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  1. Member
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    Let me give you the low-down. I want people to take this thread serious, as I am going to.
    I am willing to pay those who have quality answers to my question via PayPal (I don't know if this is in the rules-- sorry).
    I know forum help is a privilege, not a right, and I respect intellects who come to this forum to help others.

    Down to details ---
    I need to know what I should do in this situation of VHS conversion. There is much to read on this subject, many routes to go, but seemingly no definite answers that I have run upon thus far. My goal is to go with the best method I can-- and I'm hoping intellects can agree on this method. This is converting the family tapes that my father shot of us as children to a digital format.

    I have equipment already, so I would appreciate people narrowing it down to what I have, but if there is an undeniable need to buy a different specified unit, I am all ears.

    Essentially, the end result will be played on a 1080p Samsung 52" LCD and I want this VHS conversion to look as good as I can on this HDTV.

    Equipment ---
    JVC HR-S9900U s-VHS VCR: http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026742&pathId=49&page=2&archive=true
    Canopus ADVC300 Capture Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814144209
    Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-Ray Player: http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/tv-audio-video/blu-ray-player/archive/BD-P1500/XSA/...ail&returnurl=
    Adobe Premiere
    Adobe After Effects
    Adobe Encore

    I've read on this forum from a few people that taking this VHS footage and converting it to Blu-Ray is not the answer unless you want a lot of VHS footage of the same quality on one disc. If you wanted to go about doing this, perhaps the AVCHD format is the answer, as it is compatible with Blu-Ray. I was thinking about doing this, but ultimately care about quality over anything, so a Dual-Layer Standard DVD will do just fine.

    I would appreciate any definite answers to give as much detail as they can, perhaps some to be even tutorial based.
    Remember, I'm willing to compensate you for your knowledge and service.

    Thanks
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  2. Do you need menus and fancy graphics on the DVD?
    Or do you just want to put everything on DVD?

    The easiest and fastest way
    play out directly from VHS player to DVD recorder.
    with say 5min chapter marks

    Just remember, crap in equals crap out. You are not going to get HD/DVD quality from a source of VHS
    tgpo famous MAC commercial, You be the judge?
    Originally Posted by jagabo
    I use the FixEverythingThat'sWrongWithThisVideo() filter. Works perfectly every time.
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  3. Member
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    Originally Posted by stiltman
    Do you need menus and fancy graphics on the DVD?
    Or do you just want to put everything on DVD?
    I plan to make custom menus with animated chapter selections. This is another reason I wanted to use Blu-Ray, because it offers far superior menu quality.

    Originally Posted by stiltman
    The easiest and fastest way
    play out directly from VHS player to DVD recorder.
    Currently I can do more than what is offered for options without a DVD recorder. I plan to burn the DVD with my computer and to purchase a Blu-Ray burner if needed.
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  4. You can actually improve/clean up the video of a VHS with filtering, but it requires a good deal of time to experiment with and learn. Of course, you should try to get the best possible VHS transfer (to an almost lossless video format) in the first place; I'm sure people will advise you on how to achieve this. You can work from that digital master copy to produce whatever formats you wish in future without unnecessarily compromising any quality.

    I believe Blu-Ray allows standard definition material, so it's a viable option. The allowed quality level will be higher than with DVDs (since Blu-ray allows high-bitrate H.264/AVC streams vs DVD's MPEG-2 streams).

    Practically speaking, it's easiest to simply purchase a standalone media box like the WD TV Live to play the transferred video, but then you won't have a disc to distribute/store, nor any pretty menus. But your videos will play on PCs and media boxes without the possible hassle of authoring and verifying/validating a Blu-ray.
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  5. Member GKar's Avatar
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    I learned some stuff from this site (Capture/Record):

    http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video/capture-understand-sources.htm
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  6. Member
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    Originally Posted by creamyhorror
    I believe Blu-Ray allows standard definition material, so it's a viable option. The allowed quality level will be higher than with DVDs (since Blu-ray allows high-bitrate H.264/AVC streams vs DVD's MPEG-2 streams).
    This is interesting. I'd like to know more about this in particular. A few questions:
    1. Can Blu-Ray be burned in the DVD Resolution of 720x480?
    2. If so, would the Pixel Aspect Ratio be .9 (4:3) or 1.2 (16:9)?
    3. What is the highest allowable bitrate Blu-Ray offers-- and is this possible to achieve / feasible with VHS Capture Technology (or even better, with my equipment)?
    4. Can a Blu-Ray disc change resolution / pixel aspect ratios on one disc, say the menu in full 1080p, and then it changes to the standard 720x480 to play the video?

