Frequently Asked Questions
For the most up-to-date list of questions please
take a look at http://noeld.com/amfaq.htm
1. I captured a video using AMCap but when I try to process it in RegiStax I get a "Failed to decompress AVI frame" message. Is it possible to capture uncompressed video with AMCap?
This message is not directly related to AMCap. By default AMCap captures uncompressed video. This message usually means that the .avi file is too large and exceeds 1GB in size. In RegiStax, try to uncheck as many frames as needed from the end of the list and try again or use Windows Movie Maker or another video editor to trim the file. Please visit the RegiStax website if you need further assistance with this program.
2. I just installed a webcam but it won't work. When I enable preview, I only get a green or a black screen or I simply get a message that I don't have a video capture hardware installed or "Cannot add vidcap to filtergraph, hr=0x80040275". How do I get my webcam to work?
As usual, there may be a lot of reasons including the worse one, a failing device. On the other hand, you can often fix such an issue with one or more of the following steps:
- first off make sure that your computer and Windows meet the requirements of your webcam (see the user manual or the manufacturer's website)
- unplug your webcam, reboot your system, plug your webcam and try again
- unplug all other USB devices connected to your PC and try again. If that works, plug back the USB devices one by one to identify which one is conflicting.
- unplug your webcam and fully uninstall the current drivers from Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs icon. Reboot your system then try to reinstall the drivers. Only plug the webcam after installation is complete and possibly rebooting (but if told to do otherwise.)
- check whether new drivers are available for your webcam on the manufacturer's website and possibly install them
- try my Webcam Diagnostics assistant and see what errors (if any) are reported
For issues related to preview, you may also try to:
- install the latest DirectX runtime from Windows Update
- install the latest version of the drivers of your graphic card available on the manufacturer's website
3. When I make captures there is no sound recorded. How do I enable audio capture?
Here are the most common options and features to configure:
In AMCap:
- click the Devices menu and make sure a sound card or a webcam microphone is ticked
- in Capture menu, tick Capture Audio
In the system:
- double-click the Volume icon near the clock on the taskbar (the icon looks like a speaker, it may be hidden in that case you have to enabled it from the Control Panel)
- in Volume Control applet, click Options > Properties menu
- select the Mixer device if you have many
- click Recording
- make sure Microphone or Line In (or any other audio input from which you want to capture) is ticked
- click OK
- in Recording Control applet, tick the Select box of the audio input from which you want to capture audio
- adjust the Volume level of that input
4. The preview is mirrored or flipped. How do I fix this?
This is either due to the chosen Color Space / Compression or an issue with the driver of the video capture source. You can try the following steps:
- click Options > Video Capture Pin... and choose another Color Space / Compression
- Try to reinstall the drivers of your video capture source (possibly your graphic card)
- install the latest version of the drivers of the video capture source from the manufacturer's website
Alternatively, you may use the View > Flip View menu.
5. There is no sound at all during the preview. How do I fix this?
- First make sure that the right audio device is ticked in the Devices menu.
- Click the Options > Audio Capture Filter... menu
- Under Pin Line, select the appropriate input (if there are many) then tick Enable
- Adjust the volume with the Pin Line Input Mix slider
- Click OK to apply the new settings
Note: you can also adjust the audio properties from the Volume applet (in the notification area, formerly the system tray) Options > Properties menu > Recording option (see FAQ #3).
6. When I try to preview during a recording, I get an error "0x80070057"? What does that mean?
The error code simply means invalid parameter. It does not give much clue about what fails. This can be due to the capture driver or the graphic drivers or an incompatibility in the current settings. Try these few steps:
- first restart your system and make a new test, if the problem persists try the other steps below
- clear Capture > Still > Enable
- clear View (or Window) > VMR9 > Enable
- clear Options > MPEG-2 if your capture source is not MPEG-2
Try again. If the problem persists, visit the websites of the manufacturers of both your capture source and your display card and check if updated drivers are available. If some new drivers are available, restart your system and try to install them.
If you are not using the latest update of DirectX, you may also consider installing it from Windows or Microsoft Update.
7. I get an error (possibly 0x80070057) when I click View > Flip View > Flip, Mirror or Rotate and the view is not flipped or mirrored? What can I do to flip the view?
The error code simply means invalid (or unsupported) parameter. The driver of your video source may not support flipping and mirroring, this is not a required feature. Try using the VMR9 instead: click View > VMR9 > Enable.
8. What is VMR9 and what are the requirements?
VMR9 means Video Mixing Renderer version 9. It is an optimized and enhanced video renderer provided with DirectX 9.0 and later. If the option is grayed out in the View menu, you need to install the latest DirectX 9.0 runtime available from the Windows or Microsoft Update website.
