[unsupported] Datapath Vision Capture

[Shinblindrezo]

Haha, I've just got my card in RMA actually. I was getting strange image corruption.

Funny you should mention that.. I just got an E1s off eBay and it came with the exact same problem. Just sent it in to Datapath. Surprisingly, it was under warranty, even though the seller claimed it wasn't. Got half my money back due to the problem, bringing my cost to a grand total of.... *drum roll* 20 GBP! Yeah, I was very lucky. :)

Anyway, I can't wait to test it out with your plugin. Thanks in advance!

*EDIT*

Guess I spoke too soon... Just received a call from them this morning, apologizing for misunderstanding and telling me it WAS under warranty. Now they said that the warranty does NOT apply because I didn't buy the card from a distributor...
Oh well.. Supposedly 62 GBP to get it fixed... Let's see where this goes.

 

[Muf]

Where are all these dirt cheap Vision cards coming from and how do I get one?! *heads off to eBay*

 

[Boildown]

Well I hope mine doesn't arrive with that problem. Sounds like a defect and not a random issue, and maybe that's why a few have popped up cheap on ebay.

 

[Muf]

Well I hope mine doesn't arrive with that problem. Sounds like a defect and not a random issue, and maybe that's why a few have popped up cheap on ebay.

Well, if repair is less than £100 like Shinblindrezo said, that's still a steal. The VisionRGB-E1s normally costs something like €700 and the VisionRGB-E2s normally costs around €1200.

 

[Draco]

Guess I spoke too soon... Just received a call from them this morning, apologizing for misunderstanding and telling me it WAS under warranty. Now they said that the warranty does NOT apply because I didn't buy the card from a distributor...
Oh well.. Supposedly 62 GBP to get it fixed... Let's see where this goes.

Did they ask you for proof of purchase or something? When I sent mine in, they didn't ask for a single thing regarding that and I got mine from ebay for ~$500 or so. It's odd that your E1s wasn't under warranty and my E2 (non-s) was.

 

[Shinblindrezo]

Yes, I found it very odd as well. It could be that here in Europe they have different policies or maybe they're just not as flexible as the States. Not sure.

I did, however, email them again last night and wrote:

Spoiler

Hi Nick,

I was surprised to hear about the warranty of the card, and frankly, was caught off guard.

I took some time to consider this and also read the RMA policy on your site. No where is it mentioned that the warranty is valid only for the person who purchased the card from the distributor.

The RMA policy never even makes mention of the distributor. It simply states that the serial number is required and that based on that, you would determine if the card was under warranty or not.

I was informed, based on the serial number of my card, that it was purchased August 2011 and that the card has 3 years warranty.

So according to your RMA policy, I've met the requirements to get this card repaired at no cost.

Is that not correct ?

Thanks for your time.

Kind regards,

Here is their reply:

Spoiler

I have consulted with our commercial department & FD and I can confirm that there is no warranty on this card
as it was not purchased from one of our authorized distributors. However, as a good will gesture we will in this
case repair the card free of charge and return it to you on our UPS Shipping account.

Best Regards ,

Nick.

They didn't explain how the warranty works, but at least it's getting repaired for free. Oh well. In the end, for just 20 GBP, I can't complain. :)

 

[Draco]

Excellent response... yours and theirs. This seems like a company I can still get behind and recommend.

I also was dealing with Nick on my RMA process. He was very responsive and quick to reply/resolve issues over email. Sounds like that man needs a raise as he's on his game. *grin*

Now I only wish I could come across a Vision DVI-DL for cheap and not $2k. ;)

 

[Muf]

I've had countless emails back and forth with Datapath on various subjects. They're always helpful, responsive and forthcoming. Definitely one of the nicer companies I've corresponded with. Another pleasant experience was with Amfeltec recently, who make PCI-e splitters (I have too many capture cards). All I can say is, try not to waste these peoples' time, as it will be detrimental to the support experience for the rest of us. :)

 

[Shinblindrezo]

Excellent response... yours and theirs. This seems like a company I can still get behind and recommend.

I also was dealing with Nick on my RMA process. He was very responsive and quick to reply/resolve issues over email. Sounds like that man needs a raise as he's on his game. *grin*

Now I only wish I could come across a Vision DVI-DL for cheap and not $2k. ;)

My Nick is from the UK... Unless their call center is entirely UK based, I doubt we got the same guy. :P
One hell of a coincidence though!

 

[Muf]

Datapath is a fairly small company exclusively based in the UK. They used to have a German office but I think that closed. When emailing them there's a fairly high chance you'll end up talking to Nick, Liam, Ian, or Steven, depending on what kind of enquiry you have.

 

[Boildown]

I must be confused or something. I got my E1S in the mail finally. Downloaded drivers from Datapath, installed, rebooted, and its recognized by my computer. Downloaded Muf's plugin, extracted the files, and copied them to the plugin folder. But when I click "Plugins" in OBS, the only options I see are:

"DirectShow Video Device Plugin
Game Capture Plugin
Microphone Noise Gate
Per-Scene Volume Plugin"

Nothing for Muf's Datapath plugin.

