¹     Some General Setup & Installation Tips:
      Since originally writing this review for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card, there has been a new software update that should help you with your installation of the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card on your system. There is also the Fine Tuning Registry File as a patch to help you fix any problems you may have in receiving particular channels by fine-tuning the channels as to how they may be received in your area. You can click here for update links that go to the Creative Labs website. If those links change, then click here to go to the Creative Labs website, then click the Support pull-down menu, select Downloads on the pull-down menu, on a new page then select Video in the first column, select Video Blaster in the second column, select Video Blaster Digital VCR in the third column, on another new page then select your operating system, then select the software link, you may go to another page with a download agreement etc., and then download and install. Again, CLICK HERE for information about the update links that you can click to go direct to the update downloads at the Creative Labs website. If you can't find the updates, send an email to Ruel.
      For those using the Fine Tuning Registry File to patch your system to get basic cable television that uses the HRC (Harmonically Related Carrier) or IRC (Incrementally Related Carrier) standard where you are suppose to be getting Channel 1, then you may also have to remap Channel 1 to another unused channel like to Channel 99. George L. sent in his remapping fix for this issue. George writes: "The problem with Channel 1 is that, apparently, the Video Blaster software doesn't allow you to add a Channel 1. As a workaround, I manually edited the Windows registry. The registry key is at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\TV System Services\TVAutoTune\TS0-1
and under this key are all of the channel frequencies. What I did was copy the Channel 1 frequency (72 MHz) to an unused channel which would be Channel 99 in my case. Now I just tune to Channel 99 to get Channel 1." Some other cable services use Channel 99 for an actual channel, so you may want to choose remapping Channel 1 to another channel that is not being used. Also, although Channel 1 may be at 72 MHz for the HRC standard, Channel 1 may be at 73.25 MHz for the IRC standard -- and, for some cable systems, Channel 1 may even be somewhere in the 48-54 MHz range. If your cable service doesn't have a Channel 1, then you don't have to worry about doing any sort of remapping.
      Another installation issue that a few people seem to have encountered is a PCI latency issue that apparently occurs with certain motherboards causing Windows to instantly freeze and crash. This issue should not occur for most people, but there are apparently some motherboards that may need a little more help as to what is inserted into their PCI slots. Don R. sent in this note about the PCI latency issue: "When I installed the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card, it instantly crashed and froze Windows under WinME and Win2000 on my PC which has an ABIT KT7 Raid motherboard with an Award BIOS. Then I read about the need to adjust the PCI latency. Unfortunately, my motherboard and BIOS does not let me adjust the PCI latency. (If you have a different motherboard, try looking in your CMOS to see if you have a setting in the BIOS that will let you adjust the PCI latency.) So, since I could not see a PCI latency setting in my BIOS, I found and tried a PCI Latency Patch (go to the manufacturer's web page for your motherboard, or do a search on the net, if you want to find that patch for your particular motherboard) which was partially successful on my PC for about five seconds, but I ultimately used a tool called the PCI Timer Utility which I found on a web page located at http://www.overclockers.com/articles538. That tool allowed me to set the PCI Latency to anything I wanted for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card and also for almost any other card I had. I took the PCI latency for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card from 64 to 248, and took my VGA (Geforce II) from 248 to 128, and raised my DVD (also Creative's with DXR3) from 32 to 128. Everything works great now in WinME (but the PCI Timer Utility did not work in Win2000)." So, if you have one of those motherboards that has this PCI latency issue, go into your BIOS when you are booting up your PC and carefully look through everything in the BIOS for a PCI latency setting. If you are certain you don't have such a setting in your BIOS, then try the PCI Latency Patch or the PCI Timer Utility. Note, that you do not need to do any adjustments whether in the BIOS or via a patch or the utility tool to the PCI latency if the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is working for you which should be the case for most people.
      Yet another installation issue involves conflicts with other programs in the Windows startup sequence. This could be more of an issue for the PC enthusiasts and the other PC jockeys who have a lot of software programs loading when Windows starts up. You shouldn't have to worry about this if you don't have a multitude of software programs loading at the same time when your PC starts or particularly if you are primarily devoting a PC dedicated to TV-PVR activities where you have the minimally required software on the PC. The software for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card loads as a background service waiting to be activated by the user. As a result, if you have a lot of programs loading when you startup Windows, the startup sequence may freeze if you have too many programs loading at the same time. It can be like a traffic jam with a huge backup if the Windows startup sequence does not proceed smoothly. So, you may want to examine which programs you have loading at startup and whether you want everything to load on startup. Or you may want to switch where they load up. For instance, I've had the most difficult problem with anti-virus programs that insist on loading first before other programs. I've happily been using PC-Cillin 2000 which came with my motherboard, but PC-Cillin insisted on being one of the first programs to be loaded by the Windows registry. This oftentimes caused startup lockups freezing Windows after I turned on the PC. First, I blamed this on the TV card software when I later realized it was the anti-virus program causing the problems. What I did to fix this was to click START, click run, then ran MSCONFIG, clicked the Startup tab, and unchecked any boxes for the anti-virus program, then closed MSCONFIG. Then I placed a shortcut for the anti-virus realtime monitoring program in the Startup folder in the start menu. By placing the shortcut in the Startup folder in the start menu, I was forcing the anti-virus program to load last. You may find conflicts with other programs that you may want to be loaded from the Startup folder in the Start menu instead of initially from the registry (but you may not want to move everything to the Startup folder if you don't have a reason to do so). You may even find programs that you don't even want to load at all like that awful Gator advertising tracking program which has generally been known to cause conflicts and slowdowns on anyone's PC. But before you turn off any programs in the startup sequence, you may want to be sure that you really know what you are doing particularly if you want certain programs to not load at all whether from the registry or from the Startup folder in the Start menu. Keep in mind that you can always go back to your previous Windows registry by restoring to a previous date in WinXP and WinME, but in Win98 you will have to use the SCANREG /RESTORE command at the MS-DOS prompt.
