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  1. Member
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    Columbus,Oh United States
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    Hi All,

    I’ve been lurking for a few days trying to glean some information from your forums. So far I the only thing I gotten is a headache. So I’m here with some noob questions which I’m sure have been asked ad nausium.

    What I want to do: Transfer/capture old VHS and Hi8 family tapes, I’ve got 24 years worth including my kids births, and converting them to DVD’s that most any player will recognize. If I can enhance the videos then fine, but my primary objective is to archive them to a more stable media then tape. I’m not planning to do any fancy editing however it would be nice to edit out some of my amateurish camera work like the time I thought the camera was off and I taped my feet for 5 minuets. It would be nice too if I could ad a title page.

    I think I would like to buy an external device like the ADS DVD Xpress DX2 or something like it. An investment of around $100 would be nice but if something more expensive is recommended that’s fine too. Once I’m done I think an external would be easier to resell. (I’m only doing this once) I’ve looked at a lot of consumer reviews of different products and realize that operator error or confusion will generate a crappy rating every time so I am relying on your experience and recommendations.

    My thought is to capture the video to my computer, do some basic software cut and paste then burn to DVD.

    My system: Win XP sp2, Athlon 64 4000+ 2.41 GHz, 1GB ram, 320GB HD space on 3 Seagate ultra ATA drives, VGA XFX nVidia GeForce 7600gt (256k), Sony AW Q170A DVD, and a SB live 24bit EAX card, USB 2.0 (no firewire).

    Any advice is appreciated,

    Boomer
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  2. With a project of this size, I would suggest getting a decent DVD recorder and editing software like VideoReDo TVSuite. This setup will allow you to easily record your raw footage to a DVD, import it to your computer, edit, and then create a finished DVD with a menu.
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  3. Member thecoalman's Avatar
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    Well I tend to look at the other way than the other reply, with a large project since you all already going to invest a large amount of time might as well go the full distance. For archiving I prefer DV-AVI a)It has very little compression so you won't be introducing artifacts, b)It does have some compression so you don't have absolutely enormous files, c) it's a very popular format so there won't be any legacy issues into the foreseeable future (i.e. 20 years from now you'll still have software and devices it will be able to be played on) .

    The biggest issue is the file size, you'll need about 14 gigs per hour to store it.

    I store on both a external drive and tape so I have two copies. mini-DV tapes are not that expensive and have a very long shelf life which is yet to be determined. It's digital so the footage you store now will be the same 10, 20 years now providing the tape is readable but by that time you can move it to some other storage medium like flash cards or whatever is the latest and greatest.

    -----------------

    With the new Blu-Ray and HD DVD players I'm alos wondering if they are going to come out with one that will play DV directly. Certainly possible and i'm sure there will be some kind of support for it soon.

    There's more here: www.nepadigital.com/articles/analog-capture.php
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  4. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    Boomer1948, in the future please use a more descriptive subject title in your posts to allow others to search for similar topics. I will change yours this time. From our rules:
    Try to choose a subject that describes your topic.
    Please do not use topic subjects like Help me!!! or Problems.
    Thanks,
    Moderator redwudz

    And welcome to our forums.
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  5. Member
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    Thanks for the ideas, I assume that my thoughts on using a video capture device from ADS or Canopus was flawed because it wasn't addressed. I like the idea of the VHS to DVD recorder for it's simplicity but it seems redundant to burn to a DVD, upload it to my CPU edit and burn to another DVD, I was hoping to capture my tapes directly to my computer.

    I appologize for my gaff in the subject line, won't happen again.

    Thanks again

    Boomer1948
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  6. Originally Posted by Boomer1948
    I assume that my thoughts on using a video capture device from ADS or Canopus was flawed because it wasn't addressed.
    It was addressed by thecoalman. The Canopus ADVC devices are DV (DV AVI on the computer).
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  7. Member edDV's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Boomer1948
    Thanks for the ideas, I assume that my thoughts on using a video capture device from ADS or Canopus was flawed because it wasn't addressed. I like the idea of the VHS to DVD recorder for it's simplicity but it seems redundant to burn to a DVD, upload it to my CPU edit and burn to another DVD, I was hoping to capture my tapes directly to my computer.

