Capture settings

Dialling in your capture settings correctly is critical for any video capture.

A critical part of capturing live video is what you do before capture.

Let's look at the capture settings themselves.

The 'Screen Layout' dropdown menu is pretty self-explanatory - it changes the screen layout.

 In Pro8, the filename is set before capture. This allows multiple captures without manually renaming each one and is done using auto-increment or time-at-capture features.

There is a small 'Edit' icon on the far right of the filename text box. If you choose this icon, you can create your own quick-list of names or activities. Once you have created your list, click the items you want to be included in the filename. 

The 'Video Settings' window is one you need to understand and will determine whether you get any video at all.

To explain this window:

1. Unless you get a new camera from a different country you should never need to change the 'TV standard'.
2. The size of your captured video and its frame rate greatly influences the load on your computer. If your computer is struggling and dropping frames, switch to a smaller video and lower frame rate. You can use our hardware selector to determine your computer's capabilities.
3. 'Camera 1' shows a list of capture device(s) that are in turn connect to your camera(s). If you are using a camera external to your computer, you must use a capture device - select the appropriate one here.
4. 'Input video source' is usually the way your camera is connected to the capture device. For HD in Pro8, this will just about always be HDMI.
5. 'Input video format' is the size and frame rate coming from your camera. It is critical this is set to the same as your camera’s output settings. The most common cause of users not getting any video image on screen is the software setting not matching what the camera is sending.
6. 'Aspect override' is used less often nowadays. It was needed for old DV cameras using old USB capture technology.

Steps 3 to 6 above are repeated for Camera 2 if you have one connected.

Note: Any changes you make in this options window are implemented immediately so you will see if you are choosing the correct options as the video feed(s) should appear on the screen behind.