Macross Laser Disc Preservation

[boinger]

3rd payment of $700 CAN / $685 US sent for HLD-X0 LD player sent today.

Not quite the half-way mark for payments.

Ebay has lowered their fees a bit, so I'll get back to listing up

stuff every 2 weeks starting next week.

If I can send $900 CAN and then $700 CAN every month after that, then

I can be finished with the HLD-X0 payments by (edit) August.

Edited April 14, 2010 by boinger

[boinger]

4th payment of $880 CAN sent today for the the HLD-X0.

I hope the Canadian to USA exchange rate is 1:1 by the time

Nicolas' uncle cashes the cheque.

After this cheque is only three more payments.

So, most likely done by August!

I plan to set up an ebay store this week end to seriously clear out

a bunch of toys in my apartment/condo. I might be able to put

more cash towareds the HLD-X0, but I also have long list of

Macross reference books to stock up on.

We'll see.

[Freiflug88]

It sounds like a neat project, but personally what I do instead of acquiring the Laser Discs is just capture all the frames from MDYRL HD DVD, convert them to RB24 colorspace, and then use photoshop/aftereffects to fix as many video imperfections as possible manually frame by frame. Then I would encode the sequence of frames onto a Lagarith lossless avi and mux it into a nice MKV file compelete with audio, subs, and a chapter file.

Going with the Laser Disc ripping your just making an expensive trade of one set of meager video quality flaws for a whole different set of video quality flaws that could be even worse, like the 560x480 resolution that will have to be re-sized dramatically if you want to take advantage of a wide screen with 16:9 video. Honestly why not just spend your time and money correcting all the minor video flaws of the HD DVDs you already have?

[boinger]

Those are good points.

I was thinking of using the remastered Macross dvds as part of

the preservation final clean up process via the virtual

plug in "TooT" and to increase the original

LD resolution, as well as using after effects for clean up.

[boinger]

Fifth payment of $750 CAN sent for HLD-X0 LD player.

Only 2-3 more payments to go!

I've been busy for the last couple of days working out some

long standing Vista64 computer glitches.

I figured out how to get the administrator account to

have full ownership and complete permissions for C:.

Now it's just a matter of time to get my Radeon 5770

video card properly installed. Ever since Catalyst

9.11, I could only install the drivers via the device manager,

but the Catalyst software refused to uninstall/install

properly. The ATI Catalyst software is now at version

10.5 . I just really want to see if the ATI video encoder

does a better job than Handbrake at encoding video.

Once the vide card is sorted out, I'll start playing around with after

effects and colour correction software.

[boinger]

$1320 US more to go.

1st post update.

Nicolas, the guy I'm getting the HLD-X0 from, is off for vacation next

month and his uncle and his family, who transfers my cheque payments

over to Nicolas, is also on holidays until end of August.

Either one big payment in September or two payments finishing up in November.

********

A delay for payments on the HLD-X0 is just as well,

since I can't send a payment for next month due to

my car being rear-ended last week.

I'm expecting a phone call any day now to say that the car repairs

are more than the worth of my car. It was 100% the other person's

fault, but I'm still going to have to buy a "new" used car.

No injuries, just a lot of money for me to spend on a new car instead

of an HLD-X0 LD player.

(My dad gave me this car two years ago because he felt I should have a good car and

not like the last 2 beater cars I spent a lot on repairs. It was a '93 toyota corolla

with 77,000 km on it and a little bit of rust. I could have driven it for 10 more years.)

[boinger]

The Santini Family will be back from holidays at the end of August.

It looks like I'll probably send 2 more payments to finish paying for the HLD-X0

by October.

This week on ebay, I picked up M+ OAV 1-4 CLV for $60 US and a Monster Entech

SVSI-1 video box. The SVSI-1 supposedly reduces/eliminates dot-crawl on LD playback.

We'll see.

Other than upgrading Nero software to version 10 and paying for the last

installments on the HLD-X0, I think I'm just about ready to get this project going.

The next step would be to get comfortable with using the software and hardware

to actually do the LD preservation.

DYRL LD preservation would be extra work because I hope to do some repair work on

the film itself.

***

3 weeks ago, I was able to find a car, 2008 Toyota Corolla 29km, and my Dad helped me out.

