gitchy video

[woodsracer]

I've been trying to capture, edit and burn DVDs from my Sony DCR TVR350 Hi-8 camcorder using NTI DVD maker Gold. If I use the "Quick DVD" function under the File menu it works fine. However if I capture to my HD, do some editing and add some music then burn a DVD the video is very glitchy and it seems like the beats in the music are causing the glitches (may be a coincidence). The video Im trying to burn is from a Helmet Camera of me and some friends riding our motorcycles through the woods. So its pretty busy. The person that built my computer says he thinks its a compression problem, but my only options are AVI file which sucked, MPG1 which wasn't much better or MPG2 which is what I've been using. Maybe the NTI software is not capable of the quality I would like to get? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Dan

[macleod]

there is a free dv capture tool available on this site (check the tools section). Instead of your current software, I would recommend converting to dvd using another package like TMPGENC (number of guides available here for the dv to MPEG conversion). This is assuming that the camcorder you are talking about is a dv camcorder. I own a non dv and a dv sony camcorder and dont remember which is which.

If it is indeed a hi-8 camcorder, your BEST bet is to capture AVI and do a conversion. Capturing to mpeg using a software encoder with high motion is going to look horrible (recommend reading some guides on lordsmurf's website).

If you want the best from non dv source, get a standalone dvdrecorder.

A final note to give you an idea about quality, if it is in the sony model that is hi-8 and not dvd cam, it only captures at around 352x480. When you put it to dvd you are doubling the lines to 720x480. Gonna look like crap no matter what. Best bet is to convert to 352x480 48khz and put that on DVD.

[woodsracer]

Thanks for the reply. The camera is Digital 8 but records onto a hi-8/Digital 8 tape? I think when it is set in the SP mode it is digital qaulity and when set to LP it is high-8. But I'm not sure and the book for the camera really is not clear about it. Maybe the Camera is the root of my problem.

When I captured AVI then converted to MPEG2 to burn the DVD it looked terrible on the TV. Each pixel was about 1" square

[indolikaa]

If I remember right, Digital8 camcorders never recording in analog mode. The analog mode is a backward compatibility issue for users who migrated from the format.

I have a DCR-TRV120 myself, and it only records in Digital8 mode. I never thought to check, but (checking...) it does have an LP mode. When I engage the recording, I see the D8 logo in my viewfinder. So that makes me feel better about my memory. What you are capturing should be a DV.avi-based signal.

A Helmet Camera is about the worst situation I can think of for camcordering. You have all the elements of an MPEG encoding disaster. I'm not in the right partition to download any footage, so let me reboot and continue my thoughts when I reload and can download some of this LP footage I just shot...

TO BE CONTINUED

[macleod]

When I captured AVI then converted to MPEG2 to burn the DVD it looked terrible on the TV. Each pixel was about 1" square

That statement means a lot of different things to different people. There are a number of folks that do this (calling it a passthrough) and the results are awesome. My advice, detail ALL of the steps that you are going through to get your "crappy" mpeg. What I/we'd like to know is....

1)from camcorder to computer, how are you getting it there (i.e. firewire,usb (1.1 or 2.0), etc, etc.

2)what software you are using for the import into your computer and what are those settings?

3) conversion to DVD, what are you using and what are you doing to convert to mpeg2

[woodsracer]

I'm using the fire wire to capture to the PC. And am using the NTI DVD-maker gold for the capture software. I did do a capture using the USB port but the video was poor quality

[indolikaa]

What macleod said. You're going to have to provide a very detailed description of what you're doing.

SP and LP are both D8 recordings on my camcorder, so you should be working from an outstanding source. I suspect with a 'Helmet Cam' shot you'd need at least a 6.0 Mbps bitrate to prevent what you're seeing. Add less-than-perfect lighting and 8.0 Mbps might be in order...

[indolikaa]

I'm using the fire wire to capture to the PC. And am using the NTI DVD-maker gold for the capture software. I did do a capture using the USB port but the video was poor quality

Does NTI show a bitrate when you select the 'Quick DVD' option?

[woodsracer]

No. NTI has very few options with regards to settings. The odd part is that when I use the Quick DVD, basicsally a "wizard" everything works fine. Maybe I should try TEMPEG? It seems to be the most widely used. And has some support!

[indolikaa]

Try TMPGEnc. I doubt highly that you will be disappointed!


My guess is 'Quick DVD' is 8.0 Mbps video with PCM audio. Those settings would give good results even given the footage you're using, and unless your total edited footage is greater than one hour, I'd try those settings first.