Video capture via iMovie is dim and blurry

[dauber]

I have a Canopus ADVC110, and I've been trying to use iMovie 10.0.6 on my iMac, running Yosemite (details in status)...input, as I said in the subject line, is very dim, and slightly blurry.

I've tried importing from a VCR as well as recording gameplay on my Atari 7800 (modified to use standard RCA outputs, looks perfect on any TV set), but video is just unacceptable. If I try to brighten it, it just amplifies the problems.

Any thoughts? Do I need to provide any further info? The video is blurry both during import and when I export it to any format. I've ruled out the Canopus because I routed the video out to a TV set and it looked perfect on the TV...(that is, I have the input going into the three RCA inputs, and the output routed out from the RCA outputs to the TV)...

 

[ColdCase]

If Macrovision is detected, I think the Canopus lowers the brightness and contrast. You'll need a signal processor to fix that. Otherwise, not sure you completely eliminated the Canopus as the RCA to RCA may be pass through type, the Analog - Digital converter may not be not in the path. So the digital converter chip could be hosed but the video passed through will look pristine.

The only issues I've had were of the type where either the digital video was there or not. Perhaps its a PAL/NTSC settings thing?

 

[dauber]

Shouldn't have been detecting any Macrovision -- there was none to be detected.

Well...I futzed around more with adjusting some of the levels (the interface is different from the earlier versions of iMovie, so I think that's what threw me off) and I think I've figured out how to make the result look better post-capture. Only problem I have now is that the audio is very choppy, and I'm about 99% sure it's because my source is too loud.