      Another possible problem area could be with PC videogame programs and if your video card cannot support simultaneous video activities. What we're talking about here are PC software for games that are actually on the PC -- and NOT Playstation or Nintendo videogames. One user sent in an upset email message because he could not run his PC videogames while he was trying to watch TV with his Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card. In that situation, where the PC apparently could not support simultaneous video activities, you may want to turn off the software for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card by right-clicking the card's icon in the taskbar and clicking "Quit" before running any PC videogame software. In other words, don't run both at the same time particularly if your video card can't support the simultaneous video activity. If you don't know, most PC videogame software can be very demanding with regard to the video. There can be an understandable possible conflict depending on the type of hardware and software you may have on your PC. So, you may want to consider changing your video card so that your PC can better support multiple simultaneous video programs running at the same time -- otherwise, try running only one at a time.
      Another possible installation issue is if you get a pink screen (or a purple or magenta screen) with no TV at all. There are two possibilities in this situation: (1) you have to install or enable DirectX on your PC; or (2) you have to reinsert the card into the motherboard. Most PCs should already have DirectX installed, but if you don't then you can click here to get the latest version of DirectX. In a perhaps rare situation, Erik M. describes a situation where Microsoft Netmeeting on his PC was apparently causing DirectX to be disabled and where Erik had to turn on Netmeeting, enable the desktop sharing utility in Netmeeting, and then disable that desktop sharing capability. I personally don't use Netmeeting and have uninstalled it, but if you have Netmeeting still installed on your PC then you may want to see if that's disabling DirectX. It might be easier to install the latest version of DirectX. So if you are getting the pink screen, then install the latest version of DirectX, check to make sure Netmeeting is not disabling DirectX, and if it still doesn't work then turn off your PC, remove the card, then reinsert the card ALL THE WAY into the slot (or into a different slot, and give it another try.
      With regard to installation issues, if you plan to use the PC as a dedicated entertainment PC that is primarily devoted to the TV and PVR function, then you will most likely NOT run into conflicts. On the other hand, if you are a PC user with a desktop PC loaded with all sorts of software that you are tweaking all of the time, then you may want to expect to do some troubleshooting to figure out what's happening on your PC.
      And for those who are asking if there is a Linux driver and Linux software for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card, Kevin Fowlks was working on a possible Linux driver for the card. You can click here for Kevin Fowlks' initial preliminary page about a possible Linux driver. Kevin's page also includes a chips and hardware list for those who are also interested in the specific chips and hardware on the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card. (GO BACK)

²     Backup Your System:
      On my particular system, I have a lot of programs installed on my PC-TV system with about a dozen or so programs loading on startup -- plus I have two other TV cards for a total of three TV cards on my PC-TV system. If you are like me and have a lot of programs on your system, then I would suggest before installing any new hardware or software that you make a backup of your harddrive that you can restore from in case you run into any problems. FYI, I make my regular backups using the Microsoft Backup program that is included with Windows and I also use Norton Rescue with a zip drive to regularly backup my system registry files. Some people also use Norton Ghost to make an exact image of the harddrive. (GO BACK)

³     Don't Use Playstation / Nintendo / Xbox Videogame Consoles With The Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR Card Because of One-Second Time-Shift Delay:
      Since you are actually watching the time-shift TV with at least a 1-second delay with this card, I don't suggest connecting a videogame console (like a Playstation or a Nintendo) to the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card for realtime play with a videogame console (by "realtime," I mean NO one-second delay). If you want to play videogames on your PC, you could put the TV on standby and switch back to regular PC mode to play a regular PC-installed videogame on your PC. Or you could pick up an emulator such as the old Bleem program if you want to play Sony Playstation game discs directly on your PC. You can click here to find out which other TV cards I've actually used with connections to videogame consoles for realtime play. And you can also click here for other information about hooking up videogame consoles to PCs. (GO BACK)

⁴     Video Files Are Huge Files--Keep Them To Yourself:
      The video files are HUGE files. So, you do NOT want to waste your time and your bandwidth trying to transfer these files over the internet even if you have a cable modem or DSL (note that this is different from "downloading" streaming video which you can't save to disk). Broadband cable modems and DSL may be faster than 56K modems, but it is still way too time-consuming to try to transfer a file that can be several gigabytes in size or at least a mimimum of several hundreds of megabytes in size. For those people who are excessive downloaders, various user reports and news reports indicate that those people who are excessive downloaders have their accounts tagged by broadband ISPs who then limit (slow down) the download speeds of the excessive download users -- don't be surprised if excessive downloaders also receive extra bills asking for additional payment for the excessive bandwidth they may be using for downloading huge video files. Cable and DSL companies have been enforcing bandwidth rules against excessive downloaders who are apparently transmitting something like the equivalent of 90 movies per excessive downloader per month. Also, if you don't know, the Hollywood studios are clamping down on illegal file-swapping of movie video files on the internet. The Hollywood studios are monitoring the internet and they are going after people who are distributing video files on the internet including targeting BOTH the big and small video file-swapping websites to stop unauthorized video file-swapping. Over in the music world, the music industry has what appears to be a precedent-setting case where they are seeking to find out who are the users distributing MP3 music files by tracing IP numerical addresses to the actual users who are making their multimedia collections publicly available via the internet. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is now actually going after PC owners who are using peer-to-peer file-sharing programs like KaZaa who are sharing MP3 music files. Likewise, you can expect the Hollywood studios and the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) to do the same thing in hunting down people who are distributing video files over the internet. So, keep your personal video recordings to yourself and DON'T share your video files over the internet.
