I am having the same issue as reported under Windows in post http://avidemux.org/smuf/index.php?topic=14246.0 (http://avidemux.org/smuf/index.php?topic=14246.0), but I am using Linux 32 bit. My trusty old TV recorder records to DVD, which means the files I transfer from it are in VOB format. On two occasions recently, I have found Avidemux not "seeing" a large part of one of these transferred files. On one occasion, it 'saw' only the first 11 or so minutes of a 28 minute segment and the other occasion it 'saw' only the first five minutes. Both files could be played in their entirety by VLC, so the files were not obviously corrupted. As the errant files were over 1Gb in size, I have not tried to post them and, indeed, they no longer exist. I have not seen this happening with smaller files (yet).
As I have changed to using a different recorder (the old one ruined a couple of DVD-RWs I fed it), this is not an urgent problem for me, but I thought it worth posting in support of the other post referenced above.
Fedora 19 32 bit
Avidemux 2.6.7
Perhaps you did let avidemux auto index the sequential .vob files? Remove the .idx2 files. Load vob part 1, answer no when avidemux asks to add the other parts. Append now each remaining vob part in sequence with the append from menu. An .idx2 file should been created for each .vob part. When finished loading the complete recorded video the total running time should been shown in the Avidemux Navigation bar.
update: vob loaded part1 and appended manually remaining parts:
Just a curious observation on the vobduration.png:
The audio lenght isn't matching the video lenght.
Is the audio lenght shown matching that in the first VOB?
Did not look for audio issues. Just @ total playtime.
Anyway did now save the vob1 + appended vob's and audio is present for full length of saved video.
Looks like audio only gives info on 1st vob loaded.
If mean does find some spare time and could perhaps look at this beauty issue.
I tested again with the latest Windows version 2.6.8v2 but the problem is not solved. When opening and saving only one VOB file, the video and audio duration are the same but they both have the wrong duration.
I updated my post: http://avidemux.org/smuf/index.php/topic,14246.0.html (http://avidemux.org/smuf/index.php/topic,14246.0.html)
I think this has more to do with the VOB's being part of the DVD structure.
There is more to a VOB than just multiplexed video audio and subtitles.
Probably better off demuxing the streams of interest inside these VOB's and remuxing them into MKV.
As there often is some audio delay with respect to the video you may need to allow for that.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Done some more testing:
- playing zeitgeist VTS_01_1.VOB with vlc, it plays only for 0:14:12.
- mkv merge extracts the correct video time as does avidemux 2.5.6: 0:37:54:640.
- Did test some more VTS_01_1.VOB and some did load correctly in avidemux 2.6.8 and these did also play correctly in vlc.
So for mpeg video (dvd) best to use avidemux 2.5.6. or remux to mkv (mkv merge) see also AQUAR remarks here (http://avidemux.org/smuf/index.php/topic,14246.msg70634.html#msg70634)
The avidemux 2.6.8 vob indexing getting it wrong is most likely (perhaps partialy) external to, seeing the same issues in vlc.
Don't expect a soon fix for 2.6.* branch ...
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on May 01, 2014, 04:40:58 AM
Perhaps you did let avidemux auto index the sequential .vob files?
Hi Jan - thanks for replying. I had tried all that you suggest. Yes, I initially let Avidemux auto-load the sequential parts and saw the problem, so I deleted the indices and manually loaded them in sequence - same problem. I even deleted the indices and manually loaded just the troublesome segment, but still had the same problem. No matter what I did, avidemux missed a large part of the troublesome segment. Always, the break occurred at the same place, so I suspect something in the structure of the file was upsetting avidemux - that is why I was surprised when vlc was able to play it without problems.
I have seen comments here and at the other problem report I referenced above, indicating this problem does not occur in avidemux 2.5 versions. It has me curious and, if I encounter the problem again, I will try reverting to an earlier version and see what happens. I am only using avidemux to trim off excess TV recording time from the beginning and end of a movie, prior to burning to DVD-R using mytharchive, so am not using any of the more powerful/arcane features of the software and reverting to an earlier version will not inconvenience me.
