AMCap Frequently Asked Questions

The demo and full versions are functionally identical if their version numbers match. This means they share the same features, capabilities, and restrictions. What works in one version will work in the other, and vice-versa.

The only two limitations of the demo version are:

• Video preview and recording stop after 15 minutes, prompting you to buy the full version or exit.
• Still images are watermarked with the application's name.

This error indicates that the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017 (x86), which is included in the AMCap installer, failed to install on your system for some reason.

To fix this, you must install it manually:

1. Open https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/older-downloads/ in your browser.
2. Scroll down to the 'Other Tools, Framework, and Redistributables' section.
3. Find 'Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017', select x86, and click Download.
4. Run the downloaded vc_redist.x86.exe file on the system where you are seeing the error.

No. AMCap version 9.23 and later will not run on Windows XP. The Microsoft libraries they depend on are not compatible, as Microsoft no longer supports this operating system. Only versions 9.22 and earlier were compatible with Windows XP.

Yes. Although AMCap is a native 32-bit application, it is fully compatible and will run on 64-bit Windows systems.

Drivers that pass Windows Logo testing are digitally signed by Microsoft, ensuring they meet quality and stability standards. Unsigned drivers are not necessarily bad, but they haven't been tested by Microsoft. 64-bit versions of Windows may require signed drivers to prevent system instability like blue screens (BSODs).

If you clicked 'STOP Installation' when the warning appeared, the drivers were not installed. To fix this:

1. First, try to find the latest signed drivers from the manufacturer's website. Only use unsigned drivers if you have no other choice.
2. Ensure your system is configured to allow installation of unsigned drivers. You can do this in System Properties > Hardware > Driver Signing and select 'Warn'.
3. Run the driver installation again. When the warning dialog appears, click 'Continue Anyway' to complete the installation.

This can have many causes, from a failing device to a software issue. Try the following steps:

• Ensure your computer and Windows version meet your webcam's requirements.
• Unplug the webcam, reboot your PC, plug it back in, and try again.
• Unplug all other USB devices to check for conflicts. If it works, plug them back in one by one to identify the conflicting device.
• Uninstall the webcam drivers from the Control Panel or Device Manager, reboot, and reinstall them. Only plug in the webcam after the driver installation is complete.
• Check the manufacturer's website for updated drivers for your webcam and your graphics card.
• Open Device Manager, find your webcam under 'Imaging Devices', and check its properties for any error codes.
• For preview issues specifically, try selecting a different video renderer (e.g., 'Video Renderer' or 'Enhanced Video Renderer') from the Capture > Setup > Preview tab.

This is typically caused by the driver of the video capture source or the selected color space. You can try the following:

• Go to Options > Video Capture Pin... and choose a different 'Color Space / Compression'.
• Use the View > Flip View menu to correct the orientation.
• Reinstall or update the drivers for your video capture source.

This generic error is usually related to driver issues for either the webcam or the graphics card. Try these steps:

• Restart your system.
• Click File > Restore Default Settings to reset the application's configuration.
• In Capture > Setup > Preview, select the basic 'Video Renderer'.
• Install updated drivers for your video capture source and graphics card from the manufacturers' websites.

There are several possible reasons for a black and white display:

• Incorrect Video Standard: If you use a capture card, ensure the correct standard (e.g., PAL, NTSC) is selected in Options > Video Capture Filter... > Video Standard.
• Incorrect Settings: If you've changed many settings, close AMCap and delete the AMCap.ini file to reset them. You can also go to Options > Video Capture Filter..., adjust brightness/contrast, and click 'Restore Factory Defaults' if available. Also, ensure any 'Black and White' checkbox is unticked.
• Driver Issue: Check for the latest drivers for your video capture source, as some drivers don't restore default settings correctly.

Standard PAL is 25 frames per second (fps). To capture at 30 fps, you must select the 'PAL_60' video standard.

1. Go to Options > Video Capture Filter... and select 'PAL_60' from the 'Video Standard' dropdown list.
2. Then, go to Options > Video Capture Pin... and set the 'Frame Rate' to 30.

If 'PAL_60' is not available, your capture device or its driver does not support it.

Low frame rates can be caused by several factors:

• Automatic Camera Settings: Auto-exposure, auto-focus, or auto-white balance can cause drops. Go to Options > Video Device > Properties and disable all 'Auto' options to set them manually.
• Video Compression: Real-time software compression can be demanding. Try using no compression or a less intensive compressor in Capture > Setup > Video Capture.
• Power Management: Your system might be in a power-saving mode. Switch to a more efficient power plan in your Windows Power Options.
• Outdated Drivers: Make sure your capture device and graphics card drivers are up-to-date.
• DirectShow Optimization: You can try ticking the 'Enable time-stamped preview samples' option in Capture > Setup > Preview.

