Video Input Lost and Black Bars

garioch7

garioch7

New Member
Good day. I am a newbie here. I have been doing video conversions from Hi8 and VHS tapes since 2009, mostly free of charge. I have done hundreds, always using a VidBox device and Honestech VHS to DVD programs. They went out of business years ago. My last conversion was two years ago.

A priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) recently sent me 13 Hi8 tapes for conversion and editing. They are of his missionary work in Kenya. I could not get the old VidBox and/or the Honestech program to recognize the audio and video inputs. So I invested in a new ClearClick digital video capture device, but Honestech would not recognize that either. ClearClick recommends using OBS Studio for conversions, so I downloaded it, and read the Manual.

I did get it all working about a week ago, and digitized 88 minutes of video, but I had been experimenting throughout the video trying to eliminate the initial bottom and top bars. One of my adjustments resulted in a single big black bar at the bottom of the screen. I would not use that video. I was determined to learn how to use the OBS Studio program and read a very lengthy unofficial User Manual twice.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon hoping to re-record that 88-minute video of a wedding in Kenya. I experimented some more and found that the best aspect ratio was 4:3, with a resolution of 1440x1080. Unfortunately, the priest no longer has the camcorder, and does not even know the make.

I kept experimenting with different settings, and with the help of "Mr. Google" came across the Transform function, "Fit to Screen" option to eliminate black bars, so I did that. OBS locked up, and crashed immediately. I rebooted, launched OBS again, but it would not longer recognize video coming from the ClearClick device, if there was video being sent. The audio worked fine and was captured by OBS.

I did a full uninstall of OBS with Revo Uninstaller Pro, and removed all traces of it. I rebooted, and reinstalled OBS, but it still would not recognize video, if there was video signal coming from the ClearClick device.

No amount of adding, deleting, and otherwise fiddling with the OBS Sources resolved the issue.

The OBS Log file from last session yesterday: https://obsproject.com/logs/HPKDGzRZhw6bGtT4. A recent dxdiag.txt report is also attached. The computer is outfitted for video editing. The OS is Windows 11 Pro, Build 26200.9445, the latest.

I don't believe in multiple posts of the same topic on multiple Forums (bad netiquette), so I decided to join these Forums to seek assistance, rather than one of the dozen or so other Forums I haunt regularly.

I did read the applicable pinned post for newbie posters. I hope that I have complied. If you need any other information, please ask.

In the interests of full disclosure, I did open a Support Ticket with ClearClick, since the device was only purchased in August. It has a two-year warranty. I cannot ascertain whether it is the device or OBS, or possibly both, that are causing the loss of video, but not audio, capture.

So far, ClearClick has been more interested in ascertaining whether I did purchase their product. I keep sending them the documentation they request. I will share any information I get from them in my next post, if and when they follow up with me.

I do apologize for the long-winded post. I did want you to know what I have tried, and what my experience has been to date. OBS Studio is a very complex program with a dizzying array of options that I will never use. I just want to digitize Hi8 and VHS tapes. PowerDirector will do the editing, once I get a good video capture file using OBS Studio.

Thank you for any and all advice. Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil
 

Attachments

Update: I did receive a reply from ClearClick Support. They said:

Yes, the default settings of the program are set to upscale the video to 1080p, so that would be a bit stretched, but a lateral conversion is still possible.

In OBS Studio, you will want to click the Settings button and go to the Video option in the list on the left of the Settings screen.

There you will see the Base and Output resolutions drop down boxes. You will need to highlight the settings listed and change them (type in) to 640x480 for a lateral conversion. If you wish, use (type in) 1440x1080 for a 4:3 higher resolution setting.

Then click OK and return to the main screen.

If the preview shows only part of the video, right click on the video, choose Transform > Stretch to Screen and it should show all the video.
Click to expand...

I was unaware that the ClearClick device was upscaling my 4:3 video feed to 16:9. I will be replying that I am unhappy with that default behaviour. The device is upscaling video that I don't want upscaled, and then expects me to downscale it so I can use the video for editing.

That will inevitably cause video quality issues in the final video file. The less fiddling, the better from a quality perspective, particularly when you are dealing with a slightly decayed 1998 Hi8 tape.

