driver problems with easycap [Archive]

Rieks

06 May 2009, 09:49

Hello,

I bought three Easycap's and I'm trying now for a week to get them working. I run Window XP. When I install the driver, without the easycap plugged in my laptop, and then plug them in, the device and the installed driver are not matched. I get the 'found new hardware' screen. When I install the drivers with this screen or the device manager everything works. The problem is that when i want to install the next one, the problems start. When I plug in the second, I get a new 'found new hardware screen'. When I install the driver with this it works in Vidblaster. I can also pull every easycap in and out, no problem. However, when I reboot the pc, I can start all over again because the drivers
(exept the one I installed as last) seems forgotten by windows.
I tried all this with drivers of Forwardvideo, the original CD and ones espessially for windows XP SP3.

I hope anyone knows where to find the solution?

Rieks

Mike

06 May 2009, 10:36

Scott

06 May 2009, 16:47

Rieks,

I have seen this problem before with multiple EasyCap devices and XP Pro. I would first make sure you are using the latest drivers for your hardware, the included CD may be out of date. Also, from my what I have seen not all EasyCap hardware are created equal - what might work for some devices will not for others.

I am still researching to determine why multiple instances of EasyCap and the corresponding driver doesn't save properly with XP. If you go to the control panel, and select system, hardware, then device manager, you can view the installed drivers for your EasyCap hardware. They probably have an iteration such as STK1160(2) and so on per attached device. You will probably see this as well in the Camera Modules driver drop down in VB.

I typically create a folder where the latest drivers are located which expedites the process after rebooting. XP will prompt the "new hardware found" dialog and it takes just a few moments to go through the procedure again.

I am not sure if you have experienced this problem but with some EasyCap devices the driver defaults to PAL and refuses to "see" NTSC. A workaround to this issue is to use HandyAvi. Using the program you can select the appropriate driver, then select NTSC or PAL. After that the driver seems to "remember" the setting and work just fine.

I agree with Mike, I think the problem seems to be with the drivers. I am using STK1160 btw.

Rieks

06 May 2009, 17:18

Thanks Mike and Scott, I'll contact Forwardvideo and hope they can do something. This model is however succeeded by a new (hardware) one wich is also suitable for Vista so I'll keep my expactations tempered.

I am using STK1160 too. But the information of Forwardvideo is a bit crappy too: they say 1150 is the new driver for XP and 1160 is Vista and these are different drivers. However in device control it's always 1160 here.

Since I live in the Netherlands I always use PAL, so I didn't met a problem switching to ntsc.

Maybe (when it might not improve) I just switch to Home Video Creator, this worked perfect up to three units on my laptop and is - as I see it now - the recommended hardware for lowcost multi-camera use on XP.

Mike

07 May 2009, 08:37

I tested Rieks' setup on a system running XP SP3 using 2 EasyCap interfaces (model STK1150) and get the same problem: one works fine, multiple require repeated installation. I've updated the documentation on the forum (http://vidblaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=153.msg628#msg628)and in the Help accordingly. As the USB2821 has proven over and over again to work fine when using multiple interfaces, I've found some more models who use this chip and added them as well.

abouvette

07 May 2009, 15:32

Sounds like maybe there's a bug in the driver so that it can't coexist with itself. I've only tested it with one EasyCap at a time (and under Vista). Anyone using more than one? If so, what's your OS and EasyCap driver manufacturer and version?

Rieks, as this is clearly not related to VidBlaster, you should also ask the manufacturer of the driver and/or interface.

Hi all, I understand that this doesn't seem to be a VidBlaster issue unless someone can state that 2 or more EasyCap devices can be connected and used at the same time (using different software). I bought a single EasyCap device after reading about them on this forum. When I was able to connect one of our camcorders with it, I assumed that I could get 2 more connected at the same time (for another camcorder and a dvd player). I'm currently unable to connect more than 1 EasyCap device. If its of any use to anyone, I ran into a similar problem with 2 FireWire camcorders a while back. Perhaps this will help solve our EasyCap problem:

When I connected 2 similar FireWire camcorders, I experienced the same problem: it was the same driver but different instance and some software won't allow you to use more than one instance if the device name (in the pick list) is the same. My Adobe Flash Media Encoder 2.5 would list the same Canon camera driver name twice (one for an HG10 and one for an HG20). One would work and the other would simply be blank. I had to go to the Device Manager (xp pro sp2) and get the properties of one of the connected firewire devices. I noted the Device instance ID and searched the registry. I changed the DisplayName and FriendlyName keys for one of the camcorders.
When I rebooted the PC, the renamed driver showed up in the Device Manager and I was then able to select both cameras in VidBlaster.