To record audio, you need to ensure it's enabled and correctly configured:

• In the Devices menu, make sure a sound card or webcam microphone is ticked.
• In the Capture menu, ensure 'Record Audio' is ticked.
• If available, check the Options > Audio Device menu and make sure the correct input is selected.
• If an Options > Audio Device > Properties menu is enabled, make sure the selected Pin Line is enabled and its volume level is high enough.
• Always check that you have the latest drivers for your audio device.

First, ensure the correct audio device is ticked in the Devices menu. Then, click Options > Audio Capture Filter... and follow these steps:

• Under 'Pin Line', select the appropriate input and tick 'Enable'.
• Adjust the volume with the 'Pin Line Input Mix' slider.
• Click OK to apply the new settings.

You can also adjust recording properties from the Windows Volume applet.

Audio/video sync issues (lag) can be caused by separate, unsynchronized audio/video sources, real-time software video compression, or using the .avi container format. Here are some workarounds:

• Use a modern container format: In Capture > Setup > Video Capture, select MPEG-4 (.mp4) or Windows Media (.wmv) instead of AVI.
• Disable real-time compression: In the same menu, set 'Video compressor' to 'no video compression'.
• Adjust audio latency: In Capture > Setup > Preview, try reducing the audio buffer latency.
• Use hardware encoding: If your capture device has a hardware encoder, try enabling the 'MPEG-2' option in the Options > Video Device menu.

This happens when the microphone picks up the sound from your speakers. You can mute the preview audio to prevent this. Click the Options > Volume > Mute menu item, or click the speaker icon in the status bar and tick 'Mute' in the panel that appears.

This message is not directly an AMCap issue. By default, AMCap already captures uncompressed video. The problem usually occurs when the resulting .avi file is too large, often exceeding 1GB. You can try to uncheck frames in RegiStax to reduce the size, or use a video editor to trim the file before processing it. For more help with RegiStax, please visit their website.

The maximum size for a single captured video is determined by several technical limits of your storage drive:

• The file system format (e.g., FAT32, exFAT), which sets a theoretical maximum file size.
• The partition size of your drive, as a file cannot be larger than the partition it resides on.
• The available free space on that partition.

Below are the theoretical file size limits for common file systems:

If you have enough free space but something goes wrong when capturing a large video, your drive is almost certainly formatted as FAT32.

To avoid this issue, make sure to use real-time video compression (e.g. H.264). If you need to record uncompressed video, the best solution is to reformat the drive or partition as NTFS (for internal drives) or exFAT (for removable storage).

The capture file is a temporary, single working file used by the system (DirectShow) to store captured video. It should be a new file; do not select an existing file, as it will be overwritten. The default location is typically c:\capture.avi. After a capture is complete, you must save the actual video you want to keep by using the File > Save Capture Video... menu.

This is often a driver-related issue. I recommend the following:

• Check for and install the latest drivers for your DV device, your IEEE1394 (FireWire) card, and your graphics card.
• Try selecting an alternate video renderer, like the 'Enhanced Video Renderer' or the basic 'Video Renderer', from the Capture > Setup > Preview tab.
• Experiment with the three DV recording modes available in the Capture > Setup > Video Capture tab: Type-1, Type-2, and Non-DV. When testing 'Non-DV' mode, it's best to try without any video compression first.
• If the issue persists, it may be hardware-related. Try a different DV port or cable.

This error usually means the webcam's drivers do not correctly handle the 'Still pin,' a feature for capturing high-resolution still images. You can work around this issue by following these steps:

1. Click the Capture > Setup menu.
2. Go to the Still Capture tab.
3. Clear the 'Capture stills from device' option.
4. Click OK.

Alternatively, check the manufacturer's website for updated and fixed device drivers.

This is likely an issue with a device driver or a 3rd-party filter. You can try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Go to Capture > Setup > Still Capture. If the option 'Capture stills from device' is checked, uncheck it. This could indicate faulty camera drivers.
2. If that option is disabled, go to the Preview tab instead.
3. Select a different video renderer from the list, such as the 'Enhanced Video Renderer' or 'Video Mixing Renderer 9'.
4. Check for updated drivers for your graphics card.
5. As a last resort, you may need to uninstall any 3rd-party DirectShow filter packages from your system via the Control Panel.

In most cases, crashes are caused by faulty device drivers or a broken system component after a Windows update. Please try the following:

• Unplug any unused webcams or video capture sources.
• If you cannot unplug them, disable the alternate devices in Windows Device Manager under 'Imaging Devices'.
• Ensure your system is fully up-to-date via Windows Update.
• Check for the latest drivers for both your video capture device(s) and your graphics card.
• If you have multiple devices, try selecting a different one from the Devices menu.
• Try selecting a different video renderer in Capture > Setup > Preview.