So, it's been a busy summer for me.

[boinger]

Nicolas Santini came back from his vacation August 28.

He was telling me that his uncle, whom I had been writing the

HLD-X0 LD cheques to,

was going to go for vacation in September.

So, I sent Nicolas an email Sept 22 to see about getting the rest of the

HLD-X0 LD player paid for and shipped.

After getting a new car this summer, I have a bank line of credit for just

these sort of large purchases.

Now, it's been over a week and I haven't heard from him.

Currently, he is selling a couple of LD items on ebay and his website hasn't been

updated since May.

I'll see if I get a response from him on ebay.

[SeminNV]

I guess it would sound a bit rude if I ask why are you doing all these? I think beside disk preservation you may consider some energy preservation as well. You know, if we run out of energy on Earth we will not be able to watch macross. This might be a good proejct too

Edited October 2, 2010 by SeminNV

[chillyche]

I guess it would sound a bit rude if I ask why are you doing all these? I think beside disk preservation you may consider some energy preservation as well. You know, if we run out of energy on Earth we will not be able to watch macross. This might be a good proejct too

I once rear-ended somebody's car. It was mostly my fault, but a little bit not. But I learned that day that in the eyes of the law, unless it goes to court and they can prove extenuating circumstances, it is always the legal fault of the person who does the rear-ending. Which I suppose is nice for your insurance. Either way, glad to hear you've got some new(to you) wheels.

[boinger]

Nicolas got back to me finally. Hurray!

So, I'll figure if 2 payments or 1 work better for the HLD-X0.

***********

I thought LD preservation and restoration was a good idea.

I already wrote up my reasons at the beginning of this thread.

Maybe, I'll actually learn something.

In terms of not having a car to conserve energy:

In Winnipeg, the temperatures go down to -35 or 45 Celsius for 2 - 3 months and

another 3 months of weather that is not quite that cold.

The bus service in Winnipeg is appalling. A 15 minute car ride to work at the

hospital then becomes 1 1/2 hours to get there by bus. I know that quite well when

I did not have a car for half of this summer. In the winter, I would be standing

outside in -35 Celsius weather for over an hour waiting for a bus or walking

the rest of the way to work. I already did that when I was a student nurse

many years ago. Now I work nights, so there is nobody to ask for car-pooling.

That's why I do what I do.

************

I could talk about cars and accidents for at least an hour

I like the car I have now ('10 Corolla); it drives nicely; let's move on.

***************

Just in case I haven't mentioned it before, Macross Aria looks really cool!

And those Macross game models and youtube videos are pretty neat!

I wish you both well in your Macross endeavors.

[sketchley]

In terms of not having a car to conserve energy:

In Winnipeg, the temperatures go down to -35 or 45 Celsius for 2 - 3 months and

another 3 months of weather that is not quite that cold.

The bus service in Winnipeg is appalling. A 15 minute car ride to work at the

hospital then becomes 1 1/2 hours to get there by bus. I know that quite well when

I did not have a car for half of this summer. In the winter, I would be standing

outside in -35 Celsius weather for over an hour waiting for a bus or walking

the rest of the way to work. I already did that when I was a student nurse

many years ago. Now I work nights, so there is nobody to ask for car-pooling.

That's why I do what I do.

Agreed. Conserving energy is a good thing, but only if there are more energy-friendly alternatives.

Working nights generally eliminates a lot of options; specifically mass transit (IE buses, trains, et al) and generally (Boinger's aforementioned car pooling).

Mass transit is also generally not a viable option, the farther from an urban center one is. Even in urban centers, if one is not traveling in the same direction as the majority of other travelers, travel times, costs and energy expenditures can grow exponentially.

So, I think a much more viable question (albeit totally off topic) is: are you going to buy an electric or hybrid car as a replacement?

I should add that I'm also a Canadian (though not living there anymore), who's had similar experiences with mass transit in Victoria and Vancouver. Victoria had a layout with all the buses running to the center, but no or very few buses running between the "spokes". Vancouver has a grid pattern. Terrible if you want to travel diagonally.