      Anyways, you do NOT need a cable modem or a DSL modem to enjoy using the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card -- you can stick with good reliable dial-up internet access or no internet at all for that matter. Instead of downloading video files, you can simply record regular TV and then watch your recorded TV shows off your harddrive. What could be more easier? With the recording function, you can simply record your favorite TV shows in realtime as you watch them (or in background while you are watching another recording or while you are doing something else). Regardless of whatever internet connection you may have, you should be sure to keep your video files to yourself and DO NOT share your video files over the internet. (GO BACK)

⁵     General Tips On Working With Video Files--Exporting To .MPG Files Is Quick & Easy--BUT Doing Any Other Converting Or Editing Is For Crazy Video Fanatics (Like You & Me If You Are Actually Reading This):
      Okay, you can call me a crazy video fanatic for covering this. But I know that there are crazy video fanatics out there who want to use the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card for more than what it is officially for. The Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is officially for really easy personal video recording similar to a Tivo box. For anything beyond that, you would be on your own. So that's what this footnote section is about with several comments and suggestions on using exported files from the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card.
      Some of the suggestions provided here are easy to implement while other suggestions may take you some time to figure out. If you want to merely play the video on your PC, then you can simply leave the videos as is on the PC since the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is highly versatile as it is already. If you want to save and archive the videos, then you have to export the videos to exported MPEG2 video files which you can save to disc whether that be to the harddrive on your PC-TV system or to be off-loaded for storage on CD / DVD archival data discs. And as mentioned in the main discussion, you can easily play the exported MPEG2 files with PowerDVD (which is typically included for free with various video cards and DVD drives) or with Windows Media Player (using the MPEG2 codec) or with WinDVD (although WinDVD may not be able to play all of the files) -- I personally prefer using PowerDVD to play the exported MPEG2 files that I may wish to archive to disc. However, if you want to make a playable VCD, SVCD, or DVD disc that can be played on a standalone DVD console player, well, the exported files have to be further converted to the proper screen resolution and to the proper sound frequency for playable DVDs for each of the different disc formats -- this is a common issue that you will also find with many other TV cards, namely converting a video file to the proper format for VCD, SVCD, or DVD playable discs. What follows further below are suggestions for you to try since you are going to be on your own if you want to make playable VCD / SVCD / DVD discs for use on DVD players.
      However before getting to any comments about making your own personal discs for use on a DVD player, here are some comments about simply storing the exported files on CD or DVD storage data discs for your own personal use on your PC without doing any fancy conversions or editing. Click here for a method using an AUTORUN.INF file on the CD / DVD for automatic play on a CD / DVD drive on the PC using PowerDVD. Note that you can play the individual exported .MPG files off of a storage data disc using software such as PowerDVD or Windows Media Player (using the MPEG2 codec) although the disc as a storage data disc will not be playable on a DVD player -- there is a difference between a playable disc and a storage data disc. Also, I am simply copying and saving the exported files to a storage harddrive -- see (D) below and footnote 7 -- since I find it easier (and less time-consuming) to merely export the files and play the individual exported files "as is" with the PowerDVD software or with Windows Media Player (using the MPEG2 codec).
      For those hour-long shows that I may really want to put on CD (but for only for play on a PC), here is an example of what I did for a one hour-long TV show: (1) originally recorded the show at the Good (EP) setting [you can also try the Better (LP) setting but you will be dealing with larger file sizes]; (2) exported the show to a .MPG file that was about one gigabyte in size; (3) used VIDOMI to further compress the file using the DivX 5.0.x codec to a MPEG4 AVI DivX file (with the .AVI extent) that was about 429 megabytes in size; (4) used AVI Frame Rate Changer to slow down the frame rate from 29.9706 to 29.9675 or 29.9665 or 29.9685 or 29.9655 in order to synchronize the sound (since the compression by VIDOMI caused the sound to go out of sync); (5) used VirtualDub to edit out the commercials and saved (be sure to specify direct streaming when editing the DivX/AVI files in VituralDub for a fast procedure) to a final file that was about 304 megabytes in size and about 43 minutes in total time length (note that TV shows which are longer with commercials would actually be shorter with the commercials taken out -- so you can do the math on what you can fit on a disc); and (6) copied the final file to a CD and added an AUTORUN.INF file to the CD for automatic play when the CD is inserted into the CD drive on a PC. You should be able to do the same thing at the Better (LP) setting for a hour-long or 90-minute video using the same adjusted 29.9675 frame rate (or try 29.9665 or 29.9685 or 29.9655 if the sound is still out of sync for much longer shows before you edit out the commercials), but you will have to experiment with whatever settings that you use. Again, you will only be able to play this CD of your personal videos (keep your videos to yourself) on your PC and not in a DVD player.
