VHS to DVD/complete capture to edit to menu creation to DVDr

[onetrueday]

I'm taking on my first client for my newly created vhs to DVDr business. I'm using a capopus advc1394 for the capture.

I'm HOPING that dvio will be able to see the advc1394, although it wouldnt see the dazzle hollywoodDV.

So, here's what I'm thinking.

DVIO - to capture
virtualdub - to edit out the unneeded parts
tmpgenc - to create an mpeg
TMPGEnc DVD Author - To create a menu system and ready the movie for burning
Nero - to burn into a DVDr

How does that sound? Am I doing something wrong or is there another way to do it better or faster?

quality is very important.

thanks!!

[FulciLives]

Don't use NERO for the BURNING as many stand alone DVD players have trouble playing back DVD-R discs burned with NERO

Consider buying a TBC if you will be doing mostly VHS sources.

Consider getting a multi-format DVD burner so you can do DVD-R as well as DVD+R but you should only do DVD+R by request otherwise do DVD-R

Use the best quality media you can buy (i.e., expensive).

A friend of mine started a similiar business and almost went out-of-business due to returns because of bad discs which were due to his use of el cheapo quality DVD-R blanks. He started using nothing but the made-in-Japan FUJI DVD-R discs and no complaints since.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
You might want to consider getting the Canopus ADVC-100 instead of the one you mentioned.

[onetrueday]

very good advice, thank you.

I had purchased a large number of el cheapo dvd-r discs, but I might return them.

It's my understanding that the card I bought contains the exact same nec encoding chip as the more expensive set-top advc-100. I've been looking for solid information to confirm this, but it's been short-coming.

tom

[housepig]

you might also try DVD Lab for your authoring step - it's got a 30 day trial period, so you can get a feel for it - a bit of a learning curve, but you can do some great work with it.

[allaboutduncan]

I agree on the cheap discs. If these are for clients buy better discs and charge them for it. My DVD players will play anything I throw at them (2nd Gen Sony and new Samsung), but my friends and my sister's players both choke on the cheap discs (DVDPro, SuperMedia, DVDOn). I've had great results with Ritek G3 discs and generally stick with them.

[digitalmaster]

Once you start making money off your business, you may want to purchase a higher end fast video encoder.
TMPGEnc produces good results but is extremely slow.
CinemaCraft Encoder offers a Basic version for $49 and is extremely fast. Probably the fastest on the market. Some people get over 2:1 encoding time. Their SP version has many more options, is geared toward the professional and costs over $1000.
MainConcept Encoder offers good quality at $149 and gives you 1:1 encoding time. There 1.4 version coming out is supposed to be faster.
Canopus ProCoder is also very good and runs around $700. Some people say it works very well with interlaced material.
DVDLab offers professional DVD authoring options at a home user price. Excellent program with constant updates.
You may also want to start using something called AviSynth to help improve the quality of the video encode. You can read about it here:
www.avisynth.org
www.doom9.org
www.kvcd.net

[RayS]

I tried DVIO and had similar problems with my Canopus ADVC-100. WinDV worked great.

[xiaNaix]

MainConcept Encoder offers good quality at $149 and gives you 1:1 encoding time. There 1.4 version coming out is supposed to be faster.

It is.

[FOO]

Just out of curiousity, what does it cost to do one tape ?

[onetrueday]

I am charging $25 per DVD. If you're non-local, that includes shipping your DVD and tapes back to you.

I'll use up to two vhs tapes to pull the video from, putting up to two hours onto a dvdr. I also include menu's with a 10 minute seperation between chapters.

If you're interested, let me know. I also offer other services, including putting up to 6 hours onto a single DVDr. There is almost no loss of quality either and this is the way I do my own movies. For that type of service, I charge more.

zooner @ aol.com

tom

[holistic]

.....including putting up to 6 hours onto a single DVDr. There is almost no loss of quality either .......

