Always inferior quality

[hipster]

P3,xp,ati-aiw rage 128,analogue S-video capture from Hi8 tape. MYDVD easy,OK quality but 1hr or less. Tried VirtualDub/AVI,encode with TMPGEnc+ using standard DVD(NTSC).MCF template & custom template from this site encoding with/without audio at high quality setting (12 hrs!) quality sucks. What's up? I also read 2+ hrs. of high quality video, I'd like to see how? My source onto VHS tapes works/looks great but I,m worried about long term degradation. I use to make VCD's to prolong my source but quality is shit so I upgraded to a Sony DVD burner on the PC. I have NEVER made a "great digital video anything. Is it even really possible? How do they make those great store bought DVD. I have a Pioneer DV-C503,96khz,24bit D/A converter player

[holistic]

How do they make those great store bought DVD

Ummm - With great professional built expensive equipment and high quality film source.........maybe

What bitrate are you using? Try some filters if the source has "noise".

I use to make VCD's to prolong my source but quality is shit ...

No kidding sherlock !. VCD has an extremely low bitrate. Unless the source material is clean it will just make bad video look worse.

Now that you have a DVD burner try MPEG2 at bitrates of 4500 and up for your Hi8 material.

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[hipster]

I tried using the mpeg2-dvd template that comes with TMPGEnc and it seemed to produce the best looking video but it still doesn't compare if I just make a vhs tape from my source using a vcr? I'm thinking I'm missing something here?? Thanks in advance

[bottle-necked]

Question:
How does your captures compare in quality to your live view screen? I mean, does your video signal appear to be of high quality when just watching the tape or TV on your computer screen. Capturing high quality video requires a high quality input signal. "Garbage in - garbage out" as they say, as low quality signal produces a low quality capture. Or is your captures of far less quality than your incomming signal?

[hipster]

when encoding, video looks very good/great in the preview window.

[bottle-necked]

hipster

I had a 128 and used the original software/drivers supplied and had problems like you explain. I wound up capturing in 320x240 AVI then converting to MPEG2. The quality level was far less that I had wanted.

I fixed my problem by upgrading my card, drivers, MMC software, sound card, motherboard drivers, and BIOS. I've found that all these items were giving me problems that reflected directly to my ability to capture high quality video.

For starters I would suggest you attempt to upgrade your Display Driver and MMC if possible. Instructions, downloads, and compatibility information if available at the ATI site. I'm not sure what version MMC or Catalyst you can use, but they do. Follow their instructions and you may be able to improve your capture quality.

I also suggest you monitor your CPU loads during all this. Many problems can be quickly identified with this simple tast, expecially when doing driver upgrades and making system changes. These changes will be directly reflected in CPU loads during captures.

With that 866cpu I also suggest you streamline WindowsXP and free up every resource you can. This can also help quality.

Try capturing in I-Frames Only. I've used 720x480 I-Frames Only, CBR, Interlaced, then attempt the highest bitrate your CPU load allows. Try to adjust the bitrate so your CPU load is about 55-65%. This may give you a starting point. Good luck.

[Gazorgan]

The quality will never be better than the source. Your source is VHS, which isn't anywhere near DVD quality. It's somewhere between VCD and SVCD in quality level. It also tends to be noisey, which steals your bitrate.


What resolution/bitrates are you using? What did you capture in? Rate and codecs?

Remember, what it looks like on your monitor doesn't mean crap about how it will look on your TV. We are talking Interlaced Video here, and it never looks great on you monitor unless you use certain viewers.

[hipster]

bottle-necked, Thanks for the advice! I had upgraded my video drivers and I don't have MMC installed because I had found in the past that it would create conflicts (I think with MYDVD). I just installed a new primary harddrive last night so my machine is quite lean now. I've installed MYDVD 5.02 and TMPGEnc+ with Virtual Dub. Those 3 seem to be the best pick of the bunch although MYDVD works preety good, the file size is huge and is very limiting (about 1 hr.or less). That is why I figured I'd try Virtual Dub to capture AVI, then encode w/TMPGEnc+ since I've read alot of good things with that configuration. I'm told I could always just use MYDVD for the video and then use something else for the audio to go from PCM to AC3? I've always screwed around with this stuff only for a month or 2 then give it up for a while. I guess I'll just have to keep screwing around with it. Thanks

[Gees]

Or you could abandon MYDVD and look for an authoring program that does not insist on PCM audio.

IN TOOLS section - DVD Author there's a few for reasonable prices that may be worth not having to do extra steps.

[hipster]

Gees, I have been using TMPGE DVD Author this past weekend with TMPGEnc to eliminate any compatibility issues, although I can't recall if I uninstalled MYDVD before using this configuration? I think I may have tried it though because the less variables-the better. Keep it simple is always the best rule. I guess maybe I'll remove MYDVD app. today and try a fresh burn to see what happens and then I'll post my results.

[Gees]

Sounds good. :c)

[bottle-necked]

When capturing from my Hi8 camera for a DVD project I always use MMC. I like the 'crop' function because my camera makes an 'overscan' line along the bottom of my screen. Although this line isn't visible on my TV set, it is on my monitor. MMC V8.6 has VideoSoap that I sometimes use to help clean up the capture. I've found that if used properly and in moderation this function can produce positive results. I don't like to spend/waste time reencoding video so I capture in DVD Compliant MPEG2 format and at the bitrate I will need to fit my project time. Hi8 video is pretty bad to start with so I 'go for the gold' when working with it. My camera/DVD projects looks just as good as plugging the camera into the TV and watching it live, maybe even better sometimes.

Thats just the way I do it. Right or wrong, I get results I'm happy with.