      So, in general, this is what I've found myself doing to make CDs with video to be played on a PC: If it's a half-hour TV show, do the original recording in the PVR at the Good (EP) setting, then make the exported MPEG2 file and simply copy that exported MPEG2 file along with an AUTORUN.INF file to a CD. If it's an hour-long TV show, use either the Good (EP) or Better (LP) setting in the PVR, then make the exported MPEG2 file, then do the DivX conversion with VIDOMI on the exported MPEG2 file, and then put the DivX file and an AUTORUN.INF file on a CD . If it's a two-hour show, use either the Good (EP) or Better (LP) setting, then do the DivX, and then edit out the commercials with VirtualDub, and then put the final video file with an AUTORUN.INF file on a CD. If you have the time, then go for it. But if you have a DVD burner, then I would suggest you do the quick-&-easy export-&-burn procedure where you use the Better (LP) or Best (SP) quality setting [use the Better (LP) setting if you eventually want to make a playable SVCD or DVD] in the PVR when making the original recording and then save the larger original exported MPEG2 file "as is" (without any DivX conversion) to DVD, add an AUTORUN.INF file to the DVD, and play the video file back using PowerDVD on the PC but not on a standalone DVD player.
      If you want to do the extra conversions using either DivX with VIDOMI or with any other program) as discussed in this footnote, you may find that it may take a long time to convert which can take from one hour to as many as several hours depending on the speed of your CPU to complete depending on the length of the recording and depending on whatever settings you use -- I've found that it may take DivX 5.0.5 approximately one hour to encode/compress one hour of MPEG video, originally recorded at the Good (EP) setting, using a Pentium 4 (2.4 Ghz) in contrast to about two and half hours when I was using a Pentium 3. So the faster the CPU then the better when you are encoding/compressing videos with DivX. Also see below for the AVI Frame Rate Changer, VirtualDub, and other software programs for fixing any possible sound sync problems in converted files -- note that original exported files should NOT have any sound sync problems -- it's when you further convert the original exported files when you may most likely encounter any sound sync issues.
      In comparison, note that the simple exporting of files using the export program that comes with the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card takes very little time to do. Please note that any issues you may encounter when attempting to convert the exported MPEG2 video files from the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card to different specific formats (other than the official exported MPEG2 file format) is really par for the course -- meaning you will also find similar conversion issues with other TV Tuner card products. It's just par for the course. You just have to be persistent in trying to find a solution that works for you. This footnote is provided to help give you some sort of guide-path as to what people have already done with exported MPEG2 video files from the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card.
      (A) CONVERTING THE EXPORTED FILES INTO PROPERLY FORMATED FILES FOR VCD, SVCD, & DVD: If you want to use an exported file to make a VCD, SVCD, or DVD playable disc, then you may want to look at the Ulead VideoStudio or Ulead DVD MovieFactory software which some people have suggested as commercial products to make VCD, SVCD, and DVD playable discs that can be played on standalone DVD players. Some people say they can use that software to burn VCDs, SVCDs, or DVDs. However, Ulead VideoStudio may not work for everyone. All I can tell you as to whether it will work for you is try it out yourself by checking out the 30-day trial version of Ulead VideoStudio or Ulead DVD MovieFactory. (You can click here or scroll further down below for other comments about the Ulead software in this footnote -- particularly as to how I primarily use the Ulead VideoStudio to "smart render" an exported MPEG2 file to help eliminate any pesky sound sync glitches in the file before performing the VIDOMI DivX conversion for making smaller compressed video files where the VIDOMI DivX conversion is discussed in the next immediate subsection.) For freeware software, you may want to try using the free TMPEGenc (TMPGenc) software program. TMPEGenc will convert the exported file into the proper MPEG1 or MPEG2 format with the proper resolution which will be a different resolution for either VCD, SVCD, or DVD (otherwise you will get "invalid format" error messages). Just browse and select the exported file to use as the video source file, then click the "Load" button to select the proper template file for either VCD, SVCD, or DVD, and then be sure to click "Option" on the menu bar, click the "Environmental Settings" selection, and on the "General" tab be sure that "Enable multiplex...." is checked. Then click the "Start" button on the program and wait for the file to be converted.
