what's easier-- dvd to mpg or vhs to mpg?

[meganann]

i want to author a dvd using both chapters from ripped dvds and stuff extracted from vhs.
first i got pinnacle studio 9 because it's supposed to do all that, but it won't read vobs unless converted to mpg, and it sounds like the sound disappears in mpg format, so the sound would have to be converted separately, which is all a big pain.
so then i tried tmpgenc author, which beautifully reads a burned dvd automatically into mpg-video and ac3-sound, and can edit, create menus, etc. plus it's half the price of studio 9, but i still need a way to get vhs into editable mpg so that tmpgenc author will read it.
i'm guessing that's the easier way to go, because vhs always has to be converted anyway. i just want to make sure there's a way to capture analog into something that can be imported by tmpgenc author. and if it's very complicated and expensive, might i be better off keeping the pinnacle program (with its video card) and learning to convert vobs with freeware?
thanks for helping me puzzle it out.

[Capmaster]

i want to author a dvd using both chapters from ripped dvds and stuff extracted from vhs.
first i got pinnacle studio 9 because it's supposed to do all that, but it won't read vobs unless converted to mpg, and it sounds like the sound disappears in mpg format, so the sound would have to be converted separately, which is all a big pain.
so then i tried tmpgenc author, which beautifully reads a burned dvd automatically into mpg-video and ac3-sound, and can edit, create menus, etc. plus it's half the price of studio 9, but i still need a way to get vhs into editable mpg so that tmpgenc author will read it.
i'm guessing that's the easier way to go, because vhs always has to be converted anyway. i just want to make sure there's a way to capture analog into something that can be imported by tmpgenc author. and if it's very complicated and expensive, might i be better off keeping the pinnacle program (with its video card) and learning to convert vobs with freeware?
thanks for helping me puzzle it out.

A really easy way is to get a capture box which will cap right into MPEG. Messing with DV is overkill for VHS purposes. However, DV is better if you plan to do a lot of editing.

Check out the guides along the left and read about the pros and cons of the two formats.

[akbor75]

i suggest bying a cheap capture card (i got a pctv rave) and capture to indeo 5. (i know you can capture directly to mpeg, but i would'nt use pinnacle studio for that.)

[meganann]

i know you can capture directly to mpeg, but i would'nt use pinnacle studio for that.

Thanks but, for the record, why not?

[meganann]

A really easy way is to get a capture box which will cap right into MPEG. Messing with DV is overkill for VHS purposes. However, DV is better if you plan to do a lot of editing.

Forgive me but, what's the difference between DV and MPEG? (I have been studying the site for many days and been unable to figure this out.) Why is DV messier? Why is it better for editing?

It would be convenient for me to simply be able to transfer the VHS to Tmpgenc Author so I will look for gadgets that can manage this.

[akbor75]

meganann,

i don't use pinnacle studio (PS) for capturing anymore since i got edit studio (ES), cos with ES i can set more parameters than with PS. E.g. de color space selected by PS is not so good (i think it's called YUV). with ES i can set it to RGB24 wich is much better.

nice thing of ES is that it has multi layer video (so you can use split screen, picture in picture etc) for a price not much higher than PS.