I also learned I was supposed to click "Stretch to Screen" rather than "Fit to Window."

But that does not explain the sudden lack of video input from the device no longer being recognized by OBS. It is as if there is no longer any video signal being sent from the device ... ? I will be following that up as well, and I will keep you posted.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

PS: Thank you for "Like" and the trophy points.
 
I agree... you want a straight conversion, with no re-scaling (most likely)... but presuming you will eventually re-scale for modern monitors (probably from 4:3 480i (though could be S-Video from that era which was 500-600+ lines instead of 480??) to 1080p), you have figure out what does best re-scaling in your circumstance. [I have family videos from a camcorder aroudn that time... they are S-Video). And to re-scale for modern widescreen formats, you have to either crop (drop data) or stretch (distort) the image ... or live with the black bars. Personally, I'm fine with black bars and keeping original video clean.
Mind you, the black bars should ONLY be on monitoring screen watching converted analog video... not within OBS Studio itself. Within OBS Studio you want Base Resolution to be that of you true input

As for ClearClick, they had to default to something, and most users... yea I get defaulting to upscaling... seems reasonable to me as a default behavior (least volume of support calls). To me, it is only a problem if you can't override that default and set it to NOT re-scale the video. If you can't avoid re-scaling with ClearClick, I'd consider returning it for a full refund, if possible... but I'm sure there are other considerations.

As for video disappearing
- be sure to check device permissions (ie that OBS Studio has permissions to see ClearClick output)
- Then I move to my old recommendations - test your audio and video inputs completely outside OBS Studio, so you know for sure what you are troublseshooting
  1. close (not minimize) OBS Studio, maybe reboot. Do NOT start OBS Studio
  2. Use Windows Recorder or other (simple application) to make sure video output of ClearClick is actually working
  3. Beware recent M$ Windows OS updates, which messed with a number of things, had recent hotfixes to repair part (not all) of the newly introduced problems
  4. Don't presume ClearClick is outputting... a driver re-install may be required. Or beware if going through external USB Hub (along with other devices), and USB Root Hub overload.
  5. Only once you have confirmed ClearClick is truly processing tape output into computer readable digital video stream, move to setting (or resetting, as the case may be) up Video Source in OBS Studio. On older OBS Studio and Win10, I have an NDI camera feed (using camera mfg video USB video driver) that on rare occasions would drop the video. The simple quick, mid-stream fix was to change device input to something else, and then back... worked every time. Whether an OS, driver, or OBS Studio issue, I never figured out.
    1. and beware your input settings, whether auto or specified and what EXACTLY ClearClick is outputting
 
@Lawrence_SoCal ,

Thank you for your informative post. I appreciate it greatly. I did not get here yesterday.

In the meantime, I have been working with ClearClick Support. I think we have found the resolution to the no video input issue. My ESET Home Security Premium was blocking webcam access, which ClearClick Support believes will render necessary Windows video components unavailable to OBS Studio so that it can recognize the video stream.

I have disabled that ESET block. My earliest opportunity to test will be on Monday afternoon. I will try to get back here on Tuesday to update this post.

I really appreciate the hint that S-video might also be an issue. I dispense with that, and use the video RCA connector as well. I intend to test both options to see what is ideal.

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil
 
garioch7 said:
I really appreciate the hint that S-video might also be an issue. I dispense with that, and use the video RCA connector as well. I intend to test both options to see what is ideal.
Click to expand...

*IF* the video was recorded at S-Video capable resolutions (often the case), then using that higher (native) resolution would hopefully be better than forcing the tape player to downscale for RCA outputs. The challenge is figuring out what resolution and format the video was originally recorded at, and then use player capable of making good use of that content (for optimal digitization... being aware that 'good enough' might be just that)
 
@Lawrence_SoCal ,

Thank you for your clarification re: S-Video. My pro bono client no longer has the Hi8 camcorder. He does not remember the make, model, or even the year of purchase, and he has no knowledge of the recording settings that were used.

That makes it very challenging for me. It is going to continue to be trial and error. So far, from what I can tell, he was using a 4:3 aspect ratio, but which resolution is still undetermined ... ?

I will post back here after continued testing on Monday afternoon.

Thank you again for sharing your insights and expertise.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil
 
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