Canopus ADVC 110 - picture split in two, black and white, distorted sound

Question

Hi there - I've just recently bought a Canopus ADVC 110 - unfortunately I cannot get the picture to display properly - I've spoken to Apple and to Canopus, but neither seems to be able to help me sort this out.
Basically my imovies does receive a visual and an audio signal from the ADVC 110 ... but the picture is split in two (top half on the bottom, bottom half on the top), its black and white when it should be colour, and the sound is heavily distorted.
The help people at Canopus tell me that this appears to be an issue with PAL and NTSC settings and that there have been reported problems with importing analogue signals from combined VHS/DVD players (which is what I have). They've suggested that the box (ADVC 110) is being 'confused' by multiple signals coming from the VHS/DVD player (this doesn't help me much though). They talked me through arranging the settings so that the Video cassette, the ADVC 110 and the VHS/DVD player are all set to PAL, then have changed the setting in imovies to also read PAL - imovies then tells me that the camera connected is not using the same format (despite the letters 'PAL' on the front of the thing) - changing the imovies setting back to NTSC allows the signal to be received, but in the way described above ... OK, then its the issue with the combined signals from the VHS/DVD player ...
... but, I've now tried it with 2 other VHS players (not combined with anything else, but both supporting both PAL and NTSC ) and the result is exactly the same - I've tried it with every combination of the relevant switches on the bottom of the ADVC 110 - either the picture is as above or imovies will not import (or allow me to view) the picture or sound.
I've tried different cassettes - I've used both SVideo and 3 phono (red, yellow, black) as well as scart connections on th eback of the various VHS players - I've tried restarting the computer, the ADVC 110 and the VSH player - I've disconnected the ADVC 110, and quit imovies, between each attempt - the result is the same each time.
I've tried to find more about this on the internet, but this specific problem doesn't seem to come up - maybe I'm missing something or phrasing my searches badly.
Has anyone any suggestions on where I go from here (rather than bringing it back to the Apple shop and asking for a refund)?
And sorry for the length of the question!
Stephen
ibook G4   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   using imovies 4.0.1

Answer 1

Hi Estaphin
Welcome to discussions. I use a Canopus ADVC 100. It's similar to yours. I've never had a problem with it. I've used it connected to a VCR and an analog video camera. Then imported the video into im for various projects.
Try this. First clean the heads on your VCR. Connect an RCA cable to the L/R/ V out on the VCR. Next, connect it to the Canopus front panel - in. Connect the fire wire out on the Canopus front to the firewire in on the Mac.
Put the VHS tape in the VCR. Don't start it yet.
Open im. Set im for a new project. Turn on the Canopus from the on off switch at the back. From the input select button on the top left front of the canopus, select analog in.
Press play on your VCR. im should recognize the signal. In im select import. Your video should begin importing fine. The qulaity of the images on your computer screen will appear to be poor -- dark, faded, etc. This poor quality is for two reasons. First, analog tape can degrade fast depending on how often the tape was used previously, and how it was stored and at what tempertures.
Second, im will display the image darker because of conversion. But, don't worry. Once you burn the finished product to DVD, you'll be surprised how clear the picture is compared to what you viewed in im.
Make sue your DIP switches on the bottom of the canopus were/ are put back to the original settings.
Try that. I hope it helps
Carl
imac 17 superdrive, 1.25GHz Power PC G4 1.25 GB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.2)   Airport Express, 180 GB Maxtor external HD, Dell Latitude lap top Windows XP