Capturing SMS/Genesis video

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 2:17 pm

Okay, I've had this happen on two different cards now. Both my Avermedia UltraTV 1500 MCE and my new Hauppauge WinTV 500MCE PCI cards will not display or record the video output of the Genesis or SMS correctly. Both cards display the video in black and white, except for some weird color bursts here and there, and both cards have vertical bands about a pixel wide going all the way across the screen Since they both garble the image in the exact same way, a suspect that this has something to do with the output style of Sega's early systems.

The catch is, I've had two Ati All in Wonder cards that worked perfectly with all of my systems (aside from game breaking lag that is). On the Ultra TV and WinTV cards, if I attach a Composite to S-video converter to the Genesis video cable the video displays correctly, except for heavy dithering showing up in all solid color objects. I've noticed that the same converter hardly adds any noticeable dithering to DUO or SNES video.

This is a group of very smart individuals, and I'm sure there is a reason why only these two Sega systems have this problem with two notable video capture cards. I have already tried using RF cables, and different Composite cables. The video quality is the same across Sega Master System, Genesis 1, Genesis 2, 32X, X'Eye and Nomad outputs. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

-edit-
http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/Miscmovies/boasis002.jpg
http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/Miscmovies/boasis001.jpg

Chilly Willy · Post by **Chilly Willy** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 9:07 pm

Looks kinda like my TV when I've got the PAL/NTSC set wrong.

TmEE co.(TM) · Post by **TmEE co.(TM)** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 10:33 pm

I agree with Chilly, my capture card shows similiar stuff if you've set it to get one thing, but feed it with other.

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 2:33 am

The screenshots look similar to what you are saying, but there is no screen flipping. I have the capture card set to NTSC-M for these shots, and both are taken from a US Genesis-32X output. With no change in the capture card's settings (using Sage TV, Virtual Dub or DScaler) my Super Nintendo, DUO, NES and 3DO all display fine with their Composite outputs.

Whatever the incompatibility is, it is limited to Genesis and SMS outputs. If I run the outputs through a VCR I get the same results. But if I record Genesis/SMS output to a VHS tape and then try to capture the recording the image is correct with no adjustments to the capture card settings.

I have seen one screenshot in capture card forums of the regular Tuner input displaying a similarly corrupted image, but they simply dismissed it as a defective card. If it is a defective card, why do I have no problems with other consoles, and why does a totally different capture card display the exact same effect? I'm at a loss here and, if Avermedia's tech support is any sign, Hauppauge won't be of any help either.

If nobody here knows of anything unique about Genesis/Master System A/V outputs then I seriously doubt anybody else will.

tomaitheous · Post by **tomaitheous** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:11 pm

Try running the Genesis through the A/V input of the VCR, then have the output of the VCR go to the capture card? Sounds like the VCR is "correcting" whatever small "timing" problem to make your capture cards happy. Worth a shot.

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:52 pm

That's a great idea, but no dice. It looks the same through the VCR output, but not from a VHS tape. I returned the WinTV today. Does anybody have any recommendations for another consumer level capture card? I won't be doing anything but capturing video game footage with composite and S-Video.

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:31 pm

I found this video from a similar card:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xhifvJ6RBM

It doesn't sound like anybody was going to find an answer to this problem. It looks like I'll be looking for either an Ati card, better filters for Virtual Dub that will cover up dithering, or VHS tapes that don't introduce tracking issues to the recordings.

TmEE co.(TM) · Post by **TmEE co.(TM)** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:10 pm

I have one TV/FM card which has BT879 chip on it... the design of the card is poor though and there's fair bit of noise in the image... I'm trying to improve my card to get rid of the noise caused by bad power supply for the ADCs...

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 5:52 pm

I get good video and audio quality from the Avermedia Ultra TV 1500 MCE using the Component to S-Video converter I have. My issue with that is maintaining an Apples to Apples comparison.

http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/16-bitCom ... 02divx.avi

http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/16-bitCom ... NES001.avi

I have to blur the image significantly to cover up the dithering the S-Video converter creates (it isn't in the games). Some games only need a single "blur more" in VDub, while others need two.

Since my old Ati All In Wonder 7500 recorded perfectly, I had hoped to find a stand alone PCI board that could do the same. It looks like I'll be saving up for the Hauppauge HD PVR ($200!). That is not a bad thing though. I really want to be able to do video comparisons of Dreamcast through Xbox 360 in HD resolutions.

-edit-

My memory of the AiW 7500 might be a bit rosey. I think I remember it having issues with deinterlacing gameplay footage. Nobody wants to watch a video of Contra with no bullets due to deinterlacing glitches.

sheath · Post by **sheath** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:33 pm

And the response from Hauppauge:

Hello

Unfortunately we do not have the equipment to test this on our end and not had any reports like this with other devices and therefore do not have any suggestions at this time.

Jared Egan

Technical Support
Hauppauge Computer Works
New York Headquarters
http://www.hauppauge.com

For more online information please refer to:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/support/support_faq.html

Please include previous correspondence when replying.