      (B) CONVERTING THE EXPORTED FILES TO COMPRESSED MPEG4 AVI DIVX FILES FOR STORAGE: If you want to turn the large exported file into a relatively smaller file to save on storage space, then you may want to try the free VIDOMI software program which can turn an exported file into a smaller MPEG4 AVI DivX video file. You may want to go into "Options" on the menu bar, select "Output Size Options," and set "Media Disc Size" at 700 MB or at a higher setting such as at 1400 MB or 4800 MB if you don't want segmented files. Also, although the default settings should do it, you may want to go under "Options," select "Video Options," and click the button for "Select Video Codec Defaults" and set the default to the DivX codec. The latest version of the DivX codec is version 6.0 (or possibly higher). And if you are going to use VIDOMI as your converter, then you may want to use this externalcodec.cfg file with VIDOMI which will work for DivX version 5.x.x to 6.0. If you can't get the latest version of DivX to work then try the archived version 5.0.2 of DivX. (DivX version 6.0 also has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop converter application if you get the DivX 6.0 "Create Bundle" that you can try using but you may need to install an AC3 Filter to use the DivX 6.0 Converter. The DivX 6.0 Converter is easier to use in comparison to VIDOMI, but you can change the bitrate in VIDOMI to make smaller compressed DivX files. If you want DivX 6.0 but don't want the DivX 6.0 "Create Bundle", then you should be able to get the DivX 6.0 codec with the Divx 6.0 "Play Bundle" and then you can use VIDOMI.) Using DivX version 5.x.x, when you convert from a one-half hour exported file that is a little under one gigabyte in size made at the "Best" setting to a smaller MPEG4 AVI DivX file, then the total size of the resulting converted compressed file is about 230 megabytes using the default MPEG4 AVI DivX video codec setting (fast motion) or about 350 megabytes using the DivX codec setting that comes with the new DivX Video Bundle (see below). You can do the math in half-hour increments. And the smaller MPEG4 AVI DivX file provides a good watchable video for a compressed multimedia file -- it may look a slightly pixelated at a few times on a PC monitor (everything is brought into a much shaper focus and resolution on a PC monitor including all the flaws on a video) but it'll probably look much better on a regular TV set if you were to connect your PC-TV to a regular TV set using a video card with the TV OUT port. You can play the converted MPEG4 AVI DivX file using the built-in VIDOMI player -- and the DivX codec will let you play the converted smaller MPEG4 AVI DivX file using Windows Media Player or any other media player that you may want to use. And you should be able to use PowerDVD to play the converted file also on your PC. For those who are asking about making a VCD, SVCD, or DVD playable disc using MPEG4 AVI DivX files, most if not all of the standalone DVD console players that people have connected with their VCRs to their TV sets are not able to play the MPEG4 AVI DivX format.
      (C) SOUND SYNC PROBLEMS: Sound sync issues can be frustrating. This is the one area of complaint I hear about the most. Believe it or not, in comparison to other people who are working with video files from other TV Tuner cards and other video capture devices, this is par for the course because many people seem to encounter this issue more often than not at least at one time or another when they are editing / converting the video files to different formats. You just have to work at it in trying to find a solution that works for you.
      (i) General Tips: Here are a couple of general tips that I ran across while visiting the ATI website: One general tip to help minimize or avoid sound sync problems is to run only one software program at a time and turn off all background programs so as to not interfere with the timing (right click icons in your taskbar's system tray and turn them off by exiting the particular software or helper programs). So you may only want to run the one software program you need to run to convert a file without any other programs running and then just let your PC sit there doing its thing until its done. A second general tip is to to defragment your harddrive. I don't follow these two tips too closely but you never know.
      (ii) Using AVI Frame Rate Changer with MPEG4 AVI DivX Sound Sync Problems: If you encounter sound sync problems with MPEG4 AVI DivX files made by VIDOMI or some other program (saved as .AVI files), you can try the free AVI Frame Rate Changer software program. This program is the easiest program to use and it instantly changes the Frame Rate. I've had reasonably good success with using a frame rate setting of 29.9675 or 29.9665 or 29.9685 or 29.9655 but just for saving the files and not for making playable discs) but you may possibly have to use different numbers up or down depending on the length of your video.
      (iii) Using Synchronizer with MPEG4 AVI DivX Sound Sync Problems: You can also try the free Synchronizer software program (you can also click here to get the program). Synchronizer is a program that is somewhat straightforward to use but you may have to play with it in order to understand how it operates since it doesn't come with much documentation. Note the "Sync" tab and the input area for "New Frame Rate (fps)". FYI, I didn't put anything in for audio delay -- I've primarily concentrated on the frame rate when using the Synchronizer software program. Also note that the "Remux AVI" tab is where you specify where to save the file -- use a different filename so you don't overwrite the original MPEG4 AVI DivX file. To get it to remux, you may need to make sure that "Split" is checked and then you'll have to indicate how large you want the file to be before it is split -- you may want to put in a very large number if you don't want a split file. Synchronizer is a versatile program although the program's author still recommends that you look the VirtualDub software program.
      (iv) Using MPEG2VCR With Sound Sync Problems: But before getting to the VirtualDub program, another program to mention is the MPEG2VCR program which available for free for MPEG1 but you have to upgrade the program to the paid version if you want MPEG2.
      (v) Using GoldWave With Sound Sync Problems: Another program to look at is GoldWave which will let you insert silence (if the sound comes before the action) or to remove audio (if the action comes before the sound) -- click here for a procedure to follow using GoldWave and the aforementioned TMPEGenc (see above). GoldWave is shareware and the current shareware version is limited to 150 commands per session (unless your pay for the registered version).
      (vi) Using VirtualDub With Sound Sync Problems: You can also try using the free VirtualDub software program which you can use with MPEG4 AVI DivX files and MPEG1 files (for VCD). VirtualDub is the one program that a lot of people recommend for editing video files. VirtualDub is very useful for editing commercials out of your recordings. First you should make sure that the sound is in sync by using the aforementioned AVI Frame Rate Changer program. Then you can edit out the commercials. Click "File" on the menu bar, and then click "Save as AVI" to save the new copy of the file -- you should use a new filename with the .AVI extent so that you don't overwrite the original converted MPEG4 AVI DivX file in case you have to go through the procedure again.