You have got to be joking. You even stated "quality is very important. "
https://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm
In order to fit 6 hours of video on a DVD the bitrate will be ~1500. Very low indeed.
I guess the "no loss of quality" come from transferring crappy divx movies.

However 2 hours of VHS on a DVD seems reasonable.
Will also agree ,DVDLab is a powerful authoring application.

][

[onetrueday]

I wouldnt suggest that most people try and fit ~6 hours onto a dvd, but it can be done with almost no loss. The key is the quality of the source. Most of the video came from a miniDV camcorder and if I remember correctly, I was using 2500-3000 variable vbr.

thanks for the suggestion, i'll certainly be looking into dvdlab

[Bob W]

I would buy a DVD recorder then use it to record the VHS because the quality is much better than any capture I could ever do. After you have the recording on DVD-RAM or DVD+/-RW then you could transfer to computer for editing (although some editing could be done in the recording stage) and a final burn from the computer. This would also save a ton of time IMO.

[onetrueday]

I've heard that a number of times and it doesnt make any sense. I've used six differant capture devices, including a canopus advc1394 and a radeon9800pro aiw. None of them compared to using a miniDV camcorder though.

I was using a JVC GR920u, but the firewire port burned out on me. I attemptd to get it fixed, however they wanted 550 JUST FOR THE PART!!

So, I'm returning the canopus capture card and I'm using a canon miniDV to encode. Given my experiences, nothing beats a miniDV for the encoding. I dont know if the canon is going to do this, but the JVC actually IMPROVED the quality. I took a dance vhs that was professionally done, however they did a HORRIBLE job.

Using the JVC, the quality was significantly better. It balanced out the colors and improved the white balance. The friend I did the capture for was AMAZED. I'm not advertising here because that was with the JVC and now I'm using a canon, which I have done a full conversion yet with.

There are serious issues with the canopus cards and from what I've read, some people have having the same issues with the advc100 as well. They're skirting the issue as well by not provding links to the downloads, making you contact them for a necessary file. The problem lies with winxp sp1 and they're blaming microsoft and microsoft is blaming them. UGH!!

[ebenton]

I have used a program which apparently not many people on this forum have tried, Magix Movies. It's a German program with some broken English translations in it, but it has actually done a decent job for me in the past. The last time I used it (last week), I captured and transferred a 45-minute VHS tape to a DVD. It took around 3 hours to encode and burn the DVD, however, so I don't know if I would use it for a business. Nevertheless, the quality was good and I did the whole thing with one application.

[onetrueday]

I have used a program which apparently not many people on this forum have tried, Magix Movies. It's a German program with some broken English translations in it, but it has actually done a decent job for me in the past. The last time I used it (last week), I captured and transferred a 45-minute VHS tape to a DVD. It took around 3 hours to encode and burn the DVD, however, so I don't know if I would use it for a business. Nevertheless, the quality was good and I did the whole thing with one application.

hmm... that might just be what I need! I'll definately be giving that a spin when I get home.

certainly be nice to simplify the process as long as quality is maintained. Pinnacle s*cks because the encoding time is pathetic.

thanks! for 30, that's a very fair price too.

[Will Hay]

.....certainly be nice to simplify the process as long as quality is maintained. Pinnacle s*cks because the encoding time is pathetic.

Which version of Pinnacle had you tried?

I had purchased a large number of el cheapo dvd-r discs, but I might return them.

Yes, do.
It's false economy and it won't make your customers very happy when they fail due to the shitty coating.....
....one question that's been niggling at me since I saw your first post.
This first client of yours (and I don't need to know specific's, I'm in the UK), is it a friend you know, someone you don't know but has been recommended or is it a business client, ie the source isn't a home movie but something like a presentation that his customers will see?
Just curious

So, I'm returning the canopus capture card and I'm using a canon miniDV to encode. Given my experiences, nothing beats a miniDV for the encoding.