    Just for reference, I made a little image to show how resolutions compare throughout different units. I'm still not 100% sure if VHS is the same as DVD from what I've read, but all I know is this is how we capture it for regular DVD conversions. As for what the original resolution was before we convert it, that's where I get a bit lost. I'd be adding so much information to the video that it would look like complete crap if I tried to go for the Blu-Ray resolution. The only thing that pisses me off is that I know this 52" LCD is going to stretch the image anyway.


    So those three questions should answer a lot for me if any of you have the answers.
    edit: Typed this message without reading GKar's post, so I apologize if any answers were answered before I posted this.
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  7. Originally Posted by _yo_wasup_

    1. Can Blu-Ray be burned in the DVD Resolution of 720x480?
    Yes. It can use MPEG2 or h.264. It has to be interlaced for SD.

    In NTSC spec players, 60 fields /sec or 30 frames /sec . (really 29.97 or 30000/1001 frames per sec)

    2. If so, would the Pixel Aspect Ratio be .9 (4:3) or 1.2 (16:9)?
    blu ray uses MPEG-4 specification , so 10:11 and 40:33 for PAR (instead of 8:9 or 32:27)

    3. What is the highest allowable bitrate Blu-Ray offers-- and is this possible to achieve / feasible with VHS Capture Technology?
    You can capture lossless e.g. huffyuv from VHS, but most would edit & filter/clean up, then encode to the final format. i.e. Your capture format won't be the same as your encoded format. You want to minimize quality losses at each stage, so avoid capturing with MPEG2. Blu-ray primary can go up to 40Mb/s. Buffered peaks can go above that. h.264 is far more efficient than MPEG2, even using interlaced encoding.

    4. Can a Blu-Ray disc change resolution / pixel aspect ratios on one disc, say the menu in full 1080p, and then it changes to the standard 720x480 to play the video?
    Yes, you can have different formats on a single disc (different resolutions, codecs etc... as long as they are "legal"), but they have to be on separate titles. You might have 1080p title with a 480i title
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    Originally Posted by poisondeathray
    Originally Posted by _yo_wasup_
    2. If so, would the Pixel Aspect Ratio be .9 (4:3) or 1.2 (16:9)?
    blu ray uses MPEG-4 specification , so 10:11 and 40:33 for PAR (instead of 8:9 or 32:27)
    Isn't this the same? I'm slightly confused about this, but here's what Wikipedia says:




    Also, which programs can I use to import my VHS footage with the HuffYUV codec? Is Premiere one of them? I can't seem to select a codec in the import settings of Premiere. If anyone has an ultimate application they use to import VHS footage, let me know.
    Last edited by _yo_wasup_; 26th Jan 2010 at 16:04.
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  9. Just beware, there is a lot of incorrect information on wikipedia. NTSC SD blu-ray is 720x480i30 only (or 60i if you mean fields per second). 10:11 and 40:33 are the correct values for blu-ray spec, but some players can play out of spec video.
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    In summary, what I specifically need to understand is how to import this VHS footage with my capture card at the highest bitrate possible for SD Blu-Ray.

    Can we all agree that using SD Blu-Ray is therefore the best way to keep quality when doing VHS to DVD conversions?
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  11. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    PM requested I reply here.

    Yes, many ways to do this, though many of them tend to be cheap/lazy/unknowledgeable. So beware of some things you read. It's not as easy as buying something at Best Buy, hitting the "do it" button and getting a perfect DVD 2 hours later.

    The big issue with big TV sets is they need filters. It's one reason I have the Sony, as it has at least a dozen different kinds of filters, letting you change everything from gamma and IRE, to temporal and in-frame NR.

    9900 is good VCR.

    Canopus box not the best choice, but it can convert to DV. Turn off the filters, they're crap.

    I can make excellent menus on DVD, most of the time bad menu work is the limitations of the person authoring, or the software used.

    Max-allowed bitrate H.264 on BD is an interesting concept I've looked at. But for now, honestly, DVD-Video tends to be a safer choice. Less costly too. I don't much see the need to use BD for VHS sourced videos.

    For the "best" work, filter as much as you can before the computer gets the video. Proc amps, detailers, TBC, good VCR, etc

    High bitrate MPEG-2 is fine, 12-25MB/s --- MPEG is not bad for capturing unless you're just compressing it to DVD specs AND plan to re-encode it later. Direct-to-disc DVD-ready video is fine captured direct to MPEG-2, assuming the MPEG encoder/chipset is good. You don't have an MPEG capture device, so non-issue. Not an option here.

