Help with hardware/software for multimedia studio

[ecksmedia]

I am in the process of starting a multimedia business that among other things specialises in VHS to DVD Transfers (www.ecksmedia.com.au). I have been doing quite a bit of research on different hardware and software to purchase and have gotten myself completely confused about which direction to go.

Originally I was going to go with building a system based on the Matrox RT.x100 but after reading about all of the problems that these cards have, especially with PAL, I am in Australia so 98% of the work that I do will be in PAL. I am now having second thoughts.

One of the reasons that I was going to go with the Matrox is because I have had many years experience with Premiere and the rest of the Adobe suite through previous jobs but never purchased it for myself and am now looking at the Adobe Production Studio however it is quite expensive and no longer comes packaged with the Matrox. I am not afraid to change over to a new NLE system as I am quite adept at learning new software but I am not sure which direction to turn.

I would like some advice on some other devices that I have been looking at.

1. Canopus ACEDVio (Hardware not too expensive but would need to get software)
2. AVID Liquid AVDV 7 (have also heard that avid software can be unstable)
I have also looked at some others from Blackmagic and AJA but these are too expensive


I have also been looking at some external devices but am a bit sceptical about these as I am not sure of the quality of the capture through a firewire port? Am I being too paranoid? Are these devices used professionally?

I am looking at the following:

1 Edirol VMC-1 (Similar features to ADVC300 but better)
2 Canopus ADVC110 or ADVC300 (ADVC300 looks great as it has enhancement hardware built in but is this worth the extra $'s?)
3 Avid Liquid 7 Pro (from what I can tell this is a USB device

Are there any other devices that I should be looking at?

Your advice will be much appreciated,

Darren

[Nelson37]

IMO, you are looking way too hard at hi-powered editing systems, these are typically totally unnecessary for VHS to DVD transfer. For a simple copy, they are Never needed. You are buying a gold-plated Cuisinart to make a ham sandwich.

The fact that you have not even mentioned a TBC is Extremely Important. Such a device is absolutely essential for VHS to DVD, most particularly on a commercial basis. If you do not know you need one of these, you need to do a LOT more research.

2-3 VCR, 1-2 TBC, Enhancer, Color corrector, 1-2 capture devices, no real need for any advanced editing or special effects software whatsoever. Also not cost-effective in terms of what you can bill the customer for, on a regularly repeated commercial basis. They want their tape on DVD, not fancy transitions, cut scenes, effects, and menus. Even if they do, they will not want to pay any reasonable rate for your time to create such things. Can you do the transfer AND add the doodads for $20.00? That is what they want, they want it DONE for $20.00.

My advice would be to stop in your tracks and start researching more completely exactly what your workflow is going to be. The video restoration forum would be a good place to spend the next several days voraciously reading everything available.

[ecksmedia]

Thanks for the info.

I understand where you are comming from but I must point out that DVD Transfer is not all that I will be doing. I am looking seriously now at a Edirol VMC-1 which has TBC built in along with several other features including real time enhancement and colour correcting.

[harley2ride]

If you want a good idea of the tools available for video for levels from beginner to professional, take a look at www.videoguys.com.

[ecksmedia]

Rob,
Thanks for the link, it has been a long time since I have checked these guys out.

www.videoguys.com is a good resource for everything video and there is a lot of info avaliable there

I am wondering if anyone has heard of the Edirol VMC-1, I would love to get some info from someone who has used this product. Basiclly I want to know how good it really is?

Darren