DivX and MPEG2 capture devices

[Arcturus]

I'm looking for a hardware solution to capture and convert a number of VHS tapes into both DVD and DivX. Ideally, the process should be as efficient as possible as there are hundreds of VHS tapes that we're looking at converting.

Looking at some options (www.divx.com/products/hw/browse.php?c=6) it appears the process would work as follows:

VCR -> Hardware Capture Card -> MPEG2 file -> Editing for chapter points -> DVD

then:

DVD -> Rip to DivX file (maintaining chapter points)

I just don't know if that's the most efficient method. Are there any devices which allow a conversion to DivX and MPEG2 at the same time? Is there a better process than described above (bearing in mind I don't want to lose quality by converting from DivX to DVD).

Finally, are the hardware options listed above appropriate or is there something better (budget is not too much of an issue)? Which particular device would be best, and what software would be the easiest to use for a novice user (some trimming and insertion of chapter points is all that's needed)?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[olyteddy]

How about using a DVD recorder? A lot of them have a built in Hard Drive so you can do minor editing. Most of them allow you to set chapters. Then pop the DVD into a PC and rip the DVD to DivX. See the DVD Recorder list in the left hand margin...

[dadrab]

Well, as I understand it, the editing I do is pretty light-weight, but I capture with a Hauppauge PVR-350 which hardware encodes to MPEG2. The captures I've done so far, mostly from VHS, have looked damn good.

I also invested in a program called VideoRedo and use it mostly for editing. It's pretty accurate and I've been pleased. I can get rid of commercials so you never know they were there. The software is also real good for locking audio/video synch.

I take my edited MPEG2 files, author (which is where I insert chapter points) and burn - much like the scenario you outlined, but I don't mess with the DIVX part of the equation.

There are a lot of members here who'll recommend a DVD recorder and I'm quick to add that must be a good option because of its popularity. My deal is that I wanted more flexability, so I built a system designed to do only audio and video. It's not even connected to the internet.

There are also many here who capture to full res. AVI. I can't really comment intelligently on that because I don't. I do, however, do some DV from my camcorder. It is very nice to edit, but I think Video Redo has ruined me because I actually find it easier to use.

I'll let others chime in on that part of it.

[jman98]

The Hauppauge PVR-150 can record in both Divx and MPEG-2 format. I wasn't real happy to find out about the Divx option recently (we had a big discussion about this card recently) because I paid a lot more money for the PVR-350 card and it can't record Divx at all. Hauppauge makes some nice cards, so this is one option for you if you want to consider the possibility to record directly in Divx. I don't have this card, so I can't tell you how well or poorly recording in Divx is, but I can tell you that the PVR-350 does an excellent job of recording MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video and the PVR-150 should also be just as good for MPEG recording.

[jman98]

By the way, you can't set chapters in any editor. That's purely a function of your DVD authoring program. VideoReDo is a fine program and I use it. I also sometimes use MPEGVCR, which is a similar video editor. Both offer the "try before you buy" option. For best results, you should mark the beginning and ending points of what you want to keep (NOT what you want to get rid of - BIG difference) in the video and save those clips together into a new file. Trying to edit the video by instead removing what you want to get rid of can result in audio sync issues.

[redwudz]

JMO, but for Divx or Xvid, you might look into a ADS box as a external hardware encoder. http://www.adstech.com/
For MPEG, I still like the Hauppauge cards and external converters. http://www.hauppauge.com/

Concerning editing: Xvid or Divx are terrible for extensive editing. Which is true of most any highly compressed format. Those formats were made for viewing, not editing. If you need to do extensive editing, I would consider something like a ADVC DV-AVI converter. DV is very nice for editing.

MPEG is a little better, but still not as easy as DV for editing. But there are a lot of good editors available.

[Arcturus]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just to give you a little more background info, i'm working at a school where hundreds of VHS tapes need to be converted to DVD, but a copy also needs to be stored digitally in the event that the DVDs are lost/broken, etc. DivX will work best because we also use a piece of software (Clickview), for streaming DivX files across the network. The actual conversion/editing task will be undertaken by the school Librarians, which, without going into too much detail, are not too tech savvy.

A DVD recorder is a good idea, but they already have one and found that too tedious for detailed editing. They'd like to sit down on a computer and spend the time perfecting it rather than using the remote control of a DVD recorder.

i think an MPEG2 hardware capture device is still the best option, and as stated above, will allow editing easier than the DivX format. Using a DVD authoring tool for chapter editing seems like the only choice. My only other question is what sort of software can be used to rip a DVD into DivX, but retain the chapter points?

[redwudz]

You can try Divx 6 ultra, but the chapters, if they work properly, would only work on a Divx ultra player. And there are only a few programs so far that can generate those type of files.

