video capture and editing

[lynbaer]

I am a real newbie at video stuff. I purchased a Hauppage WintB Pvr-250 capture card some time ago. I would like to capture video from my VCR, edit it and burn it. I am given choices as to the format to burn. The choice are: DVD standard play, DVD Long Play, DVD Extra Long Play, MPEG1-VCD, MPEG2 2.0 MBits/sec, MPEG2 2.0MBit/sec (halfD1), MPEG2 12.0 MBit/sec, MPEG2 12.0 MBit/sec (CBR), SVCD Long Play, SVCD Short Play. I tried the DVD Long Play and was unable to import into Premiere for editing.

Question - which format do i use to be able to edit the video?
Once captured do i need to do something else to make Premiere read it?

I have been reading a lot but my head is swimming. I need to go one step at a time.

[guns1inger]

If you need to do a lot of editing, then I would say none of them. Mpeg is not designed to be edited, it is designed as delivery codec for end results.

However, if those are your only options, capture at the highest bitrate you can (which appears to be 12 Mb/s) to preserve as much quality as you can.

Which version of Premiere are you using ? Premiere Pro 1.5 and 2 can import mpeg, but prior to that I believe you need a plugin to do it. Mainconcept have one, but it isn't cheap.

A better option may be one of the dedicated mpeg2 editors, such as videoredo or one of the Womble tools. They are a little more limited than Premiere, but they are designed to work with mpeg without the need to re-encode. This would also allow you to use a lower bitrate (something DVD compliant - see What is DVD - top left corner) and you would save on space and the need to re-encode when you are done.

[jameshgross]

I have converted over 300 VHS tapes to DVD using the Haupppauge WINTV PVR USB2.0
And have found that using DVD Long Play works well.
You may then edit the MPEG file using WOMBLE. Very good results.

After converting store the VHS tapes in a cool dry area. Well cared for they may last 50 years.
I have 30 year old tapes that still play fine.