Gainward GF4 Ti4200 capture and macrovision

[Nazo]

Ok, when I tried some test captures, I discovered that one tape, which used to be owned by blockbuster (legally aquired) won't record right. However, nothing else that I've tested has this problem. What it does is put a large white rectangle covering most of the video making the output video all but useless. The overlay has no problem, but if I use preview or something like that the problem occurs every time no matter where I start on that particular tape. I'm pretty convinced that it has macrovision protection on it and that the problem is that that macrovision signal is being recognized and the video being altered to stop people from copying. (It never occurs to these people that it's perfectly legal to copy something which you legally own and that people might just want to do so...)

Anyway, is there any way that I could go around this? A demacrovision or somesuch thing? I would really prefer something like those dll patches, but I guess if it were pretty cheap some external hardware thing might be ok. Whatever the case, I need to be able to capture from some things in the future, some of which might be protected, and it would be very nice to actually be able to do so.

EDIT: Oh, I wrote that in a bit of a hurry, I'm sorry. One thing I know I left out is the fact that it uses a philips tuner, so I can't use the ones for brooktree or that crystal or whatever it was.

Also, some more specific information about this particular card can be found at the manufacturer's website:
http://www.gainward.com/us/products/gwd_gf4_ultra650xp_gs.htm

It doesn't mention many things such as the tuner chip though.

Oh yeah, and, on a related, but somewhat different matter, I was wondering if anyone might know how to fool the tv detection thing into thinking you have a tv when it's convinced that you don't. Apparently my tv doesn't have the signal that it's supposed to have, so the drivers refuse to detect the tv. Common sense says that people can't exactly choose their tv based on the video card. That's just stupid and would be nearly impossible since you'd have to actually buy it and then take it back if it doesn't work (assuming they let you take it back.) This tv has a good quality. Great video and wonderful audio for builtin sound and it's a relatively large screen. Besides, I haven't the money to buy another tv.

EDIT2: Never mind on the tv out. It is a HUGE pain, but I managed to find a way to make the tv out work. I have to use the expert settings in GTU to manually set the tv options, then I have to plug it into my VCR while enabling the "monitor" in the display properties, then move the cable to the tv. (I connect it directly to the tv due to the way the VCR degrades the signal while if I connect it directly to tv, it's extremely nice and clear.) Still, if there's an easier way, I'd love to know it. One really shouldn't have to use what is basically a hack to do such things...

[jakecole]

I have this EXACT same problem.

A huge white rectangle appears over the middle area of my captured video when recording from a stand-alone DVD player. The video looks fine in preview while recording, it's the final mpeg created. I have searched everywhere for someone who has a clue as to what is causing this problem. You are the first person I've encountered who is experiencing the same thing. It doesn't appear to be Macrovision, the bottom and top areas of the video (outside of the rectangle) appear to be a perfect recording. It HAS to be some type of copy protection, I just don't know what it could be? It only happens to me when recording DVD's.

Didn't really offer any new information here, just hoping someone has a clue about what is causing this.

[Nazo]

Well, I thought it was because the issue only occured on everything I tried that had a protection. (Macrovision is the protection for tapes as well, it's just a sort of earlier and not as good version or something.) However, when I updated the WDM capture drivers for my card with nvidia's latest, the problem went away. My guess is that nvidia simply screwed up somewhere pretty badly and it took them a good while to correct it as I read some old pages that referred tot he same problem also with cards using nvidia's drivers.

[jakecole]

What version WDM drivers are you using? I updated to 1.16, the newest I could find, and am still having the problem.

Is there a newer version that I'm missing or perhaps one of the versions in between fixed the problem?

[Nazo]

hmm, that's interesting. I guess I was wrong. Even then that couldn't have been the latest, because it's 1.08. BTW, you have the same problem, do you have the same video card, or is it some other nvidia capture device?

[jakecole]

I believe we have the same card - I'm using a Gainward GF4 Ti4200 also. (Ultra/650XP)

1.16 was the newest version I could find, but there appears to be a newer one. On Nvidia's page they now have WDM 1.17 (released Aug 29th) but it's packaged in with the drivers for their Personal Cinema products and can't be downloaded seperately.

I'm going to download 1.08 now and see what happens.

[jakecole]

Well, I'll be damned.

I downloaded the 1.08 drivers and the problem is gone. v1.11 came with the card, gainwards site has v1.12, I was using v1.16 from nvidia and all had the problem. I got the 1.17 afterwards just to see what would happen and it has the same problem as well.

I have to assume that it's some type of copy protection and that the older drivers simply don't have it implemented, the 1.08 drivers were released in March 2000.

