What's best way to convert tape to dvd?

[fwbaumann]

I'm trying to take some old videotapes and convert them to DVD. They are 20 years old and need a great deal of video/audio cleaning and I need some advice.

1. I can do an analog color correction, sync enhancement and time base correction and then capture and edit the video. Also I can do some analog correction on the noise. For highest quality it better to correct within a editor using multiple filters or to partially correct (analog) during capture.
2. I've been told that if extensive cleaning is required that it is better to capture in loss less AVI, edit, and then convert to DVD. Others have indicated that the video should be copied in to the DVD camera and firewired into the editor. (This seems that adding problems from MPEG to MPEG conversions.)
3. The videos are very old (some with only 280 lines of resolution) and full of video/audio noise. Filter and windows editor recommendations would be appreciated. Does adobe premiere have adiquate filters for such a task? (My platform is windows xp)

I need the best conversion possible and any advice would be appreciated.

[lordsmurf]

Best method is most expensive. A proc amp is great.

Beyond that, do as much as possible at capture. If that's not enough do more in an encode.

[jameshgross]

After transfering several hundered VHS tapes to DVD I can assure you that the best you can do is an accurate copy of the original material. Dont try to filter or alter the transference. Here is what I do:
VHS -> Home Theater -> Monitor out -> Hauppauge WinTV PVR 2.0 USB -> MPEG capture to HD -> TMPGEnc DVD Author -> Sony 510 -> DVD.

The VHS original is then stored away. Two copies are really made the original MPEG file will also be stored on a data DVD if the file will fit.

I usually adjust the capture quality so that the MPEG file will fit on a DVD.
i.e one dvd per VHS tape. I am pleased with the results and if at some point in the future I wish to apply filters or other methods I have an MPEG file to play with.

[gshelley61]

It depends on what they are. I have some 20 year old commercial VHS tapes that are in decent shape and still look pretty darn good. If what you have is tape in very poor, worn out condition... or it is badly shot material (crappy lighting, incorrect white balance, etc.) then you have some work to do. Videotape archivists usually transfer one "unaltered" copy to a relatively lossless digital format and then create corrected copies from the transfer. However, they still use TBC's, Proc Amps and scopes to stabilize the image and stay within acceptable video signal parameters.

If these are priceless tapes that can't be replaced, you may want to have a professional videotape archivist do a transfer for you. Otherwise, use hardware correction methods to make your DVD copies and clean up the video the best that you can when capturing. You definitely do not want to filter and re-encode MPEG2 if at all possible. Capturing to AVI and filtering with software is harder to do... that method has a steep learning curve if you want really good results.

A high quality playback VCR can help a great deal, too. Don't use a cheap POS for this. lordsmurf has some excellent suggestions here:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/vcrtbcsuggestions.htm

[spiderman2k1]

One way use a ATI AIW or ATI TV Tuner card that has video soap. to clean up the video. The other way is to capture the video and use TMPG to clean the video. The last way is to use a high end VCR that has noise reduction and a capture card or DVD recorder. I like Panasonic and JVC. If you want hard drive Panasonic if you do not want a hard drive get JVC.