I hope someone can use what I've found and find a solution for EasyCap. I do need to have this working though. I want to connect 2 camcorders and a DVD player using 3 easycap devices.

Sinc747

24 May 2009, 04:15

Alain,

I am successfully running two EasyCaps on a Vista 32-bit system. The sequence that works for me is to have all hardware including video cameras hooked up and turned on before I turn on my computer. The XP EasyCap may be slightly different.

The XP EasyCap would not work on my Vista pc.

Good luck!

Tom
PirateSoccerTV

Mike

24 May 2009, 08:32

What driver are you using?

abouvette

24 May 2009, 11:48

Hi Tom,
I'm using the 'XP' version (I guess) since I'm using XP pro 32-bit. I've never had a single issue when running one EasyCap (with the included driver on CD or other downloaded versions). As I've been researching this quite a bit, it seems as though there are several knock-offs of this product. Anyway, mine is the one found here: http://www.amazon.com/EasyCap-USB-Video-Capture-Adapter/dp/B001BWU8US/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243164876&sr=8-1. I use the drivers that came with the CD. They are the STK1160. The actual exe is stk1150 but the Imaging Device that is displayed in Device Manager is Syntek STK1160. I've downloaded and tried several versions of the stk1150-60 drivers but none would resolve the multi-Easycap issue.

So, to get your 2 EasyCaps to work, do you have the driver pre-installed (as per normal installation instructions)? or when the devices are recognized, do you point them to a driver install location and install the driver twice? I'll try connecting my camcorders like you said tomorrow.

By the way, if I do connect 2 Easycap, I get to install the driver twice and get Syntek STK1160 and Syntek STK1160 #2 in the Device Manager. I can use either camera connected to the two EasyCaps so long as the other one isn't active (i.e. if I want to use Syntek #2, I have to make sure that Syntek #1 isn't one of the camera devices in VidBlaster; and vice-versa).

Thanks,
Alain

Scott

24 May 2009, 16:41

You can download drivers for various USB 2.0 video capture devices at: http://www.vidblasterus.com/accessories.htm

In addition, several USB 2.0 devices are described along with links on the Internet. Although I have not tried it myself, I have read very good reviews regarding the VC-211V USB 2.0 device. It's detailed on the page as well.

Sinc747

25 May 2009, 04:30

What driver are you using?

VB calls the Vista EsayCap driver USB 2861.

I'll try a third EasyCap this week and let you know how it goes.

Sinc747

25 May 2009, 06:26

Sinc747

25 May 2009, 06:34

One more link to try...

http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=58790&p=196055

Tom

abouvette

25 May 2009, 12:46

So, to get your 2 EasyCaps to work, do you have the driver pre-installed (as per normal installation instructions)? or when the devices are recognized, do you point them to a driver install location and install the driver twice? I'll try connecting my camcorders like you said tomorrow.

Alain,

Maybe I've just been very lucky. I just turn it on and they work. No special pointing, installing, etc.

I've read lots of blogs and forum entries (other than the VB forum) that say the problem is intermittent.

Here are a few examples...

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/Computers-Networking-It/Problem-With-Easycap/2000392978?&start=82
http://blog.lucylou.info/post/40016775/getting-easycap-to-work-in-windows-xp

VB recognizes my EasyCaps as "USB 2661 Device" and "EasyCap Device #2"

Hope this leads you to an answer.

Tom

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the info. I ran across a couple of these links and tried everything I could think of thus far. Plugging in and turning on the cameras with the 2 EasyCaps plugged in (with the PC off) didn't work for me. I'm running XP sp2. I get prompted for a driver only once. Only one device is recognized. I have to unplug the other and plug it back in. I then go through the same process of installing the Syntek STK1160 driver. I then get Syntek STK1160 and Syntek STK1160 #2 in my device manager but only one ever works.
I'm puzzled as to why you're getting 2 different entries instead of Syntek STK1160.... Did you purchase the hardware from the same place? Maybe its a bit different?
Alain

Sinc747

25 May 2009, 14:43

Alain,

Here's a link to my EasyCap that I bought off of eBay. Actually have three of them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180335217207