Probably the best bus service I experienced was in Seoul. At the local bus stop, there were 5 different bus routes, and there was a bus once every 10 minutes for EACH of those 5 routes! Their routes were varied enough that one could go in multiple directions to multiple destinations without transferring. I should add that that the bus stop was at the periphery of the city, and not in the core (or one of the cores, as the locals say). But I guess that comes from being the 7th largest city.

Edited October 4, 2010 by sketchley

[boinger]

Back on Topic:

I sent off a cheque last month to Philip Santini and he

emailed this month to confirm that he has received the payment.

Now, my HLD-X0 is going to the Pioneer service outlet to get

checked over and have any small worn out parts replaced.

Philip is going to confirm my last payment amount < $500 CAN

and then it will be shipped out to me.

Hurray!

Since, I was lucky enough to pick up a Monster Entech SVSI-1, the

Amery BNC to RGB conversion box does not look to be needed.

Windows 7 seems to be running stable for me, so I can start installing

Hauppauge HD PVR and see if I can find my copy of After Effects.

Multiupload.com looks to be a very good way for distributing large files

like the LD rips.

[Kicker773]

Was this thing ever materialized? Updates? I know its an old thread but thought i'd see if anyone has any info...

[boinger]

Basically, the HLD-X0 LD player is sitting in my living room waiting for me to unpack and set up.

I still have to test my old HP XP laptop to see if a good laserdisc capture can be made with

the Hauppauge HD video capture box and the HLD-X0.

But I have been terribly busy for the last 7 months with my sick dad.

He just died on Wednesday this week.

Now I'm off on holidays and my mom would like me to go with her to Panama

to recover from all that I have been through.

I'm hoping next year will be better and I do plan to work on this project.

[EXO]

Hi Patrick. Terribly sorry to hear about your dad. Please accept my condolences and all the best wishes for you and your mom.

[Kicker773]

Sorry to hear about your dad. Mine passed away in 98 and me and my mom took care of home at home for two years while he was in a coma. So I know how that feels. Hope you and your mom get some rest.

[chillyche]

My condolences. Sending my thoughts out to you and your mom. Be well.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

My condolences as well. Remember that he'll always be with you. Happy New Year, regardless.

[boinger]

Thank you, guys.

I find each day to be a little better than before.

My mom was able to get here from Panama by Wednesday evening

to help me with Dad's funeral arrangements. We did what

dad would have wanted and he's no longer suffering from

his congestive heart failure.

My mom has convinced me to take a 1 week holiday with her

out in Panama for Jan 11 and I did buy a ticket.

So, the New Year is starting to get better already.

***************

LD capture project update:

I updated the first post in this thread with the software

upgrades that I picked up last month.

After Effects CS5.5 might not be necessary, if I can

find the same functionality with Sony Vegas Movie

Studio HD version 11.

But last month, I noticed that the HP laptop is too old to play or

burn bluray discs. AVCHD video captures are a possibility

with the laptop. I'm not sure if the laptop cpu can be fast

enough for the Hauppauge HD video capture box; I have

to actually unpack the HLD-X0 player out the box and do

some testing.

I might have to borrow dad's computer to get the LD

video captures done.

Thanks, dad.

[soul.assassin]

My sincerest condolences, bro. But we're still behind you while keeping this initiative alive.

[dokworm]

I have an X0 and an X9 and would be happy to convert any macross laserdiscs anyone has to digital. I use a BlackMagic Intensity Extreme and an outboard comb filter for best results.

I'm in Australia though, but happy to do any conversions if people are happy to pay for the postage.

[boinger]

That's good to know somebody is still interested in this project!

I know I still am and other Macross related projects as well.

dokworm, I don't know you so well, since that is your first post here.

If you could show some samples of LD video captures or how you

get your LD captures done, then maybe somebody might take you up on your offer.

What kind of outboard comb filter do you have?

Would you be using Avisynth filters or After Effects software to improve

the image quality?

talk to you later!

**************

I've been very busy with personal stuff. Now that I have some holiday time, I'm cleaning

up my place and getting my projects back on track.

My HLD-X0 LD player is still in the shipping box! I have to clear out some more room

in my living room before I can get the LD player working and start testing it out. I'm

thinking this weekend would be a good time to start doing that.