My 64-bit plugins folder contains the "DatapathPlugin.dll" file, and a folder called "DatapathPlugin" (with the files originally in it), and all the files and folders that were originally in the plugins folder.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[paibox]

As far as I can tell, the plugin download in the first post is intended for the 32-bit version of OBS, so that's most likely why it isn't showing up.

 

[Boildown]

That was fast, and correct, it works when I run the 32 bit version. Thanks!

 

[Boildown]

Just wanted to make sure I said, I did a 5-hour long stream and capture last night with my new-to-me E1S, and it worked great, and no graphical bugs or defects apparent. So thanks again for this plugin! Over the next few days/weeks I'm going to try putting this E1S through its paces and make some higher quality captures.

This card didn't come with a bracket, so that has been pain, I'm somewhat concerned it'll pop out of the PCI-e slot in the middle of being used. I bought a 5-dollar AGP video card off EBay that looks like it has a correctly positioned DVI connection, hopefully that'll work.

 

[Shinblindrezo]

I bought a 5-dollar AGP video card off EBay that looks like it has a correctly positioned DVI connection, hopefully that'll work.

Hope that works out for you. I had to jerry-rig my own using an old Network card I had lying around. It's not perfect, but it works.

Either way, since I sent it in to Datapath, I asked them if they could provide me with a full sized bracket and they said they would. :)

I just hope they don't forget... lol

 

[Shinblindrezo]

Datapath is a fairly small company exclusively based in the UK. They used to have a German office but I think that closed. When emailing them there's a fairly high chance you'll end up talking to Nick, Liam, Ian, or Steven, depending on what kind of enquiry you have.

Oh, I had no idea they were such a small company. I had assumed they had a small UK HQ and that the main HQ was in the States. :P

 

[Boildown]

I don't know if you guys use these like I do, but I clone my display to the second DVI output on my Nvidia graphics card and send that signal to my capture card and stream box. My primary display runs at 1920x1080x120Hz, and I'm able to set it up so that a 120Hz signal goes to my primary display and a 60Hz signal goes to the capture card.

I just did some quick math, and now that I'm on the Datapath E1S instead of the Avermedia, I should be able to send a higher-than 60Hz signal to the capture card while still being within the DVI single link specs. I plan to try sending a 75 Hz signal to the capture card tonight when I stream and see if it can handle it. Should be fun!

Edit: My $5 video bracket (with unwanted video card attached) came in. I can't call it a perfect fit, but I didn't have to get out the dremel to make it workable, so that's pretty good and cheap solution.

 

[Muf]

I just did some quick math, and now that I'm on the Datapath E1S instead of the Avermedia, I should be able to send a higher-than 60Hz signal to the capture card while still being within the DVI single link specs. I plan to try sending a 75 Hz signal to the capture card tonight when I stream and see if it can handle it. Should be fun!

The VisionRGB-E1s caps out at 165MHz pixel clock (which is roughly 1920x1200 60hz), so if you want to raise the refresh rate you'll have to lower the resolution. 1280x720 at 120Hz should be about 140MHz pixel clock, well within limits.

 

[Boildown]

I was able to get it to run at 1920x1080x71Hz. Frustratingly couldn't get it to 72Hz, which would be a good multiple to run at.

But the real problem was that I couldn't clone the display at anything other than 60Hz. This has to be a restriction of the Nvidia drivers, it seems to only want to clone at the Native resolution and refresh rate. I actually did run tests at 1280x720, and I could get the E1S to see a 1280x720x120Hz input no problem, but only as an extended screen. As soon as I cloned, it reverted back to 1920x1080x60Hz. I then set my main screen to 720p and 120Hz, and as soon as I cloned, it changed the cloned screen to 60Hz while the main remained at 120Hz. Very frustrating.

I'm thinking I'd have to edit an ini or inf file, or maybe something within the drivers directly. But all in all its probably not worth the effort in any case. Unless someone knows exactly how to do it, I'll leave it as is.

This however did get me to thinking. What we need are Displayport capture cards. Especially Displayport 1.2. I can't find a single one in internet searches, I don't think they exist for some reason.

 

[Muf]

But the real problem was that I couldn't clone the display at anything other than 60Hz. This has to be a restriction of the Nvidia drivers, it seems to only want to clone at the Native resolution and refresh rate. I actually did run tests at 1280x720, and I could get the E1S to see a 1280x720x120Hz input no problem, but only as an extended screen. As soon as I cloned, it reverted back to 1920x1080x60Hz. I then set my main screen to 720p and 120Hz, and as soon as I cloned, it changed the cloned screen to 60Hz while the main remained at 120Hz. Very frustrating.

The utilities you get with the Datapath driver include a tool to modify the on-board EDID or upload a custom EDID. Try fiddling with the "default" resolution there.