Tom

abouvette

25 May 2009, 15:00

Alain,

Here's a link to my EasyCap that I bought off of eBay. Actually have three of them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180335217207

Tom

Hi Tom,
Looks identical except for the packaging. If yours works with the same drivers I'm using, XP probably won't allow more than one Device to install/connect at a time. For the record, contrary to most of the forum/blog entries regarding EasyCap installation/operation woes, mine worked just fine out of the box without any tweaking (except making sure I had NTSC-M selected). I haven't come across an article on how to get two or more working. I guess it works only in Vista as you've proven.
Alain

Mike

25 May 2009, 15:03

Looks normal enough. I am more intrigued in you mentioning it shows up in VidBlaster as USB 2661, which would indicate you have an entirely different driver. I'm a bit busy right now, but I suggest someone tries that driver instead of the STKxxxx. After all, the problem is in the driver and Tom might be the lucky winner of a properly working driver. Unless it really only works in Vista (still that would help a lot) and probably W7. I'm sure Tom is willing to upload it, or one can google it.

Sinc747

27 May 2009, 04:23

Looks like I have two sets of drivers: Vista32 and Vista64. Total is about 36 mb. Where can I upload them?

Tom

Scott

27 May 2009, 05:36

Tom,

On my site I have an ever-growing list of video capture devices, drivers and software. If you like, you can email me the attachments and I would be happy to post them on my site (http://www.vidblasterus.com/accessories.htm): scott@vidblasterus.com.

Mike

27 May 2009, 07:09

Post them on my drop.io (instructions here (http://vidblaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=27.0)) first so everyone who wants to can have a go, then if they indeed fix the problem Scott can post them on his site.

Sinc747

28 May 2009, 21:28

Mike,

Two zips uploaded that have drivers for EasyCap Vista 32 and 64 versions.

Please let me know if there are any other utilities on the EasyCap CD that you might need.

Tom

Sinc747

28 May 2009, 21:30

Successfully used three EasyCaps and cams and VB today in a trial. I'm running out of USB ports!

Will be broadcasting soccer Friday night (6 pm CDT) using a three cam setup and see how it goes.

Tom

Mike

29 May 2009, 06:50

Thanks Tom, you forgot to post the link which is http://drop.io/mikeversteeg/asset/bda32-zip. If anyone tried these, please let me know.

abouvette

29 May 2009, 12:36

Thanks Tom, you forgot to post the link which is http://drop.io/mikeversteeg/asset/bda32-zip. If anyone tried these, please let me know.

Congrats Tom!
Unfortunately, I tried these drivers before when I downloaded them as part of a 29 MB dc60+ driver.rar file. Anyway, for good measure, I tried your copy of the drivers but my hardware isn't recognized by the system at all with this. So, it looks as though my EasyCap hardware is physically different from yours, let alone you're on Vista and I'm on XP. Even though the packaging says EasyCap and on the back Model No.: DC60, the only driver that my hardware can use is Syntek STK1150 or STK1160, but only for one device at a time.
Alain

Sinc747

01 Jun 2009, 02:45

Alain,

A bit more for you about the EsayCaps that I'm using.

Here's a picture of the driver cd

http://i2.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/30/57/1762_1.JPG

This EasyCap uses the EMPIA 2861 chipset.

This one on eBay appears to be the latest, greatest:
http://cgi.ebay.com/EASYCAP-DC60-v3-1B-VIDEO-CAPTURE-APPLE-MAC-XP-Vista_W0QQitemZ110394952131QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item19b40d49c3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C 301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Downside is these new ones only appear to be available directly from China, but might be worth the risk.

Good luck.

Tom

Mike

01 Jun 2009, 07:43

Ah, so this is simply the USB 2861 generic device dubbed as the new EasyCap. That explains it. See here http://vidblaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=153.0, highly recommended.

happymac

21 Oct 2009, 10:55

Hi,

I bought three of these things today with a view to running them in VB on XP, and experienced all of these horrible issue's here.
I figured out that to stop the whole driver re-installation requirement, I had to make a little tweak in the registry. It has something to do with the serial numbers of the units. I found that if I told XP not to query the device serial numbers, the driver installation issue goes away, and all devices appear in the My Computer window.

To do this, run regedit and navigate to

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\UsbFlags]

under the value GlobalDisableSerNumGen:

0000 00 disable all USB serials

0000 01 enables USB serials

My string was set to 0000 01, so when I changed it to 0000 00, the re-install driver scenario was cured.