My 8 year old XP Pro laptop will be used to get the video capture done with the

Hauppauge WinTV HDPVR. Otherwise, I have to upgrade my laptop or move

my big desktop computer over to the living room where the LD player is.

In the meantime, I've been able to order three different DYRL LDs for video capturing:

1.Super Space Fortress English LD,

2. DYRL Dolby digital surround LD

3. another DYRL LD.

These LDs have just been ordered last week from Rakuten, so I'll have them by next month.

Hopefully, each different DYRL LD are from a different film sources.

The reason I picked up more DYRL LDs is because according to the original trilogy forum,

multiple video captures from different sources can be re-combined and up-converted in

resolution to provide a cleaner image. If people can get

that better image quality for Star Wars, then why not do that for DYRL?

[boinger]

I finally unpacked my HLD-X0 and I was watching DYRL on LD!

Here's the box that the HLD-X0 has been sitting in since

January 2011.

Unpacking!

80 lbs of LD goodness!

Here is the extra video hardware for external 3D comb and

later color correction.

The plug in places of the HLD-X0.

For the best video from the HLD-X0, I read that you would use the BNC video pin hole and

then use a RCA video cable for the output. I got that working just fine.

But I found a small audio problem that could affect AC3 audio extraction for later.

The included Yamaha DeModulator box doesn't appear to work.

The RF DeModulator box is supposed decode the AC3 audio track that is stored

separately on the LD.

http://home.q03.itsc...YamahaAPD-1.htm

Is there some hidden setting on the HLD-X0 that initiates the

RF AC3 audio output?

I know that the LD remote settings can be changed from Digital to Analog, but that

is not the problem.

I used a 110 volt converter to give power to the

RF DeModulator. Then I used the included RCA

audio cable and plugged it into the LD RF AC3 top

plug in. The other end of the RCA audio cable

went into the RF Demodulator RCA input and then

I used a spdif cable to connect the Demodulator

to my Sony surround stereo. No audio is being

demodulated from the LD when played.

I checked that the Demodulator has the electric

switch on the back slid to 110 V.

Also, I checked that the HLD-X0 audio settings are set

to (D)igital and not (A)nalog audio. And the power on button

for the DeModulator was depressed in.

I know I can get digital audio directly from the LD spdif audio output and the

alternate LD RCA digital audio output.

Is there a difference between the RF AC3 audio output

and the other two digital outputs?

My test Anime LDs are:

1. http://www.lddb.com/...loe3-%281995%29

2. http://www.lddb.com/...tion-%281984%29

The DYRL perfect edition has digital dolby surround audio,

but I'm not sure if that type of digital audio would necessarily be

decoded by the DeModulator?

And I found out that the Macross Plus International LDs have

English only audio with hard encoded Japanese subtitles.

I'm not sure if the LD remote has a button for turning subtitles on or

off.

That's it for now until I can get my laptop working with the Hauppauge HD PVR

and make a test video capture.

Edited September 10, 2012 by boinger

[boinger]

I sent off an email to Nicolas, who I purchased the HLDX0 from.

Apparently, the DeModulator is for decoding only Dolby Digital audio from

LDs. I have some Star Wars Special Edition LDs to test with the DeModulator and I will

hear if that is working for me tomorrow.

Unfortunately, none of the Macross LDs have dolby digital audio

according to the LaserDisc Database.

http://www.lddb.com/search.php?search=macross&sort=title,asc

The Macross Plus LDs from Manga Entertainment have dual

English & Japanese audio and those LDs would be better for video captures,

since those LDs would not have the hard encoded Japanese subtitles.

The main thing is that the LD player is working.

[EXO]

Awesome, you get to enjoy DYRL unblurred and edited.

[boinger]

Hi >EXO<:

DYRL perfect edition on LD is lower resolution, a little bit blurry, not quite cleaned up and

does have the FB 2012 video footage tacked on compared to the original theatrical DYRL.

The DYRL BD is higher resolution, blurry in spots due to camera work or directorial changes

or noise reduction and is edited.

I'm going to watch both and see what I prefer.

***************

Good news!

The DeModulator does decode dolby digital ac3 audio from the Star Wars Special Edition LDs.

I like Star Wars, too.

