is already been filled by 2x256.
    I have checked with crucial and I can add a 1Gb ram but how will me laptop react if I decided to buy a 1Gb ram with another 256 attach in the spare slot?

    -Mallet
     
    Certifications: MCP
  15. dominoe

    dominoe Nibble Poster

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    I would have thought as long as its the same type and speed it should be ok.
     
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  16. mallet

    mallet Kilobyte Poster

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    great thanks everyone for helping me out.
    Much apperciated :thumbleft

    -mallet
     
    Certifications: MCP

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