If you want DVD type chapters, you would be better off to use a DVD authoring type program to create them. JMO.

[mecg]

The Hauppauge PVR-150 can record in both Divx and MPEG-2 format. I wasn't real happy to find out about the Divx option recently (we had a big discussion about this card recently) because I paid a lot more money for the PVR-350 card and it can't record Divx at all. Hauppauge makes some nice cards, so this is one option for you if you want to consider the possibility to record directly in Divx. I don't have this card, so I can't tell you how well or poorly recording in Divx is, but I can tell you that the PVR-350 does an excellent job of recording MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video and the PVR-150 should also be just as good for MPEG recording.

I have the PVR-150 and am real happy with it. This is the first I've heard of it being able to record Divx. If I'm correct, that's Mpeg4? (If not, please forgive my ignorance). Can you (or someone) tell me how I can record Divx with it?

[jagabo]

I have the PVR-150 and am real happy with it. This is the first I've heard of it being able to record Divx. If I'm correct, that's Mpeg4? (If not, please forgive my ignorance). Can you (or someone) tell me how I can record Divx with it?

Get the latest drivers and software from Hauppauge. Record as AVI, Divx codec. It's real-time Divx software encoding, not hardware. That's what I've read anyway...

Yes, Divx is MPEG 4 ASP (not MPEG 4 AVC, h.264).

<edit>

Here's the thread that jman was refering to:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic334624.html

I'm not convinced poacher99 has a PVR-150 but here's the post where he shows WinTV2000 with Divx options:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic334624.html#1737881

I've read elsewhere that the PVR-150 has the ability to capture uncompressed UYVY video (streaming with VLC for example). I've also verified that the PVR-250 has the ability but it's not supported in Hauppauge's WinTV2000 (only the drivers) and there are some bugs. You can see a GraphEdit graph I used to capture with HuffYUV from the PVR-250.

[edDV]

IMO you would do the MPeg2 now. MPeg4 AVC isn't ready for authoring in the same way. You could record MPeg4 segments corresponding to chapter segments and do an HTML chapter page. This could be made available online and later used to author a next gen AVCDVD..

[olyteddy]

The Hauppauge PVR-150 can record in both Divx and MPEG-2 format. I wasn't real happy to find out about the Divx option recently (we had a big discussion about this card recently) because I paid a lot more money for the PVR-350 card and it can't record Divx at all. Hauppauge makes some nice cards, so this is one option for you if you want to consider the possibility to record directly in Divx. I don't have this card, so I can't tell you how well or poorly recording in Divx is, but I can tell you that the PVR-350 does an excellent job of recording MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 video and the PVR-150 should also be just as good for MPEG recording.

I have the PVR-150 and am real happy with it. This is the first I've heard of it being able to record Divx. If I'm correct, that's Mpeg4? (If not, please forgive my ignorance). Can you (or someone) tell me how I can record Divx with it?

Hauppauge offers a program and a patch for their scheduler that encodes in MPEG 4 formats. The program is called 'Wing'. http://hauppauge.com/wing/index.html

[mecg]

I worte:
"Subject: PVR-150 to Divx
This screen capture was recently posted at:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic334624.html#1737881
Is this a real screen? Can I download drivers to allow me to capture to divx as is shown here? I own the PVR-150 and that's what the author of the post claims to have. Any information you can give me would be gratly appreciated!!
Thank you"

They replied:
"Hello
All PVR products use hardware encoders that record in MPEG1 or MPEG2 divx is not a possible format for these cards.
Jared Egan
Technical Support
Hauppauge Computer Works
New York Headquarters
http://www.hauppauge.com"

I saw the "Wing" program - but based on their reply - it has to be doing a software process to encode to divx. While I do love my PVR-150 for generic capturing ( I capture, remove the commercials, and burn to dvd with MF4), I would never count on my system keeping up. I think I'll just stick with a divx converter.

[DarrellS]

I upgraded my MMC for my ATI AIW to 9.08 and can't wait for football season to start so I can start capturing straight to DivX AVI.

With the new version of Virtualdub 1.7.4, I can do all the editing I want and with Smart Render, I can save the file without having to recode like I would if I was converting from Huffy, Lag or MPEG-2.

[jagabo]

VirtualDub 1.7.4? Where did you find that? I can only find 1.7.2.

[DarrellS]

I'm sorry. It's Virtualdub 1.7.3-test 4.

I'll find a link from the virtualdub forum.

[DarrellS]

Looks like he has a newer release as the 21st of August.

Version 1.7.3 test 5

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-...1.7.3-test5.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-...test5-AMD64.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-....3-test5-src.7z

[jagabo]

Links got mangled.

[DarrellS]

Sorry.

http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-1.7.3-test5.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-1.7.3-test5-AMD64.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-1.7.3-test5-src.7z