But, none of the Macross LDs have dolby digital. Most of the Macross LDs

have dolby prologic surround audio that outputs from the LD spdif / tos or RCA digital to

the Sony audio receiver spdif or RCA digital input.

The HLD-X0 has some remote control settings.

1. Clock Ref. : Video or Audio

2. D. Data Out: On or Off

3. Mode: Stereo or L/R

4. Audio: (D)igital or (A)nalog

I chose

1. Clock Ref: Video,

2. D. Data Out: On,

3. Mode: Stereo and

4. Audio: Digital

I don't know what Clock Ref. or D. Data Out means, but

the LD does play properly.

The HLD-X0 also has a built in 3D comb video filter.

1. 3D Y/C (8 settings from none to maximum)

2. 3D YNR (8 settings)

3. 3D CNR (8 settings)

4. 3D VNR (8 settings)

5. NR (3 settings from none to maximum)

6. Sharp (8 settings)

7. Memory: Off, 1,2,3

Then I can also choose preset video 3D filter settings.

Standard has all the 3D settings, NR and Sharp set to the middle.

I don't have a manual for this LD player, so I guess that

7. Memory setting is to keep stored settings of 1 to 6.

So, I could try seeing if the HLD-X0 plays video better with just its

own 3D filter or better with LD filter + Entech external 2D filter box or the LD 3D

filter off and use the Entech external 2D filter box.

I have some DYRL movie watching to do

and then test out the HD PVR for LD video and audio capture.</exo>

Edited September 10, 2012 by boinger

[dokworm]

To answer some questions:

I capture everything through a 5 line 3D comb filter based on the TVP5160 chip.

I then feed that into a Blackmagic Intensity capture system and capture in 10bit uncompressed to an SSD array.

Five captures are done and a median function passed over them to remove dropouts and reduce noise and any remaining dot crawl.

I'm mainly using Davinci Revival (http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davincirevival/) for cleanup work and Davinci Resolve for basic colour correction duty.

That is then fed back out to a teranex processor for scaling.

I don't use avisynth or After Effects for this process I'm afraid, but I was a user of After Effects for years at Animal Logic, so know my way around it, just haven't had the need for LD transfers.

I'm also doing some VHD transfers at the moment and about to start on a Star Wars restoration.

I'd love to see how well your system works, it is a very, very time consuming process, don't underestimate how long it all takes, but the results can be quite good.

[dokworm]

Oh BTW, I found that the later Lumagen scalers had a better comb filter than the Entech, you may want to borrow one if you can for comparison. Get a copy of the Video Essentials laserdisc and use the moving Snell & Willcox test pattern to ascertain how well your comb filter is working. Yep the BNC is the best output from the X0, as long as you are using an outboard comb filter.

If you have an oscilloscope, waveform monitor and vectorscope, you can buy the Pioneer LD test disc and check your alignment, levels, clock function etc. to ensure your X0 is running at peak performance.

http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/part.asp?productNum=GGV1069

[boinger]

I spent some time with my copy of Video Essentials (VE) LD and tested this LD player

with my LG 55LW6500 LED TV and Sony sound receiver HT-DDW900.

I turned off all the LD special video settings as instructed by the VE LD.

The video testing took me over an hour to fiddle with the TV brightness, contrast, color

and tint. After all that testing, I found that the initial TV set up passed all the LD

video tests. And I would say that the quality of LD video on Video Essential looks

better than I thought it would look like.

It took me more time for the LD audio tests with my Sony surround sound receiver

because I had some loose speaker wiring and the surround sound

levels were off balance.

Now I have the basic video and audio settings done for the TV and sound receiver,

The actual viewing experience of watching a LD movie will be the real test.

I have three DYRL LDs and other Macross LDs, Star Wars special edition with

Dolby Digital sound LDs and Star Wars Definitive LDs.

I would like to start off by watching the Star Wars special edition LDs, so I

can get some use out of the demodulator decoding the dolby digital sound.

While watching a movie, I'll change the LD player settings with/out an external video filter.

Once I can get that version of Star Wars looking good on my TV, then I think

I'll have the LD settings ready for DYRL video capturing.

