VHS to DVD

[Mysticav]

can somebody tell me the best method to convert VHS to DVD ?

I know there are many ways, and also, to much confussion.

Please guide me with the 'definitive' guide to capture the best quality Analog video and create a DVD. PLease mention software that is involve.
Tutorials (tested by you), etc.

I'm pulling out my hair out of desesperation... I only have a few left, so hurry !!!

I will appreciate !!

[Cole]

There are loads of guides here, but there will simply be different methods that different people prefer.
There is no difinitive guide.

For a start what hardware have you got?
Have you got loads of money to spend or on a tight budget?
Lots of time or quick process?

[Mysticav]

My friend, this is a personal question. I know there are thousands of tutorials out there. But, i'm interested in what YOU FEEL IS THE BEST.

So, your suggestion will be very welcome !!

[DVWannaB]

- A S-VHS VCR

- Time Based Corrector

- A Video Detailer

- A Video Processor Amplifier (Proc Amp)

- A DVD recorder

Connected in that order chain.

[Cole]

Fair comment Mysticav:

My particular set up is a VCR with (internal TBC/DNR) connected to a Canopus ADVC-50 , which is in turn connected to a Firewire port.
Capture using either DVapp, WinDV or DVIO (depends how I feel at that moment) to create the .AVI

Encode to MPEG2 using TMPGEnc Plus and then author and burn the DVD with TMPGEnc DVD Author.

I am very happy with the results that I get, but it did take a while to learn all the pitfalls etc and I still visit the forum in the hope of finding out any new tips or tricks.

Hope that this is helpful.

[Mysticav]

DVWannaB:

That sounds great. but you are talking merely about hardware.
I will consider your recomendation.
Anyhow, how do you actually capture your analog video to your HD, what compression do you use, what software (Premiere, Virtual Dub, etc.) and then how do you proccess the captured video in order to output a final product to a DVD... ???

[Mysticav]

Cole:

Thanks. Sounds pretty easy to follow. I will try as you say. So it's better to convert the VHS to digital externally with some hardware, then capture the video via firewire ?
Because as you know, newbies use their video card analog RCA input to capture...

[Cole]

Cole:

Thanks. Sounds pretty easy to follow. I will try as you say. So it's better to convert the VHS to digital externally with some hardware, then capture the video via firewire ?
am I correct ?

Sort of, the ADVC does the hard work but the capture operation will still be the same as with any other capture: open capture program, play video, start capture.

[DVWannaB]

DVWannaB:

That sounds great. but you are talking merely about hardware.
I will consider your recomendation.
Anyhow, how do you actually capture your analog video to your HD, what compression do you use, what software (Premiere, Virtual Dub, etc.) and then how do you proccess the captured video in order to output a final product to a DVD... ???

Since I am using a DVD recorder with a built-in HD, I have the option of recording to the HD or recording to DVD-RW disk. My DVD recorder allows me to select the compression rate I wish to use for maximum quality to fit on disk. From DVD-RW, I can then take to my computer for editing (Womble MPEG Video Wizard), authoring (DVD-lab)and burning (Nero 6) to DVD-R. So the hard part is really done in hardware not software.

Follow-Up:
Remember that the ADVC-100 while a great little box only transfers your VHS to your computer HD (no processing to the video is done). You are styill going to need a great playing VCR to get the best of of your tapes. Once on your computer, I have found the best way to clean-up and fix VHS tapes is with avisynth. Virtualdub is great, but limited compared to the stuff avisynth can do. There is a learning curve with avisynth, however. Through 2.5 years of trial and error (many of these), I have found the best way to get the best out of your VHS tapes is via hardware not software. There are cases where neither will be sufficient (really bad tapes) and some cases when software is better (small number). Hardware is the way to go.

[Mysticav]

ok. I see. Can you clarify me this points:

When you talk about DVD recorder, are you talking about
Canopus ADVC-100 ?

So, yo capture the analog to the ADVC, then via firewire you access to the ADVC HD, open the video file, edit, then burn it with NERO ?

So, the first thing I have to do is to buy Canopus box ?

[Cole]

ok. I see. Can you clarify me this points:

When you talk about DVD recorder, are you talking about
Canopus ADVC-100 ?

So, yo capture the analog to the ADVC, then via firewire you access to the ADVC HD, open the video file, edit, then burn it with NERO ?

I'm feeling That i'm seeing the light...