      [Also, in VirtualDub, you can try playing with the "Frame Rate" settings under the "Video" menu -or- you can try playing with the "Interweaving" and "Audio skew correction" under the Audio menu where you could try inputting a value (for example, such as -200 ms or -290 ms) for another way to try to get the sound in sync. For a good VirtualDub tutorial that discusses this interweaving as well as source displacement and changing the framerate using VirtualDub to sync the audio, you can click here for a manual procedure. And you can also click here for an alternative procedure using VirtualDub.]
      If there is a single glitch in the video file where most of the video is in sync but the last part of the video is out of sync, then if the picture is behind the sound, then you could try cutting out a frame or two where the sound starts to go out of sync to try to resynchronize the sound. Glitches like this could occur if you are doing anything with your PC while the recording is being made. PCs can be sensitive things -- so if you are recording something that you want to edit later, then leave the PC to do the recording and don't do any intensive non-TV stuff with the PC.
      An alternative method: If in this single glitch situation, the sound is ahead of the picture, you may want to add a very tiny piece of silent sound space to the sound file at the point where the sound begins to go out of sync. You would have to strip the sound off the file and then reintegrate it into a new copy of the video file. Click "File" on the menu bar, and then click "Open Video File" to load the video file, click File, then click the "Save WAV" selection and use a filename with the .WAV extent. Then you could use the Sound Recorder program that came with Windows to add a tiny segment of silent sound at the point where you think it will be needed. You will have to play with the Sound Recorder program to figure out how it works and how to insert sound -- you will have to make a quick sound spacer beforehand (turn off your microphone and other sound inputs, then turn on the record to make the sound spacer, and then cut and save the sound spacer to the right size that you need) that you would be inserting -- then save the new .WAV file that has the sound spacer that you inserted. Then you go back to VirtualDub, open up the video file again, then click "Video" on the menu bar, click "Direct Stream Copy," click "Audio" on the menu bar, click "Wav Audio" and select the WAV file that you made during the previous step. Click "File" on the menu bar, and then click "Save as AVI" to save the new copy of the file -- you should use a new filename with the .AVI extent so that you don't overwrite the original converted MPEG4 AVI DivX file in case you have to go through the procedure again.
      If in this single glitch situation, the sound is behind the picture, then you may want to edit out (delete) a small snippet of sound from the WAV file at the point where the sound begins to go out of sync. Then you would reintegrate and save the new video file as described above.
      (vii) Synchronizing Really Bad Out-Of-Sync Sound By Splitting Up The Video File: Note that if you have a clean recording without any glitches, then merely changing the Frame Rate should hopefully synchronize the whole recording for you. However, if you have a lot of glitches in the video file, you may have to do a combination of what is discussed above and then you may have to split up the file using VirtualDub and then synchronize each section including possibly deleting few frames from various sections and deleting a few tenths of a second off of the audio at the beginning of other sections to get the sound back in sync and then rejoining the sections. For an example of a really bad nightmare-of-multiple-glitches situation, I had one 90-minute recording for a TV show with a lot of bad glitches that I had to split up and really work on because the multiple glitches were caused by when I almost crashed the PC as I was doing some heavy PC work when that particular TV show was being recorded -- so that was multiple heavy non-TV activities causing multiple glitches. If I would have left the PC alone, I wouldn't have had that nightmare of glitches. After fixing the glitches to get the sound back in sync, I then edited the 90-minute recording down to 65 minutes by taking out the commercials. So, if you are recording anything important enough to archive, then you do not want to do any other heavy non-TV activity on your PC while the show is being recorded. For rejoining the split sections of an .AVI file, I've also found the free Peck's Power Join software program to be very easy to use. Note, that the ORIGINAL exported .MPG file is a-okay without any sound sync problems even with glitches caused by a PC almost crashing or caused by intrusive heavy non-TV activity on the PC -- but when you convert the file to anything else such as to a DivX file is when you have to jump through all these hoops to get the sound back in sync in the different video file format.
      (viii) Ulead VideoStudio or Ulead DVD MovieFactory could be the Magic Software for working with exported MPEG2 files and avoiding any Sound Sync Problems: If you are still having problems, or if you want to do something much more complicated, then you may seriously want to consider getting a commercial program like Ulead VideoStudio or Ulead DVD MovieFactory to work directly on the original (and uncompressed) exported MPEG2 video files. Various user reports indicate users having success in using the Ulead VideoStudio and Ulead DVD MovieFactory software to make DVD, VCD, and SVCD for play on standalone DVD players without any sound sync problems. You can try out the 30-day trial version of Ulead VideoStudio or Ulead DVD MovieFactory. Some users have even reported that they have downloaded the 30-day trial version of the Ulead DVD MovieFactory software, merely installed it and not really used it, and then used TMPEGenc to convert exported files to the properly formated files for VCD, SVCD, or DVD without any sound sync problems because the Ulead program apparently installs something that helps to eliminate the sound sync problem. I personally couldn't get an early version of Ulead DVD MovieFactory to work on my particular system, but Ulead VideoStudio 6 appears to work fine and I was able to drag-and-drop an exported MPEG2 file (as-is without any other conversion) into the Ulead VideoStudio program and watch a preview of the exported MPEG2 file before attempting to edit the file. However, although you may be able to edit files with Ulead VideoStudio to help eliminate the sound sync problem, some people may not be able to use the Ulead VideoStudio software to burn VCDs, SVCDs, or DVDs. For instance, the Ulead VideoStudio somehow conflicts with my CD-RW drive, so I am primarily using the Ulead VideoStudio to "smart render" any MPEG2 files that may have some pesky glitches in them before running the VIDOMI DivX conversion mentioned previously above. To "smart render" a file, which can take a long time to process, you simply load the file into Ulead VideoStudio and then you save the file under the "Finish" menu options. I use this smart rendering process if there is a pesky glitch in the file like a stutter or a skip in the original exported MPEG2 video file that may result in a worse than normal sound sync problem during a VIDOMI DivX conversion that cannot be corrected with a changing of the AVI frame rate. (Note: the original exported MPEG2 file should play fine "as is" with no sound sync problem if there is no further conversion but the original file could have a momentary stutter at the point of the pesky glitch.)
