Least difficult way to transfer VHS content to DVD?

[Jorus]

I'm very new to video capturing/editing/burning, but one thing has become clear: TV shows who are still making a mint in syndication are not likely to become available on DVD anytime soon. With that in mind, I'd very much like to transfar my taped reruns to DVD or VCD, so I can at least have a copy that will last longer than the tape, and that won't degrade with each viewing.

However, I'm lost in terms of what hardware I need, and what software I should use.

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could recommend the necessary hardware and software I'll need in this adventure

[TheInformer]

There are -basically- two ways to go about this:

1. Hardware encoding
You'll need to buy a hardware encoding board/box, such as Dazzle DVC2, ADS USB Instant DVD, PV256, etc. Once that's done, you'll need to connect it to your video source (TV, VHS, etc). Capture the video. Burn to CDR/CDRW.

The only entra hardware you will probably need is the board/box.

2. Software Encoding
You'll need: a TV tuner card, fast CPU, large hard drive, 128 megs RAM, free capture and encoding software available here at VCDHelp, and lots of time. Capture the video to the hard drive. Using the software, encode the video on hte hard drive to a suitable format (MPEG-1/2), burn to CDR/CDRW.

Depending on your PC, this might be cheaper.

[Jorus]

Thanks for the response

If I went the hardware encoding route, would I still be able to edit the content, create chapter breaks, menus, et al?

[TheInformer]

The hardware encoding route is like buying a Dell: it's prebuilt and ready to go with a minimum of fuss.

The software encoding route is like building a PC yourself. It takes longer, you can run into unexpected problems, and it takes more time, but you have lots more flexibility.

To answer your question more directly, yes, you could do those things.

They would be a lot harder to do though, because your 'source material' would already be encoded, and encoded material is harder to work with. There are many AVI editors you can download, but MPEG-1/2 file editors are few and far between.

[Jorus]

Thanks once again

I'll try to locate a MPEG editor (or if you can recommend one, I'm all ears). If I can't find an affordable solution, I'll have to take my chances and go the software way.