High Quality VHS - Possible?

[Taffin]

Greetings:

I am new here and I apologize if someone already asked this.

I have a few PAL VHS tapes I bought from Britain. I have a video converter and a (very cheap) Multi-Region VCR.
It's so cheap and bad that there is only one cable outlet for mono sound.

I have made countless DVD copies of these movies. The quality is unbearable
(shaky screen, a blurry image, tracking fuzz).
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I'd rate it a 4.5.

Lately, I have been reading about video capture cards for computers and MPEG-2 encoders and stuff like that.
Is it possible for me to make DVD quality copies of these movies and, if so, what should I buy for them?

Thank you very much.

[edDV]

Greetings:

I am new here and I apologize if someone already asked this.

I have a few PAL VHS tapes I bought from Britain. I have a video converter and a (very cheap) Multi-Region VCR.
It's so cheap and bad that there is only one cable outlet for mono sound.

I have made countless DVD copies of these movies. The quality is unbearable
(shaky screen, a blurry image, tracking fuzz).
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I'd rate it a 4.5.

Lately, I have been reading about video capture cards for computers and MPEG-2 encoders and stuff like that.
Is it possible for me to make DVD quality copies of these movies and, if so, what should I buy for them?

Thank you very much.

To capture PAL you need a quality PAL DVD player and a capture card for PAL.

If you are in the USA and intend to watch on a 60Hz TV, better to get a DVD player that converts the original PAL DVD to 59.94Hz playback for example the popular Philips 5990/92. A few DVD player models do this.

[Verify]

Welcome Taffin

You asked: "Is it possible for me to make DVD quality copies of these movies ...?"

The short answer is no!

A longer answer is that in terms of "quality," a VCR tape typically has much less "quality" than a standard TV station's broadcast signal, which typically has much less "quality" than a DVD will have.

Low "quality" information can not be converted into high "quality" information - you can not recover what is not there.

For further information, I suggest that you read some of the information about these various formats (which can be found in this sites "WHAT IS" sections etc.)

On the other hand, edDVs suggestion can help insure that your results willbe better than you have apearently been gettin so far.

There are a lot things that can be done to insure that you get the best results possible (and most are expensive in both equipment and learning experience). If you only have a few tapes you might consider a professional service. If you do, I recommend you consult with lordsmurf - see: digitalFAQ.com

[edDV]

Ooops I missed VHS tape and thought PAL DVD. Serves me right answering while watching TV.

Buy the DVD.

[victoriabears]

you say "a few", could you get the dvd's of what is on them?

Try a local transfer service if only a few

[Taffin]

Thank you for your replys and help.

The DVDs were released only in Hungary and the websites I looked up only take some sort of bank account thing and don't ship to the US.

I'm going to buy a capture card anyway. Will it make the quality any better?

[edDV]

Thank you for your replys and help.

The DVDs were released only in Hungary and the websites I looked up only take some sort of bank account thing and don't ship to the US.

I'm going to buy a capture card anyway. Will it make the quality any better?

For PAL VHS tape you first need a PAL VHS player. Many but not all capture devices can be set to capture PAL or NTSC.

Once the PAL tape is captured to a PAL file, you can watch it on the computer.

Or, you can feed a PAL capable display. Some LCD-TV sets like my two Vizios will accept and display PAL. Many others will accept PAL as analog components. Some LCD-TV brands specifically block PAL.

Or, you can make a PAL DVD and play it on a PAL to NTSC capable DVD player (e.g. Philips 5990/92).

Or you can try to convert it to NTSC on the computer. This is complcated and the quality will be lower.

[2Bdecided]

Or you can try to convert it to NTSC on the computer. This is complcated and the quality will be lower.

If they are movies, and the original PAL transfer was at 25p-in-50i, then the resulting conversion to NTSC can be as good as (sometimes better than!) a conversion from NTSC VHS if you do it properly. It can be a bit complicated for the novice user, but not impossibly so.

If it was native 50i interlaced content, they yes, I agree - the conversion to NTSC is tortuous and reduces quality.

Cheers,
David.

[videobruce]

If you only have a few tapes, why not send them out and have them professionally transfered from PAL to NTSC? I has to be way cheaper than buying capture cards and/or another VCR.

[lordsmurf]

Reputable video houses will tell you to leave PAL as PAL. Make a PAL DVD from a PAL VHS. Only the amateurs will suggest converting, when there is no legitimate reason.

[videobruce]

Makes it kinda tough to play a PAL tape here in the US that way w/o a PAL deck.

[lordsmurf]

I own two PAL decks, nice ones with TBCs/etc. Don't even need voltage converter, power supply is worldwide, just uses a plug shape adapter.

[videobruce]

Then they have a built in standard converter or you have PAL TVs'.

[edDV]

Then they have a built in standard converter or you have PAL TVs'.

Have you tested your TV for PAL display (composite or analog component)?

[lordsmurf]

Then they have a built in standard converter or you have PAL TVs'.

I have PAL-capable capture cards.

[johns0]

Then they have a built in standard converter or you have PAL TVs'.

I have PAL-capable capture cards.

I did the same.