help converting VHS to DVD - using Studio 8.5

[gjjcve]

I currently own P3 933 machine with 256 mb of ram and a 120 GB WD 8mb cache hard drive. The OS is windows 2000. I have the Sony DRU 510 dvd burner and I am currently using Pinnacle Studio Deluxe.

I have about 125 VHS tapes (at least two hours long each) I am trying to convert to DVD. Of the 125 videotapes 50 need to be edited. The current process is to capture the tapes with the use of a vcr plugged into the Pinnacle Studio deluxe converter. This sometimes works and sometimes does not. If it does work the file is captured as an avi file. Which means every 17 minutes it stops recording since I reach my set windows 2000 file size limitation of 4.7 gb. This can be a real pain. Once I have finished capturing all the necessary 17 minute segments I then edit them together back into there complete format (using Studio 8.5). Once the editing is complete, still using pinnacle, I will render the information and burn it on to disc. The rendering process can sometimes take as much as 50 hours… So throughout the 50 hours I keep my fingers crossed and hope the DVD turns out (50/50 chance).

There must be a better way of doing this. I am considering rebuilding my computer.

Things I have considered to purchase are the following:

Canopus ADVC 100 –
Would this allow me to convert directly to MPEG2?
Can I edit the captured file with Studio 8.5?
If Studio does not work what can I use to edit the file?
Will an ATI card do the same as the ADVC 100?

A faster processor – Possibly a P4

Upgrading to Windows XP – this would erase the file size limitation problem?

Purchasing more RAM


Basically I am looking for the best way to convert the tapes into DVD’s…. I am willing to do whatever it takes to speed up this process. Money is not a question – I would be willing to upgrade all my hardware and software if needed.

Thanks

[skip2mylou]

hi i dont have an answer to your question but i was just wondering how would you convert VHS to DVD. what did u use, what hardware must i have and what software. again i am deeply sorry to disturb you it is just that i also have many VHS tapes and am wanting to convert to DVD. thanks and i am sorry.

[Popee]

First: Pinnacle is a great program for editing. I have Vegas 4.0 & P8, and prefer P8 for the editing as it supports scene detection in a VHS capture, which Vegas will not. However, P8 is not all that stable. It captures fine but after editing you MUST first save your work to a 'NEW' AVI file and not try to convert your completed AVI to an MPEG2, or it will most probably hang.
I do however use Vegas4/Main Concept to render to an MPEG2 file as there are more rendering options that way.

With that said, I would upgrade to at least a 2GB processor, either AMD or Intel. This will make the rendering process (including) re-saving as a new AVI file, go that much quicker. Quite obviously, the faster the processor, the faster the render. However the difference between lets say a 2GB to a 2.3GB would be negligable.

I suggest at least 512mb of Ram. I have 1GB myself.

I personally use the ADVC100, and absolutely love it. It does great on capture in P8 and never drops frames. I always capture in AVI, do my editing and then render to MPEG2. (Only after I save as a new AVI file of course).

Upgrade to XP, and the NTFS file system. My C drive is FAT32, but I do all my captures to my D drive which is NTFS and does not limit file size. Best to have 2 drives as well, one for system, one for captures.

I am sure there are other opinions out there, but this is a somple solution, and works well for me, and I have converted about 30 VHS/SVHS/8mm tapes so far and all of them came out great.

[skip2mylou]

hey thanks but can u like give me links to where i can download the software? and also what is the hardware that u use to get your VHS on your PC? i thought i would let u know that my computer is vvery similar to yours so the speed is proabably around the same. thanks again. i basically just have home videos of my kids and i want to preserve them, u know what i mean. so again i need to know what the hardware is, what the software is, where i can download it, and if it is freeware. thanks again.

[Popee]

I use the Canopus ADVC-100 to get the information from the VHS tapes into the computer. I then use Pinnacle Studio 8 for capture as an AVI file.

The ADVC-100 costs about $250-300. Pinnacle Studio 8 (software only) costs about $70., but I have seen it as low as $20. after rebate. You can download the P8 software from Pinnacle on a trial basis.

The Vegas Video software is about $600. with the DVD authoring program (DVD Architect). I also believe that Vegas has a trial program. If so, it can be found at sonicfoundry.com.

There are many guides here to help you convert VHS to DVD. My solution is only a suggestion. However, it has always worked for me.

[skip2mylou]

thanks 4 your advice, i was kinda hoping that the only requirements would be like a crd that connects from VCR tom PC and that i could download a freeware or trial software, the price kinda exceeds my budget....by alot, but thanks again so much i really appreciate it greatly.

[Redd]

First off I was under the impression that Win2000 was built on the NT Kernal. That being the case, can't NTFS be used? If this is the case, have you thought of partitioning and reformatting to NTFS?

Next if your using Studio 8 Deluxe with BOB (Break out Box) plug your VCR into BOB. If you can't partition and use NTFS then use scLive for capturing. It works very well with Studio 8 and has a nifty work around for the FAT32 file size limitation. Plus it captures without OOS (audio out of sync). You can find it here: http://scenalyzer.com/main.html

The faster your machine the faster it will render/author and burn to DVD. I'm using a Pent 4 2.8 gig Win XP Pro, 1gig RAM with a dedicated video 120 gig external firewire WD HD. My last Studio 8 Project DVD was 1 hour and twenty minutes with menus, stills, transitions, sound effects and background music. It rendered, authored and burned to DVD in 4 hours.

[gjjcve]

Did anyone have problems editing mpeg2 files? Is there an advantage to edit AVI versus Mpeg2? With a new computer setup how long does it typically take to convert from AVi to Mpeg?

[qpskfec]

If $$ is no object, in addition to upgrading your PC, why not buy a set-top DVD recorder? For the tapes that do not need editing, nothing is simpler than recording them on a set-top recorder. I have done many tapes this way. Recorders can be purchased today for $400.

For the tapes that need editing, you record onto the set-top recorder and pull the files to your hard drive, edit, author, and burn without having to reencode. (There have been many posts in this forum about converting vob to mpg, editing mpg, etc., just do a search)

[Redd]

If $$ is no object, in addition to upgrading your PC, why not buy a set-top DVD recorder? For the tapes that do not need editing, nothing is simpler than recording them on a set-top recorder.

Actually, this may be the most inexpensive way as well. By the time you've bought capturing hardware, whatever software needed...it can cost more than the $400 you speak of.

[jthompson99]

Yes, Windows 2000 can have NTFS.

If you current drive is current FAT32, use this command to convert it to NTFS.

1.) Backup important files just in case.
2.) Run this command in a DOS Prompt
CONVERT c: /FS:NTFS /X

You now have a NTFS drive that has no limitations on file size.