The ADVC is merely a passthrough processor if you like. It has no hard drive.

It converts the analogue signal to to Digital and you capture it as normal. The ADVC does not capture on its own, only converts the signal from the VCR.

You have to capture on your PC at the same time as you play the tape.

Hope that helps.

[DVWannaB]

ok. I see. Can you clarify me this points:

When you talk about DVD recorder, are you talking about
Canopus ADVC-100 ?

So, yo capture the analog to the ADVC, then via firewire you access to the ADVC HD, open the video file, edit, then burn it with NERO ?

I'm feeling That i'm seeing the light...

Common misconception about the ADVC-100 is that it is a capture utility. The ADVC-100 is an analog converter and DV transfer unit. So all it does with your VHS tapes is converts it to DV (*.avi) so that your computer and software can read it. The files are HUGE by the way. 2 hours will give you about 30 GB file. Make sure you have LOTS of room on HD.

Once the avi files are on your HD, you have to convert it to mpeg2 to burn to DVD. Popular programs like TMPG Plus & Xpress, Procoder Xpress and CCE basic can do the conversion job. If you need to clean up your VHS tape, you can virtualdub filters before converting to mpeg2. I would suggest learning avisynth on www.doom9.org avisynth user forum.

I choose to by-pass all this and use a DVD recorder (JVC DR-MH30s) and the hardware chain. Its fast, just as effective and many times more effective than the capture to computer, filter, encode, author and burn. The hardware chain can finish a 2 hour tape in 3 to 4 hours (start to finish). The other way you could be looking for a 2, 3 or more day process (depending on the filters you use) with no better looking end product.

[Mysticav]

Yes. got it. Well, I;m going my way to buy the box...
so, its like that:

VHS --> ADVC --- > PC --- > WINDV ---> TMPGEnc ---> TMPGEnc DVD AUTH --- > DVD-R

my last question is: When capturing via WINDV or similar soft. The video must be compressed on the fly ? for that I will need some compression coder (commercial) ?

[DVWannaB]

Yes. got it. Well, I;m going my way to buy the box...
so, its like that:

VHS --> ADVC --- > PC --- > WINDV ---> TMPGEnc ---> TMPGEnc DVD AUTH --- > DVD-R

my last question is: When capturing via WINDV or similar soft. The video must be compressed on the fly ? for that I will need some compression coders (commercial) ?

No. WinDV and other similar products, simply captures what it sees from the ADVC unit. Need large HD.

[Redd]

VCR
Firewire card.
ADVC-100
DVD Burner
On a budget...Studio 9 Plus.
Not on a budget...Vegas 5 + DVD

[Mysticav]

DVWannaB:

So, I dont need to touch the PC ?
By the way, 3 day process sounds horrible...

the chain will be like this:

S-VHS -- > TBC -- > ADVC (do I need it ? ) --- > DVD recorder ??

What do you mean with video detailer and tha amplifier ? can you mention some brands ?

the TBC can be bulit-in with S-VHS player, is it the same quality ?

How doyyou recieve the video signal in the DVD recorder ?

Firewire, RCA, S-VHS ??

[Cole]

Yes. got it. Well, I;m going my way to buy the box...
so, its like that:

VHS --> ADVC --- > PC --- > WINDV ---> TMPGEnc ---> TMPGEnc DVD AUTH --- > DVD-R

my last question is: When capturing via WINDV or similar soft. The video must be compressed on the fly ? for that I will need some compression coder (commercial) ?

The Codec is within the ADVC itelf, but the resulting file will be about 13GB for each hour of video captured.

You don't need an ADVC device if you are going to use a DVD recorder.

[Redd]

DVWannaB:

So, I dont need to touch the PC ?
By the way, 3 day process sounds horrible...

No PC! Okay, you don't want to edit!
VHS->DVD Recorder.
DVD REcorders

[Xylob the Destroyer]

i use a JVC S-VHS
ATI AIW 9000 Pro
and capture with VirtualDub
convert to .mpg with TMPGEnc
author with TMPGEnc
burn with DVDdecrypter
takes about an hour longer than the movie actually is
gives me great results.....

[Fred©]

The Codec is within the ADVC itelf, but the resulting file will be about 13GB for each hour of video captured.

Question: how can you capture a 13GB AVI file. Is there a 4 GB file limit, isnt it?

