Question / Help Video Capture Device compatibility

kimagal

New Member
I hope to use OBS for transferring MiniDV tapes through my Dell Inspiron 13 7000 laptop. When I connect equipment, the only device OBS studio shows is Interactive Webcam. No option for AV to USB2.0 as cited by instructions. Is my laptop not able to operate OBS?
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
More likely the capture device is legacy hardware and does not operate as a UVC video device. Older capture hardware generally does not use the modern standardized video device driver format... much of the time, you have to use the device's own proprietary software to interact with it.
 

kimagal

New Member
More likely the capture device is legacy hardware and does not operate as a UVC video device. Older capture hardware generally does not use the modern standardized video device driver format... much of the time, you have to use the device's own proprietary software to interact with it.
So my video camera device is a ZR 10A miniDV. So the driver for the camera may need to be installed on my laptop? Thanks
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
It may need a specific driver, it may need specific software, it may not function as a capture device over USB at all; some cameras offer a USB connection but only for control, or to update firmware, or just as a charging port with zero data transmission.
Best advice is to find and read the manual for the camera itself.
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
I meant to say the ZR10's camera's propriety software needs to be on my laptop?
You will need to refer to the camera's manual to see if it has the capability. We cannot provide support for your hardware, just advise referring to the manual and/or contacting the manufacturer. It may not be a capture device at all, again.
 

kimagal

New Member
Thanks for your advice. I went to Canon website and read the manual and guess that I won't be able to communicatei via it's LAN port to my USB jack on the laptop. Unless I can find a different cable. The one I have fits in the AV out jack of the camera, but not the LAN jack. Am not giving up,yet. Thanks again.
 

kimagal

New Member
You will need to refer to the camera's manual to see if it has the capability. We cannot provide support for your hardware, just advise referring to the manual and/or contacting the manufacturer. It may not be a capture device at all, again.
Thanks for your help.
 

BMW Fan

New Member
Question about DV cameras.....
I have an old Canon HV20, which IS a DV camera. It uses DV tapes.
But I don't think I'm using the DV portion of the camera in what I'm trying to do - unless I just don't understand this stuff.

I've connected the HDMI output of the HV20 camera to my Sharp HD TV. The output from the camera works great on the TV, both in live capture and playback of the video camera. Audio and video work OK. So, isn't this telling me that the HDMI output from the Canon HV20 is standard?

The problem I'm having is that when I connect the HDMI output of the camera to my BlackMagic Intensity Pro 4k card in my PC, I get no video. I only get audio. Shouldn't OBS Studio be able to use this HDMI stream from the camera through the Blackmagic card? But to be fair, I can't get any HDMI capture when using DaVinci Resolve, either.

My PC is older, but has 16GB RAM, Intel I5-3570 CPU, plenty of hard drive space, but only the on-board Intel HD4000 video. Might my problem be the low-end video I'm using to display? I've been able to capture video from my VCR into the Blackmagic card, but that's it.

I'm not sure what the problem is. Any suggestions?
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
I'm not sure what the problem is. Any suggestions?
That sounds like a compatibility problem between the DV camera and BMIP4K, rather than an OBS issue. Possibly the DV cam is outputting an unsupported resolution or protocol that your TV can 'speak', but the BMIP cannot. It's also possible that the DV cam may be putting out an HDCP-protected signal; I'm not sure if the BMIP4K would show an error, or just blackscreen.
Have you been able to capture ANY HDMI source with the BMIP before? I do not believe any VCRs are HDMI; it could need to be switched from the analog inputs to the HDMI.

Does Blackmagic provide any capture software with their card? If you use their software, do you get video from the camera, or just a blackscreen again? If it's a blackscreen in their own software, it would be time to contact BM's support line to troubleshoot it.
 

BMW Fan

New Member
I found out that my old Canon HV20 video camera must not be putting out standard HDMI signal. Working with Blackmagic support, we got the video working with SD/Component output working at 480dpi, but when using 1080i output from either the camera HDMI port or the component video doesn't work. I guess I need to get a newer camera.
 