A Blue/Green Screen of Death is always caused by faulty device drivers operating at the system level. As a user-mode application, AMCap itself cannot directly cause a BSOD. The crash happens when AMCap tries to access the device and the faulty driver fails. Please check for updated drivers from the device manufacturer's website or use the default drivers provided by Microsoft if possible.

This message means the system does not recognize the device, which points to a driver issue. Either the drivers are not installed, or they are not working correctly. Drivers are usually provided on a CD and should be installed before plugging in the device. If you have already installed them, they may be corrupted, or in the worst case, the device itself is failing. Check the Device Manager for error codes associated with the device.

This error typically indicates internal issues with the current drivers for your webcam. Please visit the manufacturer's website for your webcam to download and install the latest version of its drivers. If the problem persists, you may need to contact the manufacturer's technical support.

This is not an error from AMCap itself but is reported by the system. It is usually caused by faulty device drivers or a problematic system update.

The crosshair overlay feature requires a 'windowless' video renderer. To enable it:

1. Click the Capture > Setup... menu.
2. Go to the Options tab.
3. From the 'Video Renderer' drop-down list, select either 'VMR7 windowless' or 'VMR9 windowless'.

While not officially supported, you can use a workaround to run two instances simultaneously:

1. Navigate to the AMCap installation folder (e.g., %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Noël Danjou\AMCap) in File Explorer.
2. Right-click on AMCap.exe and select 'Copy'.
3. Right-click in a blank space within the folder and select 'Paste'. Approve the administrator prompt.
4. You will now have a file named AMCap - Copy.exe. Rename it to something like AMCap2.exe.
5. Right-click your new AMCap2.exe and create a shortcut on your desktop.

You can now run the first instance of AMCap from the Start Menu and the second instance from the new desktop shortcut. Select a different webcam in the second instance.

This depends on where the digital zoom is being controlled.

• Device Digital Zoom: This is available from Options > Video Device > Properties > Camera Control tab. To adjust Focus and Exposure manually, you may need to uncheck their respective 'Auto' checkboxes in this same window.
• Keyboard Hotkeys: If the device drivers support it, you can use keyboard hotkeys for control:
  • Digital Zoom: Shift+Z (in) / Shift+Alt+Z (out)
  • Exposure: Shift+E (longer) / Shift+Alt+E (shorter)
  • Focus: Shift+F (farther) / Shift+Alt+F (closer)
• Graphics Driver Zoom: Some graphics drivers support digital zoom via Ctrl + Mouse Wheel. This should work even while the Camera Control properties window is open.

This is by design for applications based on Microsoft's DirectShow technology. Settings are stored on a per-application basis, so configurations made in AMCap will not automatically carry over to other programs like Teams or Zoom. Some device drivers provide their own custom property pages that can save settings globally, and older 'Video for Windows' (VfW) devices sometimes used a shared .ini file, but this is not the modern standard.

If you want to configure your webcam for use in another program, you must first make the adjustments in AMCap, then close AMCap completely before opening the other application.

This is a known issue in older versions due to security restrictions in the Program Files folder. It was fixed in version 9.21 and later. To work around this on an older version:

1. Navigate to the AMCap folder (e.g., %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Noël Danjou\AMCap).
2. Right-click the 'AMCap' folder and click Properties.
3. Go to the Security tab and click Edit...
4. Select 'Users' from the list.
5. In the permissions box below, tick the 'Allow' checkbox for 'Write'.
6. Click OK twice to apply the changes.

Alternatively, you can install the program in a folder outside of system folders, such as C:\Apps\AMCap.

No, there is no standard upgrade plan. In most cases, upgrades are not necessary if the version you own already suits your needs. In rare cases where a major bug was discovered in the version you purchased, a free upgrade may be provided.

Yes, the installer is safe. Norton Antivirus reports this not because the file is harmful, but because it is not widely known enough to be in its trust database. The installer was scanned against the VirusTotal database before publishing and is clean.

To install the full version:

1. Temporarily disable your antivirus software.
2. Download the installer (AMCapFullSetup.exe) again from the link provided by the vendor.
3. Run the installer.
4. Re-enable your antivirus software. You can now use the full version of AMCap.

No. AMCap is a dedicated application for video preview and capture (recording video and taking still images). It cannot be used for streaming or video calling. For those purposes, you will need to use dedicated applications and services.

• For streaming: Consider services like Twitch or YouTube.
• For video calls: You can use Google Meet, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom.

Sorry, no. Custom versions are no longer created.