Best to keep 2.5.6 and 2.6.x installed alongside.
2.5.6 for dvd and SD recordings in old dvb-s/c/t format.
2.6.x for SD/HD for the newer formats (dvb-s2/c2/t2, ...) not handled by 2.5.6.
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on May 08, 2014, 06:29:43 AM
Best to keep 2.5.6 and 2.6.x installed alongside.
Thanks Jan, I'll do that. The old machine I was recording on was SD, so 2.5 should work fine for me.
I have additional information, and I think this reply does belong in this topic.
I think I have exactly the same problem. The video I'm working on is a multi-title DVD that was made with a Philips DVD recorder. I simply copied the .VOB files from the DVD. The first title of the DVD (not counting the menu) lasts about 5 minutes of a 2-hour video. File VTS_01_1.VOB lasts 30-minutes, but version 2.6.8v2 for Windows will play back only the first title (not counting the menu, which is not displayed). That makes about 25 minutes of video that is inaccessible. Also, unlike previous versions, 2.6.8v2 does not save an index file (unless there is a temporary file in another directory).
VLC and Movie Player (Totem) play the whole 25 minutes without any problem. The problem also does not occur in Avidemux version 2.6.1 for Windows or 2.5.4 for Linux. I would use one of those versions, except the seemingly insurmountable synchronization problems. That would be a subject for another discussion.
make sure to
- delete .idx2 files for the used .vob
- don't let avidemux 2.6.8 to auto append other parts
- load 1st vob and append remaining parts manually. Press these keys together [Ctrl][A]
you should see a difference in .idx2 file sizes. manually appended should be bigger in size then the auto appended one.
I think we have said this a few times before:
For video streams with older codecs like MPEG-2 in VOB containers its better to use avidemux V2.5.6.
Like to know what the work flow is for these insurmountable synchronisation problems, with the frame based avidemux?
Just note that audio may be shifted relative to video in these DVD VOB's, and these shifts are not necessarily constant across the VOB parts for the video stream.
Simply put - video in DVD's are not just about sequentially appending component VOB's.
Luckily most are formulated so that this simple appending works fine, especially with V2.5.6.
I hardly have issues with region 2 (PAL) dvd's in 2.6.8. Have no need to frame edit beyond the up/down key selectable editing point in 2.6.8.
If 2.5.6 provides a same size index .idx (auto appended versus manually appended) then this should be fine.
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on September 17, 2014, 05:57:37 AM
make sure to
- delete .idx2 files for the used .vob
- don't let avidemux 2.6.8 to auto append other parts
- load 1st vob and append remaining parts manually. Press these keys together [Ctrl][A]
you should see a difference in .idx2 file sizes. manually appended should be bigger in size then the auto appended one.
1. I was mistaken. It does create .idx2 files. I don't know, I may have searched for .idx files.
2. I have never used autoappend. If I just load VTS_01_1.VOB, I can only see the first 5 minutes of it. If I append the other four files in correct sequence with ^a, I can see more of that file, but large parts of it are still unreachable. This is reproducible. I tested with another DVD, and have the same problem. The second title is unreachable. VLC Player and Avidemux 2.5.4 have no such problem.
3. On the bright side, the audio sync problem seems to be gone with 2.6.8.
Quote from: AQUAR on September 17, 2014, 11:40:46 AM
I think we have said this a few times before:
For video streams with older codecs like MPEG-2 in VOB containers its better to use avidemux V2.5.6.
Like to know what the work flow is for these insurmountable synchronisation problems, with the frame based avidemux?
Thanks. I'll try that and report in another thread. It may be a while before I get to it. Is version 2.5.6 supposed to fix the sync problems? I understood that that didn't happen until 2.6.1.
to be clear on this:
- the vob's are created with dvd recorder and are uncrypted: you don't use any ripping program to copy .vob's to PC.
- the recording source are from TV transmissions?
If the problem persists with dvd decrypted try a more recent/updated decryption program.