Forgive me as I'm far from an expert but how are you using your MiniDV camcorder to encode?
I thought the only benefit of a MiniDV camcorder over such like an ATI AIW or the canopus range would be the passthrough facility.
As I've used neither I can't comment but I'd be interested to learn of camcorder that can encode (presumably to dvd/,mpeg2, right?).

I dont know if the canon is going to do this, but the JVC actually IMPROVED the quality.

I wouldn't mind seeing that too
Will Hay, confused.

[onetrueday]

the source was a dance movie that his kids were in. The professionals who made the video did a HORRIBLE job. They used three differant cameras and each camera had a problem with color or shading.

I assumed I might be able to run some filters through it, but it wasnt necessary! The quality had balanced out during the jvc's onboard encoding.

quite a few miniDV camcorder can take an analog signal in and then encode it onboard, transmitting the digital signal over firewire to your computer. I have tried many solutions, but NOTHING works as good as a miniDV for encoding. My attempts have included a dazzle hollywoodDV, a canopus advc1394 and a radeon9800pro aiw.

Another benefit of using a miniDV is that all the work is done in the camera, so you can mult-task like a madperson, without any loss of performance.

I have pinnacle studio 8 with all the updates.

[overloaded_ide]

I have a cannon ZR60 DV camcorder, still a bit new with it though.

I don't think it is doing the encoding, or only half of it. More like converting! It takes in analogue signal and sends a DV signal to the computer, but that is an AVI file. It still has to be encoded on the PC to mpeg2 for DVD authoring.
At least thats how it worked for me with DIVO over the firewire port. Now of course if you have a program that will capture the DV signal and save a Mpeg2 file on the fly, or author direct to DVD that would be different.
But then the software is doing the work again too, isn't it!
I have only heard of 2 programs that supposedly can do that, but I have been told the quality is poor generally. Though I have not tried them myself.

Also not sure about the 6 hrs on a DVD. Isn't the specs like 4,000-8,000 bits?? With all the existing compatibility problems we already have, can you go below specs and still be sure it will work? Would that be like a large SVCD instead of DVD? Or maybe a VCD?

Technically I thnk just because it's on a DVD disk, does not make it a DVD. I saved a larged Mpeg1 file and also a large Mpeg2 file to DVD RW before and they worked fine in my DVD player, half way through! Then they just stopped. Mine was a problem with the file size not the disks.

Also I saved a bunch of mpeg1 cartoons to a disk. It also played the same as a DVD, it was not authored as anything though! My DVD player just saw all the mpg files and gave me a menu to select which one I wanted to play.

[Will Hay]

quite a few miniDV camcorder can take an analog signal in and then encode it onboard

This is rubbish, but I think it's just a case of your naivety (no offence).
As overloaded quite rightly points out, you are not encoding at all, you are simply converting your DV footage to your PC via firewire.
You then encode your footage to a format of your choice, either mpeg2 (vcd) or mpeg2 (scvd/dvd).
As I said, I'd like to see a camcorder in your price range that takes an analogue footage and converts it to mpeg2 onboard.

I have pinnacle studio 8 with all the updates.

I would never use Studio to encode, but just because it takes a little time doesn't mean it sucks.
I use TMPGEnc to encode because
a) I love the quality it produces and (more importantly)
b) I can afford it
Studio is superb for editing, I wouldn't be without it and it works flawlessly for me.
Many users on dvdrhelp report it's buggy. It may well be but for me it isn't.
The only reason I asked who your source was is because if it's for a commercial company you seem to be asking some very basic questions in your field when you already have a customer base.
No offence intended but personally I've been lurking here for over a year and my vhs/camcorder to dvd conversion site has only just gone live, this week in fact.
Maybe I'm just a slow learner.
Good luck with your venture.
Will Hay

[FOO]

If you're interested, let me know. I also offer other services, including putting up to 6 hours onto a single DVDr. There is almost no loss of quality either

Sorry, I'll have to see that before I believe it. I did 4.5 hours using
every trick in the book and it was just barely OK.

