The Spam Thread!

[huckleberrypie]

Protip: disable "Enable device timestamps" in Desktop Audio, even if muted or hidden. This was on and it was causing the HDMI audio to gradually go out of sync. Turned that off and no more sync issues.

I'll keep that in mind.

[cpd2009]

Well, still troubleshooting recording issues.

The "Enable Device Timestamps" seems to help, but I continue to end up with audio sync issues. Recording starts fine, but gradually over time after 10 to 20 minutes, the audio goes out of sync. I've tried changing the FPS to 59.94 for both device and output, but no dice. I will switch to software encoding next and see if that helps.

I also can confirm the capture device FPS is capped to 30FPS when it gets a 1080i signal. I had to force my cable box down to 720p to get 60fps output. So if one doesn't mind capturing 60fps video at 720p or is using this for VHS capture, then this device might work okay. But for 1080i/1080p, no dice.

I even tested OBS under Ubuntu MATE, but didn't get too far because that weird graphics card glitch started happening again. Which is strange since I was using Linux for a few hours the other night and experienced no video problems. But with what I did record, the FPS wasn't fully smooth either.

[huckleberrypie]

Well, still troubleshooting recording issues.

The "Enable Device Timestamps" seems to help, but I continue to end up with audio sync issues. Recording starts fine, but gradually over time after 10 to 20 minutes, the audio goes out of sync. I've tried changing the FPS to 59.94 for both device and output, but no dice. I will switch to software encoding next and see if that helps.

I also can confirm the capture device FPS is capped to 30FPS when it gets a 1080i signal. I had to force my cable box down to 720p to get 60fps output. So if one doesn't mind capturing 60fps video at 720p or is using this for VHS capture, then this device might work okay. But for 1080i/1080p, no dice.

I even tested OBS under Ubuntu MATE, but didn't get too far because that weird graphics card glitch started happening again. Which is strange since I was using Linux for a few hours the other night and experienced no video problems. But with what I did record, the FPS wasn't fully smooth either.

Such issues fortunately didn't show up when my brother and I did a test live stream on Facebook for the church he serves in.

[cpd2009]

Not sure what it could be causing the sync problems. I doubt it's the capture device itself since recordings made with QuickTime have no sync problems. And I haven't been able to test under Linux long enough because of that weird graphics issue. I may have to reinstall OpenSUSE.

Right now, I'm trying software encoding. I was using hardware encoding before. Software encoding barely uses 10% of Rusty's CPU so quality should not be affected if there is no more audio sync issues.

I still have that old Movavi Video Suite that came with that Vidbox USB capture card I used at one point. The program isn't locked to that specific Vidbox and can be used with any capture device. If OBS doesn't work out then I'll give that Movavi software a test. If not Movavi, then I don't know of any other Windows tool that can record from a capture device that also isn't a full-blown editing program or software you have to pay for.

[cpd2009]

After saving up for a few months and having another planned family trip get called off due to increasing Covid cases, I decided to use some money I was saving up to purchase that new drawing tablet. I've decided to go for the Huion Kamvas 12. Having a display tablet to draw on should be more comfortable than trying to do some hand-eye coordination between a standard graphics tablet and the drawing program.

I watched some more reviews of the Kamvas 12, and figured if anything, it's a good starter tablet. I was also able to confirm the drivers work on El Capitan by doing a test install. The official tablet description currently lists Sierra or higher for compatibility. I remembered to order an adapter so it could work with the iMac. In my case, I settled on a Mini-DVI to HDMI female.

If this tablet works well, then I will have the motivation to work on my drawing skills. I'm a bit eager to learn FireAlpaca and I've also got a trial of Affinity Designer. I will have to use my current Wacom tablet to test Affinity out, but I still should get enough use to see if it's worth paying $49 USD for it.

[huckleberrypie]

After saving up for a few months and having another planned family trip get called off due to increasing Covid cases, I decided to use some money I was saving up to purchase that new drawing tablet. I've decided to go for the Huion Kamvas 12. Having a display tablet to draw on should be more comfortable than trying to do some hand-eye coordination between a standard graphics tablet and the drawing program.

I watched some more reviews of the Kamvas 12, and figured if anything, it's a good starter tablet. I was also able to confirm the drivers work on El Capitan by doing a test install. The official tablet description currently lists Sierra or higher for compatibility. I remembered to order an adapter so it could work with the iMac. In my case, I settled on a Mini-DVI to HDMI female.

If this tablet works well, then I will have the motivation to work on my drawing skills. I'm a bit eager to learn FireAlpaca and I've also got a trial of Affinity Designer. I will have to use my current Wacom tablet to test Affinity out, but I still should get enough use to see if it's worth paying $49 USD for it.

I've mulled about getting a Wacom or some other cheapo tablet myself, but I don't see a need for it now unless I get around to one for graphics and 3D work.

[cpd2009]

Weekend tech project coming up. I'm going to do a clean re-install of Windows 10 on Rusty. Not too many issues have come up since upgrading to the newest feature release, but I really don't use the Dell bloat to begin with. I'd be interested to see if the clean Windows install will fix that odd hard drive corruption issue I've been having now and then. If not that, then a new data drive is in order. One thing is for sure... Windows 10 should run much better with a clean slate and no bloat.

[huckleberrypie]

I presume you plan to get an SSD for Rusty as a boot drive, right?

[cpd2009]

I presume you plan to get an SSD for Rusty as a boot drive, right?

He already has one.  Whoever bought the system before me had it configured for a 256GB SSD boot drive and a 1TB 7200rpm disk for data. Windows is pretty fast and doesn't suffer from the random file system corruption that plagues the 1TB disk. I mentioned this a long time ago, but whenever Windows has trouble with the 1TB data, I can access that same "lost" data using the Linux OS no problem. That gives me a bit of confidence that those odd data issues aren't caused by the drive itself, but I can't be too sure yet.

[huckleberrypie]

Some further testing is needed for Rusty, so to speak.