If un-crypted dvd recordings: there could be an issue with time index: dvb-t signal glitch could cause a similar effect.
If the content is legal and for public viewing perhaps an upload of a vob causing this time loss could help the developer.
Upload to a publicly available location, like dropbox, cloud, ..., no login or registration required for download.
I will check if the issue is here present to (ubuntu 14.04 64-bit)
Sometimes demuxing to .mkv with mkvtoolnix (https://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/) or ffmpeg, avconf, ... does help. Edit the newly created .mkv with avidemux.
Success
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on September 18, 2014, 01:02:00 AM
to be clear on this:
- the vob's are created with dvd recorder and are uncrypted: you don't use any ripping program to copy .vob's to PC.
- the recording source are from TV transmissions?
The source is an 8mm analog camcorder. The videos were played back on a Sony 8mm tape deck and rerecorded on a Philips DRDR3475 DVD recorder. All the files are from that DVD recorder. They are not encrypted.
I did not use a ripping program. I don't think the problem is in copying the files. With one DVD I copied the .VOB files (e.g., VTS_01_1.VOB) from an image, file "funai_dvd_video.iso", which was created by K3b on Ubuntu. The .iso file was opened either with Archive Manager or with Archive Mounter. From the other DVD, I copied the .VOB files directly from the DVD using Windows Explorer under Windows XP. The problem occurred with both.
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on September 18, 2014, 01:02:00 AM
If un-crypted dvd recordings: there could be an issue with time index: dvb-t signal glitch could cause a similar effect.
If the content is legal and for public viewing perhaps an upload of a vob causing this time loss could help the developer.
Upload to a publicly available location, like dropbox, cloud, ..., no login or registration required for download.
I will check if the issue is here present to (ubuntu 14.04 64-bit)
Sometimes demuxing to .mkv with mkvtoolnix (https://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/) or ffmpeg, avconf, ... does help. Edit the newly created .mkv with avidemux.
I'd be happy to supply a video. I'll try to get to it later today or tomorrow. Is VTS_01_1.VOB sufficient? Or I have a smaller ISO (1.5GB) I could post if necessary.
I tried an .mkv container. That worked partly. I can now view the whole file, but sync is off again when viewed in Avidemux 2.6.8. I'll post that file too. And with default settings it recoded. Here are the details.
=======
>avconv -i VTS_01_1.VOB 1.mkv
[selected output:]
Output #0, matroska, to '1.mkv':
Metadata:
encoder : Lavf53.21.1
Stream #0.0: Video: libx264, yuv420p, 720x480 [PAR 8:9 DAR 4:3], q=-1--1, 1k tbn, 29.97 tbc
Stream #0.1: Audio: libvorbis, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (mpeg2video -> libx264)
Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (ac3 -> libvorbis)
[mpeg2video @ 0x951b1e0] warning: first frame is no keyframe
30 minutes of concerned video, 1 vob. As passed 25 minutes gives the issue. My guess the original frame rate, timebase and conversion from analogue to digital is possible cause.
Are these NTSC 30 fps? 60 Hz analogue?
When I have troublesome video recording. I use the latest MKVmerge GUI v7.2.0 ('On every Street') 64bit from mkvtoolnix.
I start the GUI, drag and drop the troublesome video on to it. Reorder audio track. And [Start muxing]
Screenshots with 33.8 GB, six hours of 720p mpeg-ts HD loaded. Had some issue: couldn't save beyond 03:13.50 with original .ts
Using the newly created mkv all avidemux 2.6.8 editing went fine .
I think Jan probably hit the nail on the head in guessing its a capture and compression on the fly process.
Best way is to use a dedicated video capture card and saving its output with lossless - lightweight compression.
Then work on that video file to fit intention.
Example, if for PC playback, deinlace if needed and resample for 1:1 PAR.
I just posted a video that may help the diagnosis. Jan and AQUAR, I just sent you PMs.
The problem with version 2.6.8 is that I can't read past the first title. Also, I don't think the audio sync problem is really solved. It is possible that the file is defective and most of my other files are defective also, but for what it's worth, I have only encountered problems with editing software, and never with media players.