[Will Hay]

If you're interested, let me know. I also offer other services, including putting up to 6 hours onto a single DVDr. There is almost no loss of quality either

Sorry, I'll have to see that before I believe it. I did 4.5 hours using
every trick in the book and it was just barely OK.

Hey Foo!
No offence to the original poster but come on, you didn't really believe you could incorporate 6 hours of dvd quality material on a dvd5 disk, did you?
Will

[Will Hay]

To assist you in your original question

How does that sound?....am I doing something wrong or is there another way to do it better or faster?......

For me...

Capture:
Pinnacle Studio 8.5 for DV footage
Virtualdub for analogue footage
Edit
Pinnacle Studio 8.5 and save as an avi
Encode:
TMPGENc Plus
Author:
Ulead Movie Factory 2.0
Burn:
RecordNowMax

A long complex process?
Nope.
It works flawlessly for me and is the result of my year of learning/the limit of my financial constraints.

quality is very important.

Okay, so don't put six hours on a dvd.
Will Hay

[FOO]

Will
Why wait six weeks, that's the worst part

[Will Hay]

Will
Why wait six weeks, that's the worst part

I don't want to die man, I think it's inevitable is all
If I'm not dead in the first six weeks then I'll be okay
......how does it take to die from sleep depravation by the way?
Will

[FOO]

About six weeks. I think

[onetrueday]

This is rubbish, but I think it's just a case of your naivety (no offence).
As overloaded quite rightly points out, you are not encoding at all, you are simply converting your DV footage to your PC via firewire.

So, it's an act of magic that an analog video is converted to a digital signal? Perhaps it is niave to call it encoding, but when that video is being changed over by a hardware codec, I call it encoding.

If you're capturing via a software method, you're limited to how much you can do with your pc while this is taking place. Even the radeon 9800pro aiw is subject to these limitations. Otherwise you'll drop frames.

On the other hand, the encoding to mpeg2(or 1) process doesnt need be to such a sole focus point. I've run two encoding programs at the same time and then played a game, obviously with no loss of quality and minimal slowdown.

No offence to the original poster but come on, you didn't really believe you could incorporate 6 hours of dvd quality material on a dvd5 disk, did you?

I'm picking up a memory card readery because I cant find the cord for my camera. unless someone else can think of an easier way to prove the quality, I'll take a couple of pictures. I probably wouldnt suggest taking analog signal and stretching that over six hours, but I havent tried it yet. My source for my six hour experiment was from a jvc miniDV camcorder, which I'm sure contributed to the success.

[pixel]

I constantly put about 6hrs onto DVD from real-time encodes with my ATI software, using a light clean-up videosoap setting.

I capture in VBR and the quality is OK for just recording DVDs that you won't watch much, but for a commercial purpose I don't know what you are thinking.

First there is the drop down in frame size. Yes, normal people may not notice this, but thats just a rip off. Also, normal people may not notice the shimmering or slight blocking, but you want to give them the best.

Why would you even consider doing that? People would send them back saying the quality is crap and they want them replaced. Just do 2hrs a DVD and then they end up paying more for your services, but they will have no quality complaints.

Instead of charging more for 6hrs on a DVD, you should charge less for the lower quality you are giving the customer. (yes, i know you want to charge more because you have to do more editing, but what is the point of paying more for something that will give you lower quality?)

[Jimbo71]

For me...

Capture:
Pinnacle Studio 8.5 for DV footage
Virtualdub for analogue footage

Can someone help me?
My Virtualdub program does not seem to find any of my Codecs loaded.
What am I doing wrong?
I want to use it to capture, but can't?
I am using Windows XP if that matters.

[pixel]

@Jimbo71 it could possibly be codec conflicts (if you installed something like nemo codec pack) if you have a lot of codecs installed.

Or you may only have decompression codecs installed (playback only).