After that, I can get the computer monitors color-corrected with the

Eye-One Display LT Monitor Colour calibrator and get the

Hauppauge HD PVR working on my laptop.

That's all the LD playing for today!

***************

Hi dokworm:

You are a real LD officionado!

I'm not willing to get a

for $1500, even though this video processor

does do a really good job at up-scaling video, because I am going to do the up-scaling

and possible video processing after the video capture is done on my computer.

Once the video capture is done, Chad Dunham expressed interest

in doing some video processing with avisynth software if needed.

The only LD video problem that I saw is when the LD video is in step mode and pauses on a single frame that

there is a slight video stutter and blurring of the paused image. I think that's normal?

Prior to my purchase, Nicolas, LD seller, sent my LD player to a Japanese

Pioneer electronics Repair Outlet to make sure that it was working properly with no worn out parts.

So, I'm not ready to start doing my own technical performance checks of the LD player.

The HLD-X0 LD player is working really well so far.

Edited September 12, 2012 by boinger

[dokworm]

Yes, in step mode only one of the two fields is displayed at a time, so that is normal.

[nhyone]

I stumbled on this thread while searching for DYRL DVD. Is there any update to this project?

I wonder how the LD compares to the DVD and BD.

[boinger]

Laser discs normally have less resolution than a standard DVD, unless the LD is a Muse LD and your LD player has a

Muse LD decoder.

LDs sometimes have more accurate colour or uncompressed audio than compared to DVDs.

The LD video can be up-scaled with Video Enhancer with Super Resolution

and then video processed with the Neat Video plug-in,

but there is only so much that can be done for low resolution video.

I was able to make uncompressed audio captures of all of my DRYL LDs and Flashback LD with an M-Audio Audiophile USB.

And then the Audiophile USB stopped working. I have tried multiple Windows and Apple device drivers

to get the Audiophile USB to work again. It looks like I will have to buy a "new" Audiophile USB

to make any more LD audio captures.

Alternatively, the X0 LD player audio can be patched through my Crystalio II video processor. This

video processor does have an hdmi output, but I'm not sure if it's for video only?

If that hdmi output does have audio, then I can use a couple of video capture boxes to get the audio.

Currently, I have 3 different video capture boxes that I plan to use with my Macbook Pro:

Hauppauge HD PVR 1.0,

Elgato Game Capture HD and

a Black Magic Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt.

Another challenge to be resolved for the captured LD audio would be that the audio is captured in parts

from each side of the LD.

The separated audio parts would need to be joined are re-timed / stretched to match different formats like

DVD or BD. Sony Sound forge might work to get this done.

For example, I found when capturing the DYRL Audio Drama LP (vinyl album) into wav files,

that the separate audio parts were 8 minutes shorter than the comparable remastered DYRL DVD video.

The ION LP record player would not run at an even speed or slightly slower than

the DVD audio which created the shortened, inaccurate audio files.

The Hauppauge does have an optical audio input, but the audio is encoded into compressed AAC only and not uncompressed

wav or mp4a.

The El Gato and Shuttle have hdmi digital audio input and RCA analog audio input..

Let me see what I can do about getting one LD capture done this week.

[boinger]

I'm going to need some more time just to get one LD capture done.

Most of yesterday was spent trying to set up the X0 LD, Crystallio II video processor, Shuttle Intensity,

El Gato , M-Audio Audiophile USB and Macbook pro to work with each other. I haven't tested out the Hauppauge PVR

yet because that capture box works better with Windows.

So far, the El Gato capture box is working the best for video capture and analog audio.

480 interlaced or 1080 progressive H264, 224 kb/s AAC Analog

VIDEO:

The El Gato HD Game Capture was worth the money.

I was able to get the DYRL SE LD Disc 1 Side 1 captured at 640x480 29.97fps

through the composite / RCA connection. Depending on the settings in the El Gato

capture software, the resolution changed: 640x480i, 720x480i, 852x480i 29.97fps

The El Gato was able to not only capture the original LD video at 480i(nterlaced) via the hdmi Crystalio hdmi output

, but also up-scale the LD video to 1080p(rogressive)! The component 480i do not look as

good as the hdmi 1080p captures because of the interlacing.