Thanks for your suggestions. I'll continue looking into this, as I currently have NO other way to edit either these or .mp4 (.MTS) files.
1st to get all info correctly
1 GB vob plays here nearly only up to 6:43.870 starts the problem: audio breakdown.
Audio is in AC3 and video is NTSC
What should be the correct duration of the vob? I get conflicting time informations
And for now I can't retrieve video beyond 14:58. Should be 16: ....
I'll keep you posted and have probably more time to test your source video tomorrow.
Either 25 or 30 minutes. It's sometimes shown as 25, but it should actually be shown as 30, I think. There is some confusion for sure when you import .VOBs from a DVD. I have to leave right now, but I can check this evening.
The previous information corresponds to the first video I talked about. The following information corresponds to the video on the ftp site:
About 14 min. 48 seconds. Two titles and most of a third title: 6:46, 3:45, and 4:16. Total: 14:48. In addition, there are some short deleted titles that do not appear in the final videos, plus some brief glimpses of menus.
there are several issues with the vob file copied from dvd:
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 36618582, current: 36618582; changing to 36618583. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388851, current: 37388851; changing to 37388852. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388852, current: 37388851; changing to 37388853. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388853, current: 37388851; changing to 37388854. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388854, current: 37388851; changing to 37388855. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 57704146, current: 57704146; changing to 57704147. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687214, current: 57687214; changing to 57687215. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687215, current: 57687214; changing to 57687216. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687216, current: 57687214; changing to 57687217. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
this causing de-muxing to choke.
Found the video contains several badly joined videos. End of part where screens turns blue and you get info screen shot inserted? Time Index: 06.46 showing this.
The maximum video duration I can retrieve is 14.57 where video brakes off suddenly. Can you explain your work flow? It is not clear to me for now.
Are you recording (recently) now analogue NTSC video to dvd recorder. Or are these recordings made previously (years before) and you just extracting digital video from a recorded dvd?
Do you have access to computer wizards at your location (computer department).
Quote from: Jan Gruuthuse on September 23, 2014, 07:01:19 PM
there are several issues with the vob file copied from dvd:
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 36618582, current: 36618582; changing to 36618583. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388851, current: 37388851; changing to 37388852. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388852, current: 37388851; changing to 37388853. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388853, current: 37388851; changing to 37388854. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 37388854, current: 37388851; changing to 37388855. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:0; previous: 57704146, current: 57704146; changing to 57704147. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687214, current: 57687214; changing to 57687215. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687215, current: 57687214; changing to 57687216. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
Non-monotonous DTS in output stream 0:1; previous: 57687216, current: 57687214; changing to 57687217. This may result in incorrect timestamps in the output file.
this causing de-muxing to choke.
Found the video contains several badly joined videos. End of part where screens turns blue and you get info screen shot inserted? Time Index: 06.46 showing this.
The maximum video duration I can retrieve is 14.57 where video brakes off suddenly. Can you explain your work flow? It is not clear to me for now.
Are you recording (recently) now analogue NTSC video to dvd recorder. Or are these recordings made previously (years before) and you just extracting digital video from a recorded dvd?
Do you have access to computer wizards at your location (computer department).
I think I unintentionally confused you by choosing a second, shorter video to ftp, and then I posted information for the wrong video (red face). See my corrected message above.
The duration of 14:57 is probably exactly correct. The time stamp may be confusing because it's simply a linear record of what was recorded. The table of contents of the DVD is on another file. The DVD does not play the whole file in exact sequence; it skips over some short extraneous parts.
My work flow is simple. I use a Philips stand-alone DVD burner to digitize old 8-mm NTSC analog videos. Everything is NTSC. I have DVDs of many of them, but I still have all of the 8-mm tapes except one. Here is the work flow:
1. Play 8-mm tape on Sony tape deck and record to Philips recorder.
2. From time to time I stop recording. This creates a new title on the DVD.
3. I believe some short titles were deleted before the DVD was finalized.
4. I copied the video files from the DVD. I did not use ripping software.
5. Finalize the DVD.
The chaotic-appearing time sequence may or may not be correct, considering that there are multiple titles.