Fred©

[yoda313]

The Codec is within the ADVC itelf, but the resulting file will be about 13GB for each hour of video captured.

Question: how can you capture a 13GB AVI file. Is there a 4 GB file limit, isnt it?

Fred©

Hello,

The 4 gig limit is for FAT32 drives only. Win2000 and XP use NTFS file structure which has no file limit.

Kevin

[Mysticav]

Actually I have 1000-1500 dlls to invest. I want to take the best decision. Regarding the recommendations in this topic, if I want to edit (yes, i need), It'll be better to follow the PC way.

So, regarding hardware I will need:

· A S-VHS player (JVC HR-S9911U/ TBC bulit-in).
· A mini DV to VHS adaptator (Exists ?)
· A VHS-C to VHS adaptor
· A 8mm to VHS adaptor (Exists ?)
· A ADVC-100 Conupus converter

Regarding software:

WinDV, or something similar.
TMPGEnc Plus AVI to MPEG converter
TMPGEnc DVD author.

Or in case I want to edit:

Adobe Premiere Pro (takes a lot of time for rendering !! 6 ++ hrs, why ?)
Adobe Encore DVD

Please comment this post. give me final recommendations, suggestions etc.

I want to take the best decision.

[DVWannaB]

DVWannaB:

So, I dont need to touch the PC ?
By the way, 3 day process sounds horrible...

the chain will be like this:

S-VHS -- > TBC -- > ADVC (do I need it ? ) --- > DVD recorder ??

What do you mean with video detailer and tha amplifier ? can you mention some brands ?

the TBC can be bulit-in with S-VHS player, is it the same quality ?

How doyyou recieve the video signal in the DVD recorder ?

Firewire, RCA, S-VHS ??

Hi Mysticav.

If you have a DVD recorder you do not need the ADVC-100. Your chain above would work just fine, just drop the ADVC-100 part of it.

My set-up goes like this:

SVHS (JVC 9800) ---> Datavideo TBC-1000 ---> Vidicraft Detailer III ---> BVP 4 Plus (Process Amp) ---> DVD Recorder (JVC MH30)

Datavideo is another time based corrector. Helps out where the VCR falls short and sometimes I dont use it depending on the tape. (bought on ebay for $150 ---- a STEAL)
Vidicraft Detailer III can be used for reducing noise, color adjustment and more importantly add sharpness (ebay $19)
The BVP 4 Plus is a process amp and I use it only on tapes that where captured from TV. Like the Detailer III, it offers a split screen that shows before and after processing. Can add black to faded tapes, add color, saturation, noise reduction and more. (ebay $160)

Depending on the video tape I may drop one of the above in an attempt to get the best possible picture. The DVD Recorder is the great equalizer. It catches and cleans up little details that the chain cannot do. A good DVD recorder cleans up many sins, let me tell you

So my advice would be to start off small with just a good S-VHS VCR with Time Base Correction & Noise Reduction and a good DVD Recorder (recommend looking at JVC and Pioneer models). Then add the other pieces of equipment later when the finances or urge to make better video comes about. A good place to look for these are ebay as they are listed from time to time. I bought the DVD Recorder new online and the S-VHS VCR was bought new on ebay.

Trust me I have gone the other way with ADVC through firewire into computer, filter, encode, author and all that. Simplify the entire process and save yourself MUCH MUCH time and go the DVD Recorder route. You will not be sorry (if you get a good one that is )

Here is a good and informative link on some of the things I talked about, and has some very useful and pertinent info:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=239205

Finally, let me just mention, that even with a DVD recorder, you can still use your computer to do your own menues and chapter points and get as creative as you wish. All I do is recored to DVD-RW (copy and erase as many times as I wish) disk, take to the computer and finish my master piece there . Or if I wish I can just record to a DVD-R disk and finalize on the recorder and be watching moments after recording is completed. Its simply the way to go for busy people. Hope that helps.

[Dr_Layne]

My setup:

Source decks:
HR-S9800U (for NTSC tapes)
HR-S5980 (for PAL tapes)
BVW-22 (for Betacam SP tapes)
VP-7020 (for Umatic tapes)
CLD-D704 (for laserdiscs)

then to TBC-1000 > DAC-100 > Scenalizer Live! > Tmpg Xpress 3.0 > DVD Lab Pro.

I use cool edit pro for any audio work that may need to be done. Vitualdub for any filtering if needed.

Steve