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Old 05-19-2004, 08:11 PM
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wobblymike
Default Problems with my Pinnacle video capture card

have a Pinnacle PCTV Rave video capture card installed in my PC running XP Pro - my problem is simple but is driving me nuts - I have connected a VCR to the video capture card, video by an s video cable and audio via a normal jack connection straight to the sound card. When I capture video to the hard drive ( i do so in about 5 minute chunks)the early part of the tape seems fine but as I get further into it the video and audio get de synchronised, by the time I get to the half way point on the tape there is about 4 secs between them which is hopeless as I am trying to create VCDs of my granddaughter. I have tried capturing direct from a cam corder, tried 3 hr and 4 hr tapes - no joy. I have had a look at Pinnacles web site and there is some mention of this but no fix that I can find. One thing which may be of interest - I note that when using the capture facility I have no control over the audio settings thay are all greyed out as if I don't have the up to date drivers - however the drivers and software came with the unit which i bought from PC World - I have tried finding some more up to date drivers via driverguide but it seems my drivers are the most up to date. If its of any help if I capture a 60 sec clip and the play it back - the video plays for 60 secs bit the audio goes on for a further 3-4 secs. HELP
Rgds Mike
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Old 05-23-2004, 08:41 PM
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Althoug I have had no response to this post, i thought I would post the solution. following significant responses from the pc advisor forum, and with much scepticism I took the advice offered by a number of people on that forum - they told me that this fault is a known issue with pinnacle and advised me to forget it and buy a new card. I did so and bought a Packard bell card fitted it and bingo no more desync'd video and audio. I confess to being staggered - how any company can market a product with a known defect is beyond me - today I returned it to PC world and got my money back.
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Old 05-23-2004, 08:51 PM
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We get quite a few posts from disgruntled pinnacle users on the forums. Unfortunately most of them go unanswered - perhaps because the people "in the know" tend to stay away from their products? That way, the more reguar visitors don't know anything about Pinnacle software/hardware.

I've rarely heard a good comment about Pinnacle Studio for example. I've suggested people try alternative products in the past, but the response was negative.
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Old 05-23-2004, 08:53 PM
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Forgot to apologise for missing your early post
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Old 05-23-2004, 09:22 PM
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Tend to agree with the sentiment here. I used ot use Pinnacle Studio (many varsiosn ago) but it was so bug ridden it was unusable. Shame really as it was a great user interface. I remember contacting Pinnacle on several occasions, all to no avail. So bug ridden and unresponsive means people like me don't invest in Pinnacle products.
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Old 05-24-2004, 02:41 AM
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I have tried just about all of Pinnacles products, including Dazzle, which is now Pinnacle. I did this because I loved the editing program. I had every problem imaginable, as I have stated here in this forum on several occassion. Audio/sync, crashing in edit, failure to render/compile, you name it, I had it. Even bought a new computer thinking my two year old Dell just wasn't up to the task...failed.
The audio/sync has no work around unfortunately, and is really problematic if you try to do a much longer clip. I spent HOURS on the phone with Pinnacle, doing everything they told me to, and still no solve. If you cruise around to the different sites and read up on Pinnacle, about the only positives you will see is reviews, and I honestly don't think those people really tried the product. Occassionally someone who has had success with Pinnacle will pipe in, but it is about 50-1, negative. I am able to still use the editing program, but I capture with Canopus and then only render it to an mpeg. I burn my dvds with another program. Canopus is a "converter" as opposed to a "capture" device...and it has some feature that locks the audio/video so that it is never out of sync. That was the biggest selling point for me.
I even tried the Ulead and Roxio with the Pinnacle capture devices and still got AV sync problems, so it has to be their capture card. When I capture with the Canopus, then edit with studio, I get no problem.
I do not understand why or how this company is still in business.
This is a case of buyer beware...read all the user forums on any product before you buy it...if I had, I would have never paid for a Pinnacle product. Forget the reviews...I think they get paid to say nice things
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Old 05-24-2004, 07:28 PM
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Gentlemen

I am grateful for your responses, I have learned a lot and await with interest the reply (assuming I get one) from pinnacle to the letter I dispatched to them this morning.

Thanks again

Mike
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