9. The files I captured do not play after a certain size on my Windows 98 system. What are the file size limits?
The file size limit does not only depend on the installed Windows system but also on the file system which is either FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS. The size may also be limited by the underlying capture technology. The common file size limits are like this:
File system File size limit FAT16 (Windows 9x/ME) 2GB - 1 byte FAT16 (Windows NT and later) 4GB - 1 byte FAT32 4GB - 1 byte NTFS 2TB - 1 byte
10. Whenever I try and select Still capture mode (or Preview with selecting Still capture enabled), I get the following message: "CreateGrabber: CoCreateInstance failed, hr=0x80040154". What does that mean and how do I get still capture to work?
The error means that the Sample Grabber, a software component used to make the still captures, is not installed or registered in your system. This usually means that the version of DirectX installed on your PC is outdated. To fix this issue, go to the Windows or Microsoft Update website and install the latest version of DirectX.
11. The preview is in black and white. How do I turn the color mode on?
There may be different reasons for a B/W display:
- If you have a video capture card that supports different standards like PAL or NTSC, make sure that it is set to the correct mode for the input signal. To change it, go to Options > Video Capture Filter... and set the Video Standard (PAL in Europe, SECAM in France, NTSC in US and Japan, etc.)
- If you changed many settings and you cannot remember which ones, you can simply delete the AMCap.ini file after closing the program. If B/W preview remains after the program is restarted, make sure that the brightness and contrast levels are correct. To do so, click the Options > Video Capture Filter... menu and adjust the brightness/contrast levels. If you have a Restore Factory Defaults button, just click it. Also if a Black and White checkbox is available, clear it if it is ticked.
- Finally check whether the latest version of the drivers of your video capture source is installed in your system, some drivers simply don't restore or don't report the default settings correctly.
12. I'd like to capture some video in PAL 60Hz at 30fps but AMCap does not allow me to set a frame rate above 25fps. Is there a workaround?
By default, PAL is a video standard at 50Hz and 25 frames per second (fps). To capture at 30 fps, you have to select PAL_60 in the Video Standard drop-down list from the Options > Video Capture Filter... menu. You can then go to Options > Video Capture Pin... and set Frame Rate to 30. If PAL_60 is not available in the list, the driver of your video capture source or the hardware itself may not support it.
13. I get the following error on startup: "STIRegisterApplication: could not instantiate IStillImage, hr=0x80040154". I press OK and everything runs fine. How do I fix this?
You are most probably using a Windows version that does not support STI (e.g. Windows 2000 and older). To avoid the message at startup, clear Capture > Still > Register for STI Events.
14. What is the "capture file"? What file do I have to select?
The capture file is a single working file that is not fragmented and that will be used by the program and the underlying system (DirectShow) to temporarily store the captured video. After every capture, you can save the actual video by using the File > Save Capture Video... menu.
By default, the capture file is called capture.avi and is located in the root of your primary hard drive, in other words it usually is c:\capture.avi. This must be a new file, don't select an existing file otherwise it will be overwritten during the capture or the file allocation.
15. When I enabled the Windows Media 9 Series compression and I attempt to capture a video file, I always get the following error: "Cannot set output file, hr=0x80040154". What does that error mean and how do I fix it?
The error means that DirectShow is unable to locate the required Windows Media ASF Writer Filter. This component is not installed by default by the system and is only available as a redistributable component as part of the Windows Media Format installer. You can download the installer here or click Help > Redistributable Components > Windows Media Format in AMCap.
16. While installing my webcam, a message popped up and told me that the drivers did not pass the Windows Logo testing and now AMCap says that no video capture source is installed. What's wrong and how do I possibly fix this issue?
Drivers that pass the Windows Logo testing are tested and then digitally signed by Microsoft, this ensures that the drivers meet the quality and stability requirements. Unsigned drivers don't usually mean that they are poor or unreliable, that just means that they were not tested by Microsoft. Because unstable drivers may lead the system to crash and give blue screens (BSOD), the newest 64-bit editions of Windows may require signed drivers to ensure overall stability.
In general, it is recommended that you visit the website of the manufacturer to get the latest signed drivers for your devices. Only install unsigned drivers if you don't have a better choice.
When installing unsigned drivers, a dialog box pops up with a message like this:
Hardware Installation <your webcam driver> has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP (...)This dialog has two buttons: Continue Anyway and STOP Installation. If you hit the STOP Installation button or press the Enter key, the drivers won't install, this is probably what happened in your case.
If the manufacturer does not have signed drivers, complete the following steps to make sure that your system is not configured to never install unsigned driver software by default:
- Click Start
- right-click My Computer
- click Properties
- click the Hardware tab
- click the Driver Signing button
- tick Warn and Make this action the system default
- click OK twice to close the property pages
You will now be warned when installing unsigned drivers but this won't prevent you from installing them. Once you did this, run the drivers installation again. When the Hardware Installation dialog box pops up again, click Continue Anyway to complete the drivers installation.