VHS to DVD, DVD Recorder or PC ????

[jesterhud]

Hi
Been transferring VHS to DVD thru the PC now for a while, and i must say i've never really been happy with the quality of transfer, maybe its my PC but i think its up to the job, currently i use WinTV 150 as the transfer card.

Quick answer is a DVD Recorder /VHS Combo or DVD Recorder stand alone a better way to do it ????? And can you create menus on the DVD using that method ???

Cheers

[dwill123]

Check out one of the Canopus video converters (ADVC55, ADVC110, ADVC300).

http://www.canopus.com/products/videoconversion.php

[mats.hogberg]

Seems like standalone DVD recorders give better results from VHS than a capture card. Depending on recorder, basic menus can be created with the recorder, but for a full fledged menu, you'll have to rip the DVD back to PC, and use as source in a PC authoring app.

/Mats

[jesterhud]

Seems like standalone DVD recorders give better results from VHS than a capture card. Depending on recorder, basic menus can be created with the recorder, but for a full fledged menu, you'll have to rip the DVD back to PC, and use as source in a PC authoring app.

/Mats

That sounds reasonable , i would do that, any recommendations for a standalone DVD recorder

[SingSing]

I am not a Sony fan, but this one looks pretty good : http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProduc...me=specs&var2=

[davideck]

I would recommend a Toshiba HDD unit. I have the RD-KX50.
It is great for basic capturing, editing, and authoring, as well as everyday Tivo functionality.
It also has very nice built in TBC capability.
Picture quality wise, it outperforms my TBC-3000 / Hauppauge PVR-250 Setup.

[FulciLives]

I love my Pioneer DVD recorder (model DVR-531H-s with a built-in HDD) but Pioneer is in-between models now so hard to get the current models but the new replacement models are due very soon. The Toshiba models seem good including the non HDD models. The JVC models (with or without a HDD) are also good. Oddly the Pioneer non-HDD model (the current model anyways) is stripped down ... not sure about the new models but for Pioneer you need a HDD model to get all the "tricks" the units offer.

Of all the brands talked about here the Pioneer, Toshiba and JVC units seem to be the most popular.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[harley2ride]

If you aren't going to be doing a lot of editing, go with the DVD recorder. If you want to be creative and do effects, transitions, editing, etc, then go with Canopus ADVC 100, or 110, or the ADS PYRO AV/Link, or ADS USB capture devices. If you do go with a USB device, make sure it supports USB2.0. Best overall to go with firewire.

[jman98]

The WinTV 150 is frequently criticized as not being very good. I believe that is a Hauppauge card. Hauppauge makes some very nice cards such as the PVR-350 which I have. It's the best capture card I've ever owned. Canopus make some very highly regarded cards, but you get what you pay for. They ain't cheap.

Doing this kind of thing with a DVD Recorder is great for people who:
1) Have limited technical skills and just want it to work without too much fuss.
2) Have limited time.
3) Don't care too much about quality. Well, to be fair I've seen some 4 hour DVDs made with some recorders that looked great and some made with other recorders that looked like poor quality VCD copies.

Doing it on a PC is best if you are a quality freak and want as much control over the process as possible. For example, I have a DVD made from a VHS tape that is 2.5 hours long. The guy who made the DVD used a DVD recorder and since your only options are to record for 1 hour, 2 hours or 4 hours, he recorded it in 4 hour mode. 1.5 hours worth of disc space on the DVD was wasted. That space could have been used to increase the bit rate had he recorded it to a PC first.

I have noticed that DVD recorders use 352x480 resolution, which may be one reason that they look better for VHS captures. VHS captures to PC cards will probably be at the standard 720x480 but the lower resolution is really probably better for a VHS capture and can use the video bit rate more effeciently. You could always use a capture card and capture a VHS tape at 352x480 yourself. I use a capture card because I want more control over the process than DVD recorders give.

[davideck]

I would put it quite differently...

Doing this kind of thing with a DVD Recorder is great for people who:
1) Place a high Value on reliable methods that are quick and convenient.
2) Place a high Value on their own time.
3) Are very cognizant of image quality issues and strive to optimize each capture.

There are many good DVD Recorders out there.

The picture quality of my Toshiba HDD DVD Recorder is every bit as good and often better than my TBC-3000 / PVR-250 capture setup. For basic capturing, editing, and authoring, the Toshiba is also quicker and more convenient than sitting at my PC.

My Toshiba lets me set any bitrate I want (.2 increments) and gives me back the time on a disc. I can even customize the bitrate for each timer recording separately if I like.

Every DVD Recorder that I've tried sampled at 720 for anything less than 2 hours.

[InXess]

Toshiba gets highest praise anywhere I look. Seems the best solution would be an integrated MPEG2 capturebox combined with USB2/FW HDD circuitry to quickly capture off whatever S-video/composite source and then hookable to the PC. Who needs having so many DVD burners/recorders?
Kaco is releasing a multiformat DVD recorder with 160 REMOVABLE HDD. They could even skip the DVD writer in that unit, would be a perfect box provided quality is there.

[gshelley61]

I personally have not used a capture card or conversion device that produced image quality as good as most DVD recorders I've tested and owned (I'm not saying that one doesn't exist, just none that I have tried). For direct to MPEG2 (DVD) capture, a good quality standalone DVD recorder is very hard to beat, especially for simple transfer work like you are describing. Some basic editing of DVD video files can be done without altering the quality of the original capture. DVD recorder video files can be re-authored to a new DVD on your computer with nicer menus and such without any quality loss, as well.

For advanced editing work (fancy transitions, added graphics, music, narration, etc.) you really need to capture to your computer in the AVI format and go from there, encoding to MPEG2 (DVD) afterwards.

The amount of time saved by recording to DVD directly is a real blessing. DVD recorders generally capture at 720x480 for times up to 2.5 hours (most Panasonic units capture at 704x480, another MPEG2 video standard compatible with DVD). Some newer models will go out to 4 hours at 720x480, but anything beyond 2.5 hours will have noticeable artifacts during high action sequences. Some of the latest recorders can burn 8.5 GB dual layer blank DVD's, nearly doubling your recording time for each quality level.

Some DVD recorders have built-in video noise reduction filters that do a very good to excellent job of dealing with typical VHS problems like grain, streaking, and chroma noise. The resulting DVD's using these units will often look better than the original VHS tape due to this filtering.

There's a huge amount of info about capturing using DVD recorders on this site, including advanced techniques for correcting source video image problems prior to capture using external hardware processors like time base correctors and video proc amps. There are numerous image quality comparisons posted from different models and brands of DVD recorders, too.

[LCSHG]

I have dubbed many VHS to DVD Using a PC and now a standalone recorder I havs not used a PC for a little over a year.

In my opinion the standalone unit is much better than a PC with capture etc.
The standalone unit you have/use can make a difference, depending on what you are trying to do

As myself, if you don't need or want an exact copy with the menu and all, the standalone is the way to go. If you want that exact copy , stay with the PC but make sure the equipment and software are the best especially the captute card.