Some colour-banding issues (looks like the video is divided into horizontal strips)

in the captured video are visible, so I need to adjust the X0 player's

3D video processor settings down (CNR?) or off. The LD 480i video is originally interlaced

and doesn't look so good. The LD video has more scratches and dust compared to the

remastered DYRL DVD.

The Crystallio II can actually output the 480i LD video into 1080p with video processing.

But, I have to play with the settings because there is another video problem where

the captured video is shifted to the left with un-even letter-boxing. I think I can get the

Crystallio to move the the video to the right a few pixels and get the captured video

evened up.

The Shuttle Intesity Thunderbolt was a bust.

The Crystallio II video settings for resolution could not be adjusted to the same resolution and

progressive / interlaced settings as any of the Shuttle Intensity resolutions such as 1080 interlaced.

Maybe, the Shuttle does have a component video capture feature like the El Gato,

but I bought this capture box because of its 10 bit HD capture encoding features.

I double-checked that the Black Magic resolution settings in the Macbook pro control panel are the same

as in the Black Magic capture software and I still get nothing, but a black screen in the video capture software.

And yet, I do not have this resolution matching problem in the El Gato software.

Other people are able to get this capture box to work. I don't know how just now.

AUDIO:

Digital audio capture is still something I want to be able to get from the LDs.

At least, laser disc analog audio capture is not a problem.

I tried again to get the the M-Audio Audiophile USB to work to get back to digital audio capture. It powers on, but then it

just refuses to be recognized by Windows (Windows 8.1) or Apple (Latest OSX Mavericks) laptops

no matter what version of software used (version 1.8.0. or 1.8.1). I did try an alternate USB cable to no avail.

Also, the obsolete M-Audio software installs and uninstalls incompletely. I have no idea what I did

differently to get this audio capture to work the last time or why it just quit on me without changing any

settings or software.

Supposedly, the Crystallio II does output digital audio through the HDMI cable, but there might be a setting

in the Crystallio menu that is preventing the audio from working properly. Or the lack of HDMI audio might

be the reason why it was sold to me at a reasonable price?

Alternatively to get a digital audio capture directly from the LD player,

I had an important 8mm digital optical cable. It is currenlty lost in my apartment somewhere. That cable

could possibly make a direct capture from the X0 optical output to the Macbook pro 8mm digital

optical input with Audacity software. After an 1 and 1/2 hours of frantic and loudly self-berating in the

search for an audio cable, it looks like I'm just going to have to buy a new cable.

****************

And then once I sort this out, then there is a Avisynth software plug-in called "TOOT" that lessens

the capture errors by merging 3 different LD video captures together.

And then there would be Neat video and colour correction with Sony Vegas to bring out the best from the LD video.

[boinger]

Minor Update on Black Magic Intensity Shuttle Thunderbolt capture box:

I got it to work almost.

Crystalio video processor has 2 HMDI outputs.

HDMI 1 only outputs at 1080p 59.9fps or 60fps

HDMI 2 can output at 720p, 1080p and 1080i 59.9fps or 60fps.

480i or 480p are not options in the Intensity Shuttle capture software.

I was able to use the Quicktime YUV 8bit codec at 720p without dropping frames.

8 minutes = 29 GB ! 98 GB for each 27 minute LD capture !

As soon as I used 10 bit codecs or try capturing video at 1080 i(nterlaced), the

Intensity shuttle software starts to drop frames inside of 1 minute and automatically stops

capturing.

To reduce colour-banding video errors, I tried turning off all 2D and 3D process on the X0 LD player and use just

the Crystallio video processor, but the video does look better when using the

LD video processing. The more video processing that is enabled with the

Crystallio, the more the video has a little stuttering or has small glitches.

Crystallio does do a very good job at up-scaling to my LG TV.

I have had no success at enabling HDMI audio with the Crystalio system settings / passthrough options

with Crystalio HDMI 1 or 2 outputs.

Crystallio II Manual

Current firmware is 2.07.

With the Hauppauge and Windows laptop, I would be able to capture the optical audio from the LD player, but

only as a compressed AAC file. I would have to see if there is a work around using a 3rd party video / audio

capture software for the Hauppauge box to get a choice of capturing an uncompressed audio file.

Edited September 10, 2015 by boinger