I'll post the whole DVD tomorrow. The .iso is only slightly longer than the file I already posted. If you scroll back to title 0, it lists basic info.
This is starting to look complicated. This work flow mostly worked very well in the past, but now not at all. I'll continue to try alternatives. Do you have another suggestion for digitization? The last time I tried ripping programs, they crashed or failed in one way or another. Can try again, I suppose.
Computer expertise at work? Not for this, I'm afraid. I do have a computer admin friend who has some limited experience with videos, but I don't think he's tried this.
EDIT:
Non-monotonic timestamp. I wonder if the breaks occur between titles, or within titles. Do you know how to read that info? How did you get the timestamp info?
you can try 2 ways:
1 - See if handbrake can take the video's correctly from the recorded dvd incomputer dvd drive? https://handbrake.fr/
2 - record the 8mm parts needed in one go and leave 1/2 minute paused 8mm video beyond the point you're interested in and the stop the dvd recording there.
If handbrake is available for your Operating System method 1 would be preferable tested 1st with existing recorded dvd in computer dvd drive.
Explaining or figuring out how to handle this Non-monotonous DTS producing these incorrect timestamps is beyond my
user experience. If lucky someone here can explain some more or have another work flow to avoid this problem.
If on Ubuntu there is a ppa available, see: http://askubuntu.com/questions/107915/how-do-i-download-and-install-handbrake.
QuoteHow did you get the timestamp info?
While trying to split up audio and video:
avconv -i VTS_01_1.VOB -acodec copy audio.ac3 -vcodec copy video.mkvThis makes me think again: can you set dvd recorder to not record in AC3 audio (dolby) but use plain stereo.
If you have the video from recorded dvd playing correctly on your computer desktop, using a desktop recorder could also be a solution to have editable video: https://launchpad.net/kazam
Sorry to flood you with this information. Hope you or your friend are able to do something with this.
I still think these issues are the result of doing to much on the fly (real time).
This DVD recorder is capturing, filtering, heavy duty compression, and DVD mastering.
All good and well for playback but a nightmare for editing, especially when relying on time codes.
Just my 2 cents worth as I don't do video editing on a linux machine.
Also note there was a warning in that the first frame is not a key frame.
My guess is that there are orphaned frames throughout this video from badly joining video segments.
Possibly the reason for audio sync issues with Avidemux 2.6.
Even a cheap/basic PC capture card will give you much better control over your workflow.
Thanks to both of you. Those were pretty much my thoughts too--I even thought of the off-the-wall video screen capture. It will take me some time to work through them and post back.
I wouldn't bother, except (1) Avidemux is a really excellent program, and (2) so far I don't have a viable substitute. I like Avidemux because it's one of few programs that allow extracting a clip, and because it can work without transcoding.
I've found that avconv or ffmpeg are good for extracting clips (without transcoding!), although they're not very convenient, and not infallible on audio sync. AcidRip failed completely, and I'm not going to get into troubleshooting that.
You both have worked long and hard on this, and I thank you for that. It's not worth more of your effort for that one DVD. However, it may be a common case, and if you or Mean decide to troubleshoot further, I would be happy to make up a short (small file) test case.
AQUAR, do you have a work flow for copying 8mm analog that works? (It doesn't have to be free, and no, it doesn't have to be Linux. It just has to work and not be TOO expensive.)
Sometimes the recorder is dumping a lot of recording stream
and adds some side information saying : you can ignore that, and that, and btw the follow up of this is there etc...
A full fledged dvd player has no problem dealing with that, as it is compliant to dvd spec
but an editor that ignores the dvd navigation info can be puzzled by the stream
Just a guess
Then probably using vlc to transcode the dvd is a solution: https://wiki.videolan.org/Transcode/ to get an avidemux editable video.
With VLC I was able to save/convert part one from the dvd burnt from downloaded iso. Probably possible with other chapters to, couldn't figure that one out.