      (ix) Other Suggestions Regarding Sound Sync Problems: If you have problems with longer recordings, you will have to experiment with the various software programs and their settings. You could also try segmenting the file and work on each segment and then splicing them all back together again. Or if you are making a VCD playable disc with converted MPEG1 files that are out of sync, then you can try to sync each segment and then integrate them into a simple video sequence for the VCD playable disc. One other program you may want to look at is the free PVAStrumento software program which provides an information screen that can tell you about any audio delay in an exported file (load your exported .MPG file and click "info" and look where it says "Audio starts XX ms early" where "XX" is the number of milliseconds -- I've been getting 69 milliseconds as the audio delay). I only use PVAStrumento to get that information. The audio delay doesn't affect the playing of an exported file (since exported files play a-okay with synchronized sound) but the audio delay could possibly affect the sound synchronization during any further conversion and you may want to try using that number with whatever program you use when making any further conversion from the original exported file.
      (x) Cagey Bee writes in with his suggestion that he says works to covert the exported .MPG files into a SVCD compliant format. Cagey Bee writes, "After many attempts with many different applications I have found a workable solution. I have TMPEGNc Plus. In my attempt I tried many options within this program. The only one that works for me is this: Demux the file within the MPEG tools menu in the TMPEGNc Plus program. The files created will be used later. In the MPEG tools menu select merge, select only the video file you just created with the Demux option. Save the merged video file. The next step is to encode using the SVCD template, I use the CBR option and I select the Merged video file and I select the Demuxed audio file and click start. The resulting file is SVCD compliant with a CBR of 2,520,000 Bit/Sec not a VBR of 15,000,000 Bit/Sec as was the original file. I am now able to burn this on a CD-R with great results."
      (xi) Bill Ingram writes in and provides a link to his webpage which provides directions on how he is using EO-Video Converter/Joiner along with the Moonlight shareware Elecard MPEG2 Player to convert the exported MPEG2 files to different formats without any sound sync problems. The key for Bill is the Moonlight shareware Elecard MPEG2 Player which apparently also installs a codec. Since the Moonlight software is shareware, Bill states, "For the first 30 days, there is a tiny logo in the upper right corner of your converted file (or a file as you view it). After 30 days, the logo wanders around the screen as the video plays. It is very annoying, so I registered." You can click here to read Bill's instructions on how he converts video files.
      (xii) Marty Lawson also writes in and provides his tip for solving the audio sync issue by using AVISYNTH and a VFAPI plugin (M2V.VFP) that he found at this link on a Marumo MPEG2 page which is in japanese. Marty says, "the MPEG2 decoder M2V.VFP decodes the MPEG audio/video stream differently from other programs" and because of that then "it's able to keep the audio and video in synch even with the Creative DVCR's funny encoding of the exported files." Marty goes on to say, "This setup allows me to use these files in ANY program that supports .AVI files" and that his setup "also requires a recompression of all the data, but that's done most of the time anyway." You can click here for Marty's script for AVISYNTH and you can click here for the M2V.VFP plugin for AVISYNTH versions 1.0, 2.0, and 2.5.
      (xiii) Eugene Rosenthal writes in to say that he has had great success in using Arcsoft's Showbiz software for turning exported video files into video files that are compatible for editing and burning to DVD. Eugene states, "... I wanted you to know that I eventually found, based on a suggestion I found on the web, that the most reliable way to make DVD and VCD (and possibly SVCD but I didn't try it) with perfect lip sync and beautiful results from exported Creative DVCR files is to use Arcsoft's Showbiz 2. You can actually edit with Showbiz 2, or just put the whole file in, export it to the default DVD or VCD format, and then edit the resulting file with any other editor. The end result quality actually can look better than the original when played back in my stand alone DVD player, even on the same TV that the computer with the DVCR in it is hooked up to! There is a free trial, which worked fully for a reasonable time when I tried it." You should be able to find Arcsoft Showbiz by clicking here.
      (xiv) Rodney Lyons also writes in with his comments about how he is using the S-Video TV-Out port on his ATI Radeon VE video card to connect to an external standalone DVD Recorder while playing the recorded shows from his Creative Videoblaster Digital VCR card as the shows are sent to be recorded "flawlessly" on a DVD on an external standalone DVD Recorder. You can CLICK HERE to read Rodney's comments about how he records to DVD without having to fuss around with export files and without having to do any file conversions. (Keep in mind that in order to get Rodney's solution to work, you will need an ATI Radeon VE card, or perhaps a similar ATI Radeon card, and an external standalone DVD Recorder as well as the Creative Videoblaster Digital VCR card.)
