video capture quality problem for sony minidv cam

Unfortunately my camera is PAL format camera,what is MSP?

ok
i wondered as much
MSP - Media Studio Pro
when i re-read your post it sounds like there are problems in the video itself
not on the edges like I would expect with a dimension problem

if you dont mind me asking - why are you using vdub and mpc
at that point - why not use MSP to edit and compress/create your captured video?
perhaps its a problem with the capture codec you are using in MSP that vdbu and mpc dont like
what are you capture settings in MSP?

the target for the video usually determines which tool i use - what do you want to do with the video after you capture it?

It is betterif I explain the problem some more: we are trying to establish a video database to be used in image processing, we recorded some scenarios and now try to capture and then compress with a codec that will also be used in future since we want the database to be able to be used in the future research easily, so we decided to have avi containers with divx or windows media codec (if it is possible). So I first capture with vdub or windows movie maker or ulead. Let me tell you some problems: when I capture with vdub with no codec (as you guess the size is very large) the sawtooth pattern occurs, on the other hand when I capture with windows movie maker and select best quality and nothing more it captures and compresses in a way that there is no sawtooth pattern. Here I should also indicate that the dimensions of the two vidoes are different, the latter has smaller dimensions.( I mean width x height). My problem is to capture and compress in a way that the videos are clear (without the sawtooth pattern).

i thought that was the case
in Ulead, I think you can acutally capture at a frame size smaller than the source
I will check tonight and let you know

the sawtooth you are referring to can be a result of too much compression, and/or compressing
without retaining the proportions

i.e. converting from 720x576 to 360x240 will cause some distortion because you have changed the width/height ratio

and I have found that capturing first then batch converting produces better results vs. trying to capture and encode on the fly

using software only processes - BUT, if you get a hardware mpg capture card that will encode to mpg and resize the video during capture
(which sounds like it may be the way to go for you)
you can eliminate some of the time/hard drive space problems, but will encounter other encoding/capture problems along the way

lemme look at MSP tonight and I'll see if I can figure out a way to go
that will work for you
Cheers
BBDC

hey oz
i am a better dbase programmer than I am a video guy
so I have given this some thought outside the realm ofthe capture problems for now
One thing I am concerned about it what you want the "final" video to be
that will effect the programs and the process you use
for instance, if the final product is to prduce a video of dvd quality, then those can be large files
however, if the final product will be a web video - those you HAVE to scale down in size
AND compress differently
BUT - important to remeber that your final product will only be as good as the original source
and if you capture (or for that matter FILM/VIDEO) is poor quality footage, then you wil end up with even WORSE end product
because compressing and resizing is going to take it's toll

SO - if your end product is going to be dvd quality, I say capture at top quality, then endocde down to dvd, and perhaps encode a "thumbnail" video for your
video database - if you have the disk space, and don't need to deliver the video over the internet - dvd quality runs fine over a 100mbps lan

just some thoughts i will save then I will post some capture ideas for "thumbnail" video next

Oz
I have MSP version 7 but I dont think there is much difference
my goal here is to try and create a NTSC VCD compliant capture (you will choose PAL VCD)
for more on the VCD format, look here  - very nice (http://www.videohelp.com/vcd.htm)
that creates a very nice video - 352x240 (PAL is 352x288) that is about 10 mg per minute
(this is probably more detail than you need but for others who may see this post)
so setup your camera
rewind/cue your tape to before point you want to start capture
(unless its at the begginning - i always like to pre-roll my tapes about 30 seconds before i start recording anything)
turn camera off
connect firewire cable from camera to pc
turn camera on play mode
start MSP video capture program
On Menu Click View...Capture
On Menu Click Setup...Device Control...MS 1394 Device Control
Click OK
You should now be able to control and preview video/sound on the camera
NOW  - on the toolbar you should see an icon mid screen that looks like a VCR tape - to the right of that is a icon that looks like a square
when you hover over it, it says "Select Capture Template" - click there and pick PAL VCD
it will access the camera and refresh the screen
On Menu Click Setup...Switch Capture Plugin and choose Ulead DSW MPEG Capture Plugin from list...Click OK
On Menu Click Setup...Video Capture Property Settings
In that window make sure VCD is checked under video format
there is a slider bar under the frame size - put it at 50% for now
Click OK
On Menu Click Capture...Video
the Capture Video screen pops up
under capture method click Auto (no time limit) (for this example - you cna learn to use Auto and Batch Settings later)
Put Check mark in Capture Audio
in File box set the location where you want to save the file and give the file a name (like c:\movies\test1.mpg)
then click OK
capture will start and camera will start rolling
watch lower left hand status bar to make sure you are not dropping frames
preview screen may seem jerky - but as long as its not dropping frames - it should be ok
after you've captured a couple of minutes
hit the escape key on your keyboard
capture will stop and it should playback what you just captured
see how that is and I can give some advice on where you want to go from there
cheers
bbdc

Crissand has hit the nail on the head. Here is a link to a good explanation of what is happening along with actual video grabs...

http://neuron2.net/LVG/interlacing.html

There is nothing wrong with using virtual dub to get high quality video from mini dv (most professionals do the same thing) because virtualdub can captures video in RAW format. The problem comes when you play back the raw avi file on your monitor without rendering it to mpeg2 (dvd) format first.

Use any dvd authoring tool to re-encode the raw avi file to dvd format (720x576 for PAL which is exactly the resolution you have captured in) and then you will find the video playback smooth when you use a software dvd player like windvd on your computer.

Good Luck!