VHS to iMovie

[fatespawn]

I have a quality question.

Obviously converting from VHS is going to be pretty grainy, but I was wondering what the best process for converting these to digital files for future use.

So far, I've converted them to DVD's and ripped them into VOB's. For use in iMovie, I'm using ffmpegx to convert the VOB's to DV.

Is there a better process that will yield better image quality?

Thanks.

Fate

[major]

The rule in signal processing is trash in - trash out, so the best quality you're going to have here is the one of the VHS image. However, since a VHS signal has much noise, you could try to use filters in iMovie to remove some of that noise.

[fatespawn]

That's the plan Major. What I was hoping was to mimimize the loss of quality as I move between formats. VHS - VOB - DV. I don't think there's going to be much loss, but I was wondering if there was a better conversion method.

For example, is there a better capture methos for VHS skipping the DVD process? Is there any loss going from VOB to DV?

-fate

[major]

There is always some loss, but this does not mean anything in itself. The increase of noise has to be compared to the signal/noise of the source. If you mark a black dot on a white paper, it will make a difference. If you add the same black dot on a paper which you previously burned with a flamethrower, it will not make any difference. I suspect that VHS signal captured with analog devices is already so rotten that the encoding noise can be totally ignored.

[fatespawn]

Thanks. Great analogy, Major.

Fate

[mwest]

Fate,

I don't know if this will help, but I do this a lot for archiving old ass crappy VHSs. They still look and sound about the same, but you can tweak them, since they are digital.

I inherited this little Analog->DV device when I started this position. It's great to do VHS-iMovie since it gives the computer a DV signal, it's just like using a cam...

It's official name is "DV Hardware Codec Converter" by Sony, model number: DVMC-DA2. I'm sure there are other ones out there, but this does S-Video or RCA -> DV and vice versa.

Matthew

[fatespawn]

Thanks Matthew,

I was considering a converter a few months ago, but the reality is I only have a couple of VHS's that I really wanted to convert and a family member mentioned that they could burn them to DVD's for me.

So, since I only had a few videos (though priceless family value) I just had them do the conversion and now I have them on DVD. I ripped them with MTR and converted the VOB's to DV with ffmpegx for iMovie editing. I assume through the process there was some quality loss, but HEY, that's what old family movies are supposed to look like anyway. In any case, grandma will be shocked-and-awed by iMovie/iDVD's glitz anyway.

Fate

[mwest]

Fate,

Yeah, plus the conversion from VIDEO_TS to DV is the least of your worries as far as quality goes. As long as it's not pixelly, then you are set!

Matthew