      (D) SAVE THE EXPORTED FILE TO A STORAGE HARDDRIVE OR TO A DVD STORAGE DATA DISC WITHOUT ANY FURTHER CONVERSION: If you plan on simply copying and saving exported files to DVD storage data discs (since most DVD recordable discs can store up to 4.7 gigabytes) or to CD-R storage data discs (although in segments for longer recordings when saving to several CD-R discs), then you may NOT want to bother with VIDOMI and the compressed MPEG4 AVI DivX files. If you are simply saving the files, you don't even have to bother with TMPEGenc also. Just save the larger original best quality exported files to your storage data discs and use either Windows Media Player (using the MPEG2 codec) or PowerDVD to play the files. Or you can consider simply saving the original exported files to a very large harddrive devoted to storage (see footnote 7). (GO BACK)

⁶     DivX Files Are Still Huge Files--Keep Your Video Files To Yourself:
      Although the MPEG4 AVI DivX files are somewhat smaller than the original exported files, they are still HUGE files. So, as stated in the footnote 4, keep the files to yourself in your personal home video collection that you've made for yourself. (GO BACK)

⁷     Put Another Harddrive On Your System As A Video Drive For Your Recordings:
      You don't need to do this, but if you want to be really ambitious then you can also install a secondary harddrive on your PC-TV to store your exported files that you can play at anytime you want. Most PCs can have at least one extra secondary harddrive installed instead of having only one single primary harddrive. In fact, if you have only one CD drive (or only one DVD drive), you may be able install two harddrives in addition to the existing primary harddrive. For instance, you may see that you have one ribbon cable going from your PC's motherboard to one harddrive and another ribbon cable going to the CD drive (or to the DVD drive) -- those existing drives are the primary or "master" drives on each of those ribbon cables. You should be able to have at least two drives on one ribbon cable, but you have to be sure that you set the pins on the secondary drive on that ribbon cable as the slave drive for that ribbon cable so it doesn't conflict with the master drive on that ribbon cable. So what you may want to do is get the largest harddrive that you can afford to use as the secondary harddrive for storing the exported files (and for storing compressed MPEG4 AVI DivX files converted from the exported files to save on disk space if you want to go the compressed DivX file route). I would also suggest that you may want to get a removable drive drawer for the secondary harddrive for swapping in and out the secondary harddrive without having to open up the PC to change the drive -- after filling up a secondary harddrive, you may find yourself wanting to get another empty secondary harddrive to swap into your PC-TV to store more of your video files. The removable drive drawer would make it more convenient to change the secondary harddrives (also be sure to store the removed secondary harddrive in a safe place and do NOT  drop the drive). Connect the new secondary harddrive, and then FDISK and format the new drive, and you should be ready to store more of your video files on the new drive. (GO BACK)

⁸     Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is only for NTSC and currently not for PAL:
      For those who are asking, the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is for NTSC-compatible countries such as those in the Americas -- and there are several NTSC countries in Asia and Africa but the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is apparently marketed primarily in the Americas although I have heard of one Asian user using the card in Japan. You can click here for a list of countries that use NTSC television signals. PAL is not officially supported for the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card. There has been some unofficial user activity that may possibly result in unofficial PAL support for the card, but at this time there is no PAL support whether official or unofficial. For those in PAL-compatible countries such as those in Europe (and many other countries in the world), Creative Labs has a completely different product just for Europe called the Creative 3D Blaster Personal Cinema card which comes with a remote control but that product is really an exclusive European version of the Nvidia GeForce M400 video card made under an exclusive European manufacturing license by Creative Labs for Europe and it has an external green box that provides the TV and it uses the third-party Intervideo WinDVR software. The "Personal Cinema" product is a mix-and-match combination of products. The WinDVR software that is provided with the "Personal Cinema" card is okay -- if you already have a TV Tuner card on your PC then try it out -- but I've tried that third-party software and in comparison I personally prefer the excellent PVR software that you get with the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card for the NTSC countries. The Creative 3D Blaster Personal Cinema card for PAL countries has a UK price tag of £169 (or about US $246) and a EURO price tag of €250.00 (plus VAT) more or less depending on the European country (or about US $230 more or less plus the VAT) making the Creative 3D Blaster Personal Cinema card much more expensive than its Creative Labs NTSC counterpart. (FYI, a NTSC version of that exact same "Personal Cinema" GeForce product is also marketed under exclusive license for the US by Visiontek as the Visiontek Xtasy Everything Personal Cinema card -- I can understand if you are getting confused about the territorial differences involving those different Nvidia GeForce cards.) The "Personal Cinema" GeForce product is a mix-and-match set of products. Meanwhile, the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card is a single product without any third-party product confusion (based on the Creative Labs chips on the card, the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR appears to be a proprietary product owned by Creative Labs and not licensed out by a third party). Nonetheless, Creative Labs apparently has different strategies for the different continents and apparently does not have any current plans to provide a PAL or SECAM version of the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card. But maybe in the future there could be a PAL or SECAM version of the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card since anything can possibly happen. I'm sure that the folks at Creative Labs have received inquiries for PAL and SECAM versions of the Creative Video Blaster Digital VCR card. You can click here for a list of the different NTSC, PAL, and SECAM countries around the world. (GO BACK)