VHS capturing best with? a standalone DVD recorder ?

[candyman1337]

Hey guys ,

I have a question , i know it's been covered before audio/sync problems while capping VHS (using virtual dub) . I have same sync. problems .
But my question now is , what's the best/easiest way to cap my VHS tapes to DVD . What hardware do i need ? Or is it easiest using a standalone DVD recorder ?

[petar]

Or is it easiest using a standalone DVD recorder ?

By far the easiest. However, not very flexible because you can only capture in MPEG2.

I use Canopus ADVC100 and can't be happier with it. Again, I can only capture in DV but it's dead easy and no sync problems.

Capturing with a PC as opposed to a dedicated box (like a DVD recorder or DV converter) is much more complicated (PCs were never designed for this) but it has its advantages - you can capture in any format and resolution you want. And it's cheaper, providing you already have the PC, you just need to buy a capture card which is way way cheaper than a DVD recorder or DV converter.

[gadfly]

I noticed Petar - that you are using a Canopus 100. I just bought one (yesterday) and am checking out my options re: software recording etc. I want to turn my old fav. VHS movies into DVD. I was wondering what software you were using with your Canopus - and what are the steps involved.

Last night I tried a straight from VHS to DVD using Ulead Movie factory. The process took hours - with a capture phase, a convert to DVD files (VOB's) and then the burn process. I wasn't happy with picture quality. Today I'm trying a VHS>Premiere 6.5> encode to MPEG2 using the Premiere plugin>then I guess I'll use Movie Factory to create to chapters, vob files, etc. Not sure if I'll try another prog. for the actual burning - Movie Factory may not be my best choice for this part.

I would like to know what your process is and the software you've checked out.

Thanks

Gadfly

[vhelp]

Its my OP that those who have audio sync problems w/ analog capture devices
are always due to frame drops. Even one, can throw off an audio, especially
if its deep into the movie.. or maybe it doesn't really matter.

But, its my beleaf that as long as you do not drop a single frame, you should
not have any audio sync issues :P

Give that some thought, and test w/ smaller resolution captures and see if
that works out for ya. But, make sure you don't drop frames :P

Good luck,
-vhelp

[petar]

I was wondering what software you were using with your Canopus - and what are the steps involved.

If you're new to this best to go through the "how to" section on the left. There are several steps involved (capture, edit, encode, author and burn) though with Ulead MF you can do them all in one tool. I use different tool for each step and not always the same one.

For capturing (to stick to the forum topic) I use WinDV. The ADVC100 does all the hard work of capturing and converting to DV. Your PC only saves it into an AVI format so a simple tool like WinDV is more than enough.

[handyguy]

Try a Panasonic e50 or better, they have all sorts of filters that do the job for you. VHS isn't very high resolution. My panasonic makes dvds of my vhs or Hi8 that look the same as the originals even in LP mode.

[tatty]

I'm no expert but having been through the same painful process here's my pennyworth.

I had all sorts of sync and dropped frame problems to start with. Installed a cheapo capture card in my old P3 500 and used MGI Videowave. Dropped frames all over, even at low res. Audio got progressively out of sync as time went on. Got fed up. Took up fishing.

Found this site - rebuilt my PC with a 2400 AMD and 512Mb RAM + 120GB hard drive. Wiped a 'small' 8gb disk clean and built it with XP and only the video applications I needed - VirtualDub, TMPGEnc etc. Same £30 capture card but dumped the software and loaded the latest BTWIN drivers.

Now it captures sweet as a nut. Drops frames only on very bad source. I can even keep partial preview on VirtualDub at max resolution and the processor is still only running at 50% - Joy!

Audio is still out of sync on capture but now it's a constant offset. Presumably this is due to the audio being captured through the PC audio chain rather than through the capture card (?) Seems weird to me. Why can't we just capture the whole thing through one device, or am I missing something? Anyway, not a major problem since TMPGEnc allows you to correct this during coding. I find that if I chuck in a 150mS offset then the resultant mpg is more or less spot on throughout a 2 hour video.

Hope that helps