Possible better quality VHS-DVD captures

[overloaded_ide]

Just a thought on something I'm going to try, thought others might want to try it too if you haven't already.

I capture directly to mpeg2 files with my ATI AIW. Normally I set my bit rate to try and achieve a 4gig file. That's the size I like to make my DVDS, large for best quality, not out to the very edge of the disk either.

This is working good, but I was wondering if I could get better quality if I capture everything 8,000 bits, author an over size DVD, then use DVDshrink to reduce to fit a DVDr.
Now I know the idea of compressing a compressed file and losses, but figure worth a try for an 80 cent disk

I really like the results I got for 3 hr movies with DVDshrink for a DVD backup. Course I had a true DVD to start with for a source.

ANyone else tried this method? IF so what were your results?
If you try it post your results! I hope to do one tonight myself.

[oldfart13]

Just wondering how you got around the problem of the AIW recording the wrong field order when capping? I did a 3 minute test cap last night and when authored, the disc has definite field order problems (jitter). Lord Smurf's page on field order correction with TMPGENC doesn't work, so I'm asking others how they solved the problem. Is there a setting in MMC to correct the problem? What are your settings? For VHS, I use 352 X 480 4 MBPS 224K stereo audio, Mpeg-2 (1/2 D1 DVD spec) though I have to convert the audio from 44.1 to 48 KHz using SVCD2DVDMPG+ (takes only a few minutes). I don't want to re encode the Mpeg-2 if at all possible. This was supposed to work so you didn't have to cap in AVI (as I used to do) and then convert which used up hours of computer time. Currently using a PIII 1 GHz, 512 Meg RAM, 80 Gig capture only drive (5 drive system), AIW 7500, MMC 7.5.

[pijetro]

Yeah, I tried something similair, but it was because all my clips authoured together in DVDLab were over the limit. So I thought Hmmmm, why not get DVD shrink to compress it just enough to fit.

Unfortunately, when I loaded the Video_TS folder, i got an error. Yes, everything worked within DVDShrink, but for some reason the Video and audio were at 0KB.

I'm not familiar with DVD ripping, copying or shrinking, but perhaps DVD2ONE would be a better option????

[overloaded_ide]

DVD Shrink 3 Beta 5 is simple to figure out and works extremely well for me for ripping DVDs and doing backups. 2.3 was good too.

As for my settings, I'll have to look em up, their on the other system and I can't get to it for awhile. But I don't get the jitters (cept when I am out of coffee)

though I have to convert the audio from 44.1 to 48 KHz using

Sounds like your using MMC 7.5 like I had with my ATI AIW Radeon 7500
to begin with.

I am using the MMC 7.7 version. If you have 7.5 that's why you can't do above 44,100hz audio. 7.7 does 48,000hz which is what you need. And I think they fixed a header error or something too. There are newe versions than that even, but I use 7.7

I do need to mention a problem I had though in case you have a dual boot system! If your boot drive is fat32 and your capturing to a NTFS drive it WILL NOT CAPTURE after the upgrade to 7.7!

You can capture smaller files fine to the Fat32 drive, but that file system has a file size limit, like 2gigs I think. You CAN NOT capture to the NTFS drive. Simple fix is to convert your boot drive to NTFS then you can capture to any drive again. But if your dual booting with win 98 on the same drive, then you lose win98 because it will not run on NTSF.

That I think was my only problem, so I put the win98 stuff on another system and converted the boot drive to NTFS and fixed that.

Also if you ran the macrovision patche, you'll need to run it again after the uprade.
Also the upgrade requires you first remove your currunt MMC then install the new one, you lose the DVD player, Not included in the newer MMC 7.7 download.
I never tried installing it agian off the original cd, that might work, but I use power DVD anyway instead.

[oldfart13]

My boot drive is FAT32 but it's XP only, so I have no problems capping to the 2 80 Gig capture drives. Yeah, I have 7.5. Not going to try upgrades again as the last time they crippled my system. Why is it so hard for ATI to make their software just overwrite the old software? Hell even Windoze does that...and still works. ATI drivers won't unless you want to have no system at all. Another reason to consider a standalone DVD recorder. Any idea how to fix the reversed field order problem in MMC 7.5? No info at all from ATI. I might just get other software to do the caps, even though Lord Smurf and others say not to. I never had any of these problems capping to AVI and converting. The time factor is the only thing I want to get around anyway.

