Video>DVD transfer Mac vs. Standalone comparison

[cbkilner]

For all of those who are trying to decide the best way to save all of their old analog tapes, I have used several methods and wanted to share my results.

The first method I tried was:
analog tape>HollywoodDVbridge>Mac(iMovie)>DVD(iDVD)
This method worked, but color and sharpness were noticably decreased from the original. Also, quality was clearly better for <1hr vs. >1.5hrs.
Biggest problem was dropped frames on old, stretched tapes.

The next method I tried was:
analog tape>CanonZR60pass-thru>Mac(iMovie)>DVD(iDVD)
The sharpness was better, but overall gave similar results as the Hollywood DV Bridge. Dropped frame problems could be somewhat (not completely) eliminated by taping to MiniDV prior to transfer to Mac.

The next method I used was:
analog tape>Canopus ADVC300>Mac(iMovie)>DVD(iDVD)
Great color, sharpness, contrast, and dynamic range. No dropped frames. I used this method for all of my home tapes (that were decent quality). This is still my preferred method for good source material. However, when transferring poor quality tapes for other people (e.g., 14 year old EP VHS, some possibly 2nd. gen dupes), this method ran into a problem where background detail and trees ended up looking like impressionistic paintings...with so little detail and color to begin with, the double conversion - analog>DV and DV>MPEG2 - caused the compression artifacts to overpower the picture details.

The next method I used was:
analog tape>standalone DVD recorder(Lite-On LVW-5006) via S-video
For all analog source material, the DVDs had noticably less color, contrast, and dynamic range when compared to either the tape output or the Mac/iDVD output in a side-by-side comparison. However, the DVDs still looked great and were very watchable. If I had not done the side-by-side comparisons, I probably wouldn't have noticed the lack of color and contrast (and if I did, would have ascribed it to the old tape medium).
The LSI-chip in the LVW-5006 does a fantastic job of retaining what little detail there is on old tapes, especially the old EP tapes that caused problems with the Mac encoded DVDs.
This is my preferred method for poor source material.

Since the Lite-On LVW-5006 includes a FW input port, the last method I tried was:
analog tape>Canopus ADVC300>Mac(iMovie)>standalone DVD recorder(Lite-On LVW-5006) via FireWire
This produced similar results to the iDVD encoded DVDs, but lacked the nice iDVD menus. The only upside was the realtime encoding vs. the overnight encoding on the Mac (although one possible advantage is the the LVW-5006 has a 3-hour recording mode that might produce usable results...I haven't tried it yet).

Both the Mac(iMovie/iDVD) and the standalone DVD recorder can produce excellent quality MPEG2 video with good source material. The standalone produces more watchable video from poor source material with difficult to encode details like foliage or high motion. For a poor quality "talking head" video, the Mac/ADVC300 will produce better color and contrast (and will have no dropped frames).

The Dolby audio from the standalone is slightly better than the MPEG audio encoded by iDVD.

For those who don't want/need to edit their video, the biggest downfall of the standalone Lite-on LVW-5006 is the lack of good menu and chapter options. Editing is linear - by pause and record buttons - and really is not a usable option on the LVW-5006.

Summary

Mac
Pros - editing in iMovie, iDVD menus, easier to make multiple DVDs, good quality up to two hours with maximized bitrate, and better color and contrast (w/ ADVC300).
Cons - loss of some types of detail due to double compression (DV & MPEG2), longer encoding times, limited to DVD blanks supported by your Mac drive, can't use Mac during capture (and fills HDD), expensive single-purpose hardware (ADVC300).

Lite-On LVW-5006
Pros - real-time encoding, frees up your Mac, good quality 1hr and 2hr modes (as well as available 3, 4, and 6hr modes), can use as "VCR", FW input (from Mac or MiniDV camera), single compression (MPEG2) keeps certain details, can use any single layer DVD media, good Dolby audio, and can make SVCD and VCDs (not sure if this is a pro or con).
Cons - poor (no) editing, poor (no) DVD menu, compatibility with media and DVD players not as good as my Mac, some loss of color and contrast (as compared to the ADVC300), recording modes are fixed so you cannot maximize the bitrate, and you need to "trick" the unit to accept DV input from a computer.

Hopes this helps.

CK

[tgpo]

I went from VCR->Canon ZR-70 (through put)->iMovie->FCP->DVDSP

The movie was already dark, so I upped the contrast a little in FCP then exported to mpeg-2 and authored in DVDSP. The DVD turned out great and now my VHS copy is collecting dust.

[trhouse]

There may be a way for you to get the contrast and color to match the ADVC with a hardware processer for your recorder. Here is a thread to more info,

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

Some of the older Vidicraft units like the VDM200 are pretty inexpensive for around $20-40.

[cbkilner]

I believe the ADVC300 enhances the analog video prior to converting it to DV...so I should be able to send the signal from the VCR to the ADVC and then use the analog out (usually used to monitor the video adjustments on a TV) to send an enhanced signal to the standalone DVD recorder. I think that the LVW-5006 has some noise reduction circuitry, so I'm not sure if I should disable the NR on the ADVC.