Question about DV cameras.....
I have an old Canon HV20, which IS a DV camera. It uses DV tapes.
But I don't think I'm using the DV portion of the camera in what I'm trying to do - unless I just don't understand this stuff.

I've connected the HDMI output of the HV20 camera to my Sharp HD TV. The output from the camera works great on the TV, both in live capture and playback of the video camera. Audio and video work OK. So, isn't this telling me that the HDMI output from the Canon HV20 is standard?

The problem I'm having is that when I connect the HDMI output of the camera to my BlackMagic Intensity Pro 4k card in my PC, I get no video. I only get audio. Shouldn't OBS Studio be able to use this HDMI stream from the camera through the Blackmagic card? But to be fair, I can't get any HDMI capture when using DaVinci Resolve, either.

My PC is older, but has 16GB RAM, Intel I5-3570 CPU, plenty of hard drive space, but only the on-board Intel HD4000 video. Might my problem be the low-end video I'm using to display? I've been able to capture video from my VCR into the Blackmagic card, but that's it.

I'm not sure what the problem is. Any suggestions?

Are you sure its HDMI? Or otherwise are you sure its DV? The 2 formats are mutually exclusive. DV was an SD interlaced and typically 4:3 format that used FireWire as its proprietary transfer connection. Never HDMI to the best of my knowledge. HD in HDMI stands for high definition, so obviously it replaced firewire when HD cams started to become available. It sounds like you have a HD cam (not DV). There may be a setting on the Canon menu that selects or switches on the HDMI output. But like you say HDMI seems to work with your TV. There must be a bit of software that controls the Intensity card. Maybe you need to select in input setting or format.

I'm looking at adding an Intesity card so I'd be curious to see how you get on and if you ever figure it out. I've heard BM cards can be pretty finicky to work with.
 

Some_Guy

New Member
Are you sure its HDMI? Or otherwise are you sure its DV? The 2 formats are mutually exclusive. DV was an SD interlaced and typically 4:3 format that used FireWire as its proprietary transfer connection. Never HDMI to the best of my knowledge. HD in HDMI stands for high definition, so obviously it replaced firewire when HD cams started to become available. It sounds like you have a HD cam (not DV). There may be a setting on the Canon menu that selects or switches on the HDMI output. But like you say HDMI seems to work with your TV. There must be a bit of software that controls the Intensity card. Maybe you need to select in input setting or format.

I'm looking at adding an Intesity card so I'd be curious to see how you get on and if you ever figure it out. I've heard BM cards can be pretty finicky to work with.
I KNOW this was from a year ago but I feel bad for anyone new trying to figure this out. OK so DV is Digital Video but so is any video these days, that version was just stored on a tape. I have DV cameras still in use today with a 1080i output (1920 x 1080 Full HD interlaced)

The reason a 480i or old VCR would appear is because the capture device is set to capture 480i signal (set in the capture settings or "Properties" in OBS) Connecting almost ANY device to a TV will likely work because the TV will automatically match the incoming signal.

TV's are designed under the assumption that the user may not know what they are doing, so the TV does the work to set things properly. When buying a professional level device like " BlackMagic Intensity Pro 4k card " it is assumed that the user DOES know what they are doing and will change the settings accordingly...

Setting your Blackmagic device (or any other device) to capture 1080i @ 59.94Hz or 60Hz will suddenly show the HDMI image. The age or type of device is basically irrelevant as long as you set the capture to match the video signal type. If you are unsure, your TV may provide some insight when you connect the device or camera. If the TV input shows 720P 60Hz, that is probably what the camera or playback device is sending. If the TV displays "HDMI Input 1 1080i", then you know what to set your capture card to. You may have to try 59.94 or 60 etc. but eventually, one will be correct.

Due to the fact that HDTV standards are 480, 720, 1080 and now 2160 resolutions @ 23.94, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 AND 60Hz, there are many options to choose from. You need to set the device to match the capture OR set the capture to match the device but it is unlikely you will ever see an image until these two are both correct. This is just the nature of Digital Video resolutions, frequencies or frame rates.
 
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