Re: How to capture composite video
Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> [copy of posting to comp.os.linux.misc]
>
> References: <s7pfr30196f@news1.newsguy.com> <atk9nh-fs1.ln1@aretha.foo>
>
> On 2021-05-17, Peter 'Shaggy' Haywood <phaywood@alphalink.com.au> wrote:
>
> > mencoder tv:// -tv \
> > driver=4vl2:input=1:norm=pal:width=720:height=576:fps=25 \
> > -endpos 1:30:00 -ovc lavc -oac copy -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4 \
> > -o filename.avi
>
> I finally found the time to do some more experimenting. The example
> above is a good starting point. I found that I can watch VHS tapes
> (or whatever else is plugged into the composite video input) on my
> machine with the following command:
>
> mplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:input=1:norm=NTSC-M:width=720:height=480
>
> Tuner cap: STEREO LANG1 LANG2
> Tuner rxs: MONO
> Capabilities: video capture VBI capture device tuner read/write
> streaming
> inputs: 0 = Television; 1 = Composite1; 2 = S-Video;
> Current input: 1
> Current format: UYVY
> v4l2: current audio mode is : MONO
> Audio: no sound
>
> Note the "Audio: no sound" line. I still have to figure that one out
> to get beyond silent movies. Any hints?
Yes: composite video doesn't carry audio at all. Your VCR has
either mono or stereo RCA audio output jacks, and you can plug
them into a stereo RCA-> 1/8" stereo headphone plug or adapter
cable to bring it into your sound card. Possibly your video
capture card has a separate jack for that?
Input 0 is probably RF-frequency NTSC with a tuner to select
channels. That's low-quality, but includes audio.
Input 2 is S-Video, which is the best of the available video
connections if your VCR supports it. (I have one that does... if
it still powers up.)
-dsr-
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