    I appologize for my gaff in the subject line, won't happen again.

    Thanks again

    Boomer1948
    The Camcorder to DVDR to DVD option assumes cuts only editing, MPeg2 quality and desire for fastest workflow.

    The Camcorder to DV capture technique (ADS or Canopus or Digital8 or MiniDV camcorder pass thru methods) assumes high edit and filtering flexibility and higher archive quality at the cost of large storage files.

    Although the ADS Pyro and Canopus ADVC can be used for conversion, a MiniDV camcorder with analog pass-through can also get the job done. This all assume you still have the VHS-C / Hi8 camcorders for playback.

    For large scale dubbing where the original camcorder is not avaialble, I've concluded the best way to go is the Sony GV-D200 or GVD800 playback decks with DV (firewire) out. These also have analog pass through capability to allow capture from a VHS camcorder or player.

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    http://www.kiva.org/about
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  8. Member
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    Boomer1948, it looks like I'm trying to do the same things you want to do. We bought our first camera and recorder in 1980 (hence the name VHSfrom1980) and now I want to convert tapes to DVD so family and friends can share those memories. My budget is VERY low, so I've accepted the fact that the DVDs will be made on consumer equipment and I'll live with DVDs that will be far less than perfect copies. Better to share a "watchable" DVD than not have the perfect DVD.

    So I bought a Sony VRD-MC5 to see what it was like. Here are my conclusions.

    Sony VRD-MC5:
    PROS:
    1. Not at all complicated with very few options, so if you can live with the limitations it is very easy to make a nice enough DVD straight from tape with no computer editing (it can also do a menu screen easily);
    2. Has quality modes that allow up to 6 hours of video on a standard single layer DVD. The quality gets pretty low, but sometimes I just want to get more than 2 hours on a single DVD (e.g. a complete high school football game I recorded).
    3. Can combine video from multiple tapes onto a single DVD before the DVD is "finalized" for playing in a DVD player. Lets me easily make a "highlight" DVD of a single kid or team from a season of videocam recordings.

    CONS:
    1. The unit has a circuit that detects the quality of the video signal and if the signal gets too weak the recording process "pauses". Not a good feature when trying to transfer VHS tapes from the early 1980's recorded in 6 hour mode. I lost so many minutes of video due to this issue. For this reason alone the unit is unacceptable.
    2. No way to monitor the audio (the LCD screen shows the video). Not a major problem, but I want to use audio to monitor the progress of the recording and know when a tape is done.
    3. The unit "froze" several times and I had to unplug the power cord to "unfreeze" it. Lost the DVD and the time invested up to that moment.

    After I took it back to the store I went and bought a Dazzle Video Creator. Here are those results:

    Dazzle Video Creator:
    PROS:
    1. Using InstantDVD, I can do "tape to DVD" easily. The menu options are easy to edit and provide lots of opportunities to customize with very little effort.
    2. If I want to, I can go crazy with title screens, menu screens, transitions and so on using a DVD authoring program.
    3. Because it uses the PC's audio card I can audibly monitor the tape's progress.

    CONS:
    1. Using InstantDVD, the most I can record is 133 minutes on a standard DVD. To record a longer video means using a video editing program and the easy "tape to DVD" process is gone.
    2. InstantDVD does not allow for a pause or stop in the recording process, so to combine clips from multiple tapes I again have to use a DVD authoring program. I wish InstantDVD offered the ability to "finalize" a DVD instead of finalizing it when the "stop recording" icon is clicked.
    3. Unless you're using a dedicated PC with a DVD recorder, the PC is probably not usable for other tasks while converting a tape to DVD or file.

    I joined VideoHelp.com specifically to see if ANYONE knows of a program like InstantDVD that will allow for longer than 2 hours on a single DVD and also will allow pauses in the recording process so multiple tapes can be combined onto a single DVD. Frankly, image quality is not a #1 priority because the original tapes are not so hot. I just want to watch old home videos and not spend 15 hours making a DVD of a 6 hour EP tape. Should I start a new topic (I'm new to this posting business)?

    Good luck in your "tape to DVD" conversion journey!
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