With Handbrake is easier to select chapter you want and enqueue to queue, when all selected are in queue, start decoding in Handbrake queue.
I upload end results shortly and let you know where you can find these.
UPDATE: The 4 video's editable in avidemux2.6.8 are in my dropbox.
Just a brief progress report.
So far I've had excellent success with Handbrake. It fixed the hardest cases that I have. The output is editable, and the resulting DVDs are correctly synchronized. Even with the Handbrake .mkv files, the sync problems persist in version 2.5.4, but not in 2.6.8.
You guys were right. Using these .VOB files directly from the DVD recorder often leads to serious errors later. Sometimes even VLC seems to have a lot of seek problems. In one case I couldn't even advance the DVD.
The Handbrake documentation suggests program "MPEG Streamclip" as an alternative for lossless encoding output, but for my purposes the extra re-encoding step has no practical effect on quality. WinX DVD Ripper or Video ReDo is sometimes recommended for Win or Mac, but Handbrake has an overwhelming argument in its favor: it works. So far I haven't needed an alternative.
Glad the issues are gone and you can salvage/edit your archived videos.
I am a bit late coming back to this topic.
My suggestion for this DVD was going to be: try DVD decryptor (free windows based program from the DVD era).
It can make sense of the DVD by taking note of the .IFO navigational descriptors and extract accordingly.
An even better free program is DVD rebuilder (one of my favorite windows program!) and does just what the name suggests.
If handbrake works then no need to try anything else though.
Workflow wise for converting 8mm tape in a nutshell:
1) a reasonable capture card (or usb video capture device).
2) capture video with virtualdub (also free) into a very fast lossless codec (eg huffyuf).
3) process the resulting video file to suit the format of the output display (eg PC monitor, analog TV etc).
4) compress with a modern lossy codec to suit you media player (avc or xvid for older standalone players).
5) Or remaster into a new DVD (dvdlab is great but not free or dvd rebuilder).
There is more to it than that, but those are the basic steps.
Also, much choice in free programs to do any of those steps.
Of course Avidemux is my choice for compressing and processing those BIG huffyuf video capture files.
I'm still open to improved methods, and AQUAR very kindly advised me about capture devices. Here are his replies:
"Video capturing is not hard to do, but slow computers are not ideal for that kind of processing.
Doing it via a USB2.0 port is fine, and look for a capture device that syncs audio and video to the same clock.
Don't buy a device that feeds the video to the USB connection and audio to your sound card.
"I only have an older, simple and cheap USB capture device that uses the audio card for capturing the audio.
It has audio sync issues that arises when using a different time base (clock) for audio and video.
Hence my advice to avoid these types of capture units.
I am sure that the more recent vesions will be better in this regard, as most of them feed both audio and video via the USB serial port.
That allows digitising of both audio and video with the PC clock as a common time base.
Picking a fast PC and fast codec for caturing helps minimise dropped frames that occur when the process can't keep up.
Hence a faster PC and a codec like huffyuf is your friend."
Just in case anyone picks this up:
Time bases don't have to be derived from the PC clock.
Just a thought:
If the digitising of analog audio and video has sync problems on playback, you could try the Reclock directshow filter.
That filter provides a proxy time base for the audio and video to correct some of these sync issues.
The usb video capture devices depend heavy on drivers. Sometimes an OS no longer supports this device. No driver = device no longer working. Even well known brands have these issues. Like Pinnacle miroVIDEO DV300, Plextor PX-AV200U, several Firewire cards, all laying on the shelf gathering dust :(
Try before you buy or stay with a solution that is working.
So true!
My USB video capture device only works under windows XP.
Also I guess any current capture devices will use WDM based drivers instead of VFW drivers.
So if you use VFM programs to capture (eg virtualdub) you need to use it with a VFM to WMD wrapper.
I like using virtualdub because it gives easy access to lots of video codecs.
Apparently the FFVFW codec is a very fast MPEG4 compressor that will create smaller files than those created by huffyuf and maybe with better quality video (not tried it myself!).