Guess we just have to use old drivers. ;-)

Thanks for your help Nazo.

[brosbros]

i used to have that same problem however i don't know what i did to it somehow the white ractangle stuff has gone. here what i've installed since i got my card: TweakWindDVD, TvTool, and winDVD4. it seems to have turned off macrovision in my GeFoce4 MX 440 my ViVo edition.


Cheers....
Ps: i will post again when i discover what turn off my macrovision... that is when i do a clean install on my system....

[jtsolo]

Anyone know where I can download the 1.08 version driver for the wdm capture device? I have the Gainward ultra/650 xp videocard and I am getting the white triangle covering my captured video. Thank you.

[Batman]

I believe tvtool disables macrovision.

[Broski]

You're spot on there, Bruce...er...I mean Batman.

[Batman]

Originally posted by Broski
You're spot on there, Bruce...er...I mean Batman.

Your welcome :)

My secret identity is well no longer secret :eek:

[jtsolo]

The tvtool info that I have been reading only deals with turning off macrovision for the output of your video card, when connecting your pc to your tv. Does it also disable macrovision for the video card input when you want to capture from a dvd player? I will try it tommorrow.

[zapper]

Hi guys,

this is a pretty old thread, but it seems to be still active somehow...

At least for me, since I want to digitize some old VHS stuff and ran into the exact problem you all describe: a perfectly white rectangle in the midst of the captured videostream!

At first I thought about macrovision and I was right: only bought VHS cassettes are showing that effect, so it has something to do with copy protection.

As Nazo described (long ago) and Jakecole too, it is annoying and I cant get rid of it right now. Since the preview windows show a perfect picture, the protection seems to be put purposely into the captured stream.

I use a MSI GF4 4200 64MB VIVO with WDM 1.20 and 1.22. Both drivers show the same effect. You use very old WDMs but the oldest ones I got now are 1.16 and 1.19.

Where can I still find the 1.08 or maybe the (beta?) 1.04 WDM for NVidia?

Or is there any other cure for that symptom???

regards,
zapper

[brosbros]

just type WDM 1.08 in one of the searches engine, you should be able find them very easily. Yes the version 1.08 fixes the white rectangle. i tried it myself....




cheers.

[zapper]

thanks brosbros,

I installed yesterday WDM 1.12, 1.16, 1.19, 1.20, 1.22 in that order and with and without tvtools. Nothing worked against macrovosion.

D/L the 1.08 now from

http://www.hardwareluxx.de/pages/Downloads/Grafikkarten/nVidia/

and report to you later. Did anyone find another solution to that problem? 1.12 and 1.16 didnt work on my GF4 4200, these WDMs were simply not "found" by the video grabber software. Hope I have more luck with the 1.08, since I am now using the latest detonators and maybe they are not compatible anymore...

zap

[zapper]

Thanks brosbros, all!

WDM 1.08 (though hard to find on the net) is working without the darned white rectangle. Obviously they "forgot" to program it into this old release.

1.08 works fine, but the picture quality of the newer (especially 1.22) drivers seem a little bit better to me. You can see differences in areas of a single color, where the old driver produces kind of Moiree effects.

But at least with those drivers I can capture the old VHS cassettes...

So thx again to you all,
zapper

[lordkarma]

Well,

Your ill has struck me as well ... damn white triangle right in the center of my capture and it is driving me nuts. I've acquired an old vcr which didnt help, someone told me to get a RF modulator and try to run the signal through that didnt help, I've tried two dif video enhancers and that was a no go. I am going to try and find some old video drivers and see if that might work. I am running a leadtek A280LE vivo edition. If anyone has more insight on this please drop me a line. I know this post is really old but still full of good insight.

CHEERS!

[lordkarma]

Hey,

I just thought I would pass this info along since it was such a pain in the ass for me as well. I have a leadtek A280LE VIVO edition video card and when I capture w/vcr I got a nice white box blocking out my picture as you guys were talking about. I went and changed my WDM nvida driver to 1.08 which is an older driver and now I have no trouble with macrovision/copy protection. Hope this helps someone down the road like it helped me.

[ezman]

I've gotten it to work without the white rectangle problem. My setup:

Geforce4 Ti4600
WDM driver 2.18 from Gainward site
56.72 driver package for WinXP from NVidia site
latest BIOS 4.25.00.37 (not sure if this is absolutely necessary to update. Need to make a bootable floppy to run the nvflash program.)
Going in through S-Video from my Sony Hi-8 camera.

WDM 1.08 also worked for me, but the picture quality is noticeably less than 2.18.

[ezman]

i found that i still get the white rectangle if my video cam tape was recorded in LP mode. SP works fine.