    And then there's a lot of similar high-end VHS>DVD Q&A's at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/dvd-project-help-9.html if you've run out of reading material here.
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    PM requested I reply here.

    Yes, many ways to do this, though many of them tend to be cheap/lazy/unknowledgeable. So beware of some things you read. It's not as easy as buying something at Best Buy, hitting the "do it" button and getting a perfect DVD 2 hours later.

    The big issue with big TV sets is they need filters. It's one reason I have the Sony, as it has at least a dozen different kinds of filters, letting you change everything from gamma and IRE, to temporal and in-frame NR.

    9900 is good VCR.

    Canopus box not the best choice, but it can convert to DV. Turn off the filters, they're crap.

    I can make excellent menus on DVD, most of the time bad menu work is the limitations of the person authoring, or the software used.

    Max-allowed bitrate H.264 on BD is an interesting concept I've looked at. But for now, honestly, DVD-Video tends to be a safer choice. Less costly too. I don't much see the need to use BD for VHS sourced videos.

    For the "best" work, filter as much as you can before the computer gets the video. Proc amps, detailers, TBC, good VCR, etc

    High bitrate MPEG-2 is fine, 12-25MB/s --- MPEG is not bad for capturing unless you're just compressing it to DVD specs AND plan to re-encode it later. Direct-to-disc DVD-ready video is fine captured direct to MPEG-2, assuming the MPEG encoder/chipset is good. You don't have an MPEG capture device, so non-issue. Not an option here.

    And then there's a lot of similar high-end VHS>DVD Q&A's at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/dvd-project-help-9.html if you've run out of reading material here.

    I appreciate you coming on here, even if it is a bit later-- I still haven't done the VHS transferring yet so to me, this topic is still just as open as it was before.

    I intend on going from where I am now instead of going a completely different route though, if that makes any sense. Of course I intend on changing where I intend on going with it, but to purchase new equipment is my last resort. The only problem that I see with the Canopus ADVC300 is that the deck imprints its own TBC that cannot be turned off, and Canopus recommends disabling the TBC on your video device to avoid a conflict. I don't know what's so great about this s-VHS player without the TBC enabled-- do you know? You could probably explain that to me and I would be thrilled to hear that it was still a worthwhile investment on my part. In fact, I'd also appreciate hearing exactly what the problems are with my equipment thus far - as in - what is my equipment lacking that is VITAL (with technical details of course ).

    I have actually imported footage using both TBC's enabled (The JVC s-VHS HR-S9900U's & the Canopus ADVC300's) and the footage comes out clean-- but let me remind you, I want the best in my situation. If I were to disable the JVC Digital TBC/NR and reimport, would it make sense for the quality to look better or worse? Or will I have to experiment because you don't know?

    --Also-- if you or anyone who knows something has time, please respond to my Blu-Ray questions above!!!!
    (It's obvious that there are the benefits of more space & better menu quality & potentially better video quality whilst using Blu-Ray-- try not to ignore these, I know it is hard to keep up with technology especially when you're the expert in a field that is rapidly changing-- these people often stick to older methods that may sadly be inferior).
    Last edited by _yo_wasup_; 17th Feb 2010 at 14:22.
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  13. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Canopus is full of shit. Ignore them.

    The VCR TBC is more important than whatever weenie corrections their stupid DV box makes.

    Disabling the VCR TBC would make the video far worse in quality. Beyond that, the crappy DV codec would likely further degrade the already-compressed chroma channels with all the chroma noise no longer being filtered by the VCR's TBC.

    The field is NOT "rapidly changing". Just FYI. Progress is as slow as the video work itself.
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  14. Member
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    The field is NOT "rapidly changing". Just FYI. Progress is as slow as the video work itself.
    A little off topic and I don't mean to argue with you on this even though most would disagree with it. I suppose it depends on what you compare the word "rapidly" to, though in any area of electronics there are large advancements every year, whether you were informed about them or not.

    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    Canopus is full of shit. Ignore them.

    The VCR TBC is more important than whatever weenie corrections their stupid DV box makes.
    Ok..... I can agree with you on this, though will leaving both TBC's on create a problem? Like I said, I've seemed in the past to get good quality imports thus far by doing it. None of those imports were analyzed - I'd like someone to state if 2 TBC's do indeed conflict.

    I'd also appreciate hearing exactly what the problems are with my equipment thus far (if extremely necessary) - as in - what is my equipment lacking that is VITAL (with technical details of course ). That and the Blu-Ray inquiries stated earlier. Hopefully someone that is an expert in that area can drop by and confirm that using SD Blu-Ray is the best way to keