vhs avi to dvd, what is the best approach

[bati]

Hi all,

first time post.

I have captured a VHS tape to AVI (file size is 20GB)
AVI plays fine on PC (audio, visual sync.)

I need to create a DVD of this file (it is old family VHS content) to play in consumer dvd

I have tried many programs but each time an issue comes up:
-video colors inverted
-when i get the colors right, audio is out of sync
-and at times, the dvd playback is choppy

I have tired xtodvd, and a whole host of other "avi to dvd" converters
all successfully burn but quality, sync is not passing my wife's standards !

help ?

also - I was able to create an MPEG of it (using blaze media pro) before I burn this mpeg to a dvd, will it play on a consumer DVD ? or do I still need to go the "create a dvd format"

many thanks for any help...

[guns1inger]

If you really want the best results then you need to use one program to edit/process the video, another to encode it, and finally, a third to author a DVD structure.

The closest I can suggest to a single tool is FAVC, which is a front-end to several tools, including a good quality encoder. However if you need to clean up your video first, I suggest you learn some basic avisynth scripting.

[MysticE]

I have tired xtodvd, and a whole host of other "avi to dvd" converters
all successfully burn but quality, sync is not passing my wife's standards !

What is the running time of your vid?

-and at times, the dvd playback is choppy

That may be due to the discs (brand) you are using.

[bati]

thanks for the quick reply...i will try both and let you know if I succeed...

I was wondering, would it be easier for me to just go to one of those stores that convert VHS to DVD - will they actually achieve a better result ?

or I saw a package VHS TO DVD v3.0 (has a dongle connector that does the conversion..etc..)

or should I just keep at it until I figure it out

[guns1inger]

If you are happy to throw money at the problem to solve it, just buy a good DVD recorder instead. Throw in a dedicated mpeg-2 editor like Womble for clean up work, and the job is done.

[bati]

I just want to make sure I am using a decent "source" file - i captured a 30 min vhs and the output was a 20 GB AVI. Does that sound right ?

And just so I understand the paramters here...my problem seems to be getting that 20GB onto a disc so I can play it on a consumer DVD...

I have "acquired" many movies that are "avi around 800MB " that play fine on my consumer dvd...

I have tried many sw packages (blaze, xtodvd, etc..) and they all produce the DVD with no issues, but the audio sync is off, and there is some jitter..

Is the best approach ? get something to convert to DVD ?
or should I try taking that 20GB down to 4GB AVI so I can burn it on the DVD ?

I seem to be going in circles here...

I found womble and am currently processing the file to DVD format (I tried to just do the MPG format, and it won't play on my player

What is the ideal format that I should be working towards for my consumer DVD ?
never thought this would be so difficult

[thecoalman]

What are using to capture it with? 20GB for 30 minutes suggests uncompressed which relatively speaking is the highest quality format you can capture to however... I can guess you're using one of those cheap capture cards which commonly encounter sound sync problems. Analog capture is almost like a art form especially if you have old tapes and requires the proper equipment.

If it's just 30 minutes take it to the store or some one that knows what they are doing. Note that with the store option you'll probably get the same results simply using a DVD recorder. If you have multiple tapes you want to do this with I'd suggest reading this fine article which will clear up many of the questions of you have. :P :

www.neapadigital.com/articles/analog-capture.php

And just so I understand the paramters here...my problem seems to be getting that 20GB onto a disc so I can play it on a consumer DVD...

You need to encode to MPEG, final file size is dependant on the bitrate you select. Highest quality will get get you approx. 1 hour on a single layer DVD. Think of this giant file on your HDD as negative.

I have "acquired" many movies that are "avi around 800MB " that play fine on my consumer dvd...

These are highly compressed commonly encoded using DIVX, suitable for web distribution but don't enter the picture for analog to DVD conversion unless you want to cram as much lower quality video as you can onto DVD. That assumes you have a DVD player that will play divx files.

As for software I'd suggest using Ulead Video Studio to get started, it's all you need. I slightly disagree with gunslingers comments, you can get excellent results from that application if used properly. Learning how to use other advanced tools like virtualdub has its benefits. Biggest downside to VS is it has limited options for authoring a disc which is the final step, it excels as a editor/encoder for the price .