[lordsmurf]

Just a thought on something I'm going to try, thought others might want to try it too if you haven't already.

I capture directly to mpeg2 files with my ATI AIW. Normally I set my bit rate to try and achieve a 4gig file. That's the size I like to make my DVDS, large for best quality, not out to the very edge of the disk either.

This is working good, but I was wondering if I could get better quality if I capture everything 8,000 bits, author an over size DVD, then use DVDshrink to reduce to fit a DVDr.
Now I know the idea of compressing a compressed file and losses, but figure worth a try for an 80 cent disk

I really like the results I got for 3 hr movies with DVDshrink for a DVD backup. Course I had a true DVD to start with for a source.

ANyone else tried this method? IF so what were your results?
If you try it post your results! I hope to do one tonight myself.

I did this at one point in time, about a year ago. There isn't much difference in terms of quality. The same results will be had, no matter whether you start out at the proper size (capturing at or under 4GB MPEG2), or if you capture way too big and let a transcoder chop off the bit-rate overage.

That'll work too, but it's just an extra step that you don't really need, and the quality difference is negligible. In fact, this method can sometimes result in worse quality (macroblocks) if you shrink too much. Never go over 6GB (maybe 7GB if you're brave) on the too-big folder that you author for shrinking.

I still use this method for re-authoring. Decompile VOB from multiple discs, re-author with good menu, then re-shrink.

Try and see how you like it.

@oldfart, due to the nature of software these days, almost nobody has an update or upgrade that overwrites the old stuff. Even Windows update removes before updating (you just don't know it because it is automated). And remember, we don't pay ATI for updates, so can't complain too much.

I use DVD2ONE first. If it fails, then DVD SHRINK will normally pull through for me. If not, honestly, I just give up. But that's only happened once.

[overloaded_ide]

oldfart13,

My boot drive is FAT32 but it's XP only, so I have no problems capping to the 2 80 Gig capture drives. Yeah, I have 7.5. Not going to try upgrades again as the last time they crippled my system.

That would be your choice and far be it from me to to argue, if something should happen to go wrong!

First though I didn't think XP ran on Fat32? DOn't have XP so I could be wrong, I thought it only ran on a NTFS drive, though would read others.

Anyway, for ME, the upgrade was well worth while! That 44,100 audio limit is a big problem! Read all info about the update and do it would be my advise.
It caused me problems only becuase I had no-one to tell me about the FAT32/NTFS problem, had to find out why my captures stoped on my own!
ANyway I think it was pretty simple, but read instructions if you do it.
I think I had to install DirectX9 from MS, un-install ATI MMC 7.5, then install MMC7.7 then of course I had that file system problem, so I converted the boot drive to NTFS. Never had a problem!
BUT, that was me! ANd I run Win 2k Pro also, not XP.
I did lose the ATI DVD player, but I preffer Power DVD anyway.

Now I don't have the audio problem and I capture to a custom set mpeg2 file directly, and go straight to Tmpgenc DVD author with it and create my DVDs. I don't do any encodeing, though it might help if I did? Don't want to take the time and I get good results!
My dvds playback on the TV looking just like the original tapes did.
I do still have a minor problem with copy protection backing up some tapes though. But that is the only problems, and of course original materials don't have that problem anyway.

lordsmurf,
One of my reason also for thinking about tryng this is I goof on my bitrates often
I use the rate calculator too, but sometimes I get a 3 gig file instead of 4 gig. No need for me to go so small, just throwing away the extra space anyway.

After Looking at 3 hr dvds from Shrink, I saw no macro's. That's one of the reasons I thought of trying this over size and shrink idea.
Unfortunatly I don't have a large mpeg2 on my system right now to try, and haven't had time to capture one with it yet. Maybe tonight I can try a high rate capture for a 6gig file.