However, I still found VB could not run all devices at the same time. Further digging revealed it isn't a VB issue. I was able to run multiple instances of AMCAP and I could still only get one cam running at a time. I learned that you can view any of the devices separately, when you try to view a second device, you get a black screen.

Here's where I run out of idea's.

My guess is that it might be a driver issue. The driver may be written for only a single instance, so if anybody has an idea on how to run multiple driver instances, it might get us closer to solving this issue.

Greg

P.S - For those who would like to be able to rename the instances of the device (and make it say stk1160cam1, stk1160cam2 , or any name for that matter, in the drivers folder is a file called "oem17.inf", open it, scroll right down to the bottom and change the device name in the "strings" section, save it and then select update driver from device manager. Uniquely modify the string before you update the driver for each instance.)

JohnV12

04 Jan 2010, 15:04

abouvette

04 Jan 2010, 16:01

Hello , i have had the same problem with easycap usb device , the software could find the device . - but i found the solution.. It is easy as can be ,dont use the installer in the cd for install. the SKT1150 our SKT1160 driver but instead this , go to the configuration centre in windows and look into the hardware section and find it . If you see a ? our something like that , - go to open it and let windows search (update) for the driver automaticly (look forthis on your CD our HD for the driver ) . Then you have it automaticly and all is done within a minute ! I use ulead video software and i found the SKT1150 .

Good luck , 8)

John

Hi John,
to be clear, are you using just one EasyCap usb device? The problem doesn't seem to be if the computer/VB recognizes one easycap. Mine works fine.
I'm trying to get 2 easycap usb devices working at the same time. For devices identified as either SKT1150 or SKT1160, this doesn't seem to work at all as the driver appears to be 'shared' and I have to unplug one easycap usb to use the other (if I have 2 connected).
Thanks,
Alain

JohnV12

04 Jan 2010, 16:56

Hello Alain , ok that can be a problem but i can not prove that myself because i only use one . I seems the easycap doesend have a programming to identify each other like a HD volume does in windows . Maby there is a code program software to make it possible for same devices to recotnice but it stil is a tought , i dont know .. .

Update :
Just thinking , if only the software isnt capable to work with the same devices for the same time , but the usb(s) can capture more devices in the app. devices > monitor capture (is install. and you see all of your video capture devices) in windows , then hardware can not be the problem , but software that works with the connected devices ..

Update : Just found a multi capture software .. http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Multi-Webcam-Cast-Download-118344.html

abouvette

05 Jan 2010, 10:12

Hi,
I'm pretty sure its a hardware/driver problem because if I have 2 easycap devices connected, only one will ever display the camera. This is what happens if I try to select one of the easycap's as a video source in Flash Media Encoder. One will display. The other source is black. Now, as you might know, Flash encoder only allows one source at a time so I have to switch back and forth. In any case, I have to unplug the working easycap, close the encoder, reopen the encoder, and then (sometimes) the second easycap will now display the video.

Also, in XP, when you have an imaging device connected (like the easycap), it will show in Windows Explorer. When I have 2 or more easycaps, they do display as 2 different sources; usually SKT1160 and SKT1160 #2. If you right-click the easycap source, you can actually set its properties here (like NTSC or PAL, brightness, contrast, etc) and view the video. Only one easycap source will display the video. The other is always black. Often times, if I have 2 easycap devices connected, I have a hard time even displaying one of the video sources. I usually disconnect them both and only reconnect one.
Thanks,
Alain

Sinc747

12 Feb 2010, 21:11

I wanted to add one more personal experiecne to this thread in hopes that it might help someone who experienced my problem today.

I am running Vista32 on a Dell laptop. I had previously installed the drivers for the EasyCap 2861 version. Somewhere in my past I must have also tried using a XP version of EasyCap.

In my efforts to make my Dell faster, last year I "stopped" several services including "Syntek STK1150 Service." And just recently I stopped other services with a bad result: Dell ran slower and VB did not function. So, I un-stopped a lot of these services including Syntek. And then... my EasyCaps did not function. I could see a bid of still B&W video, but no motion, no color.

So, with inspiration beyond my means, I thought about "stopping" the Syntek driver. And after a restart, lo and behold, EasyCaps now work just fine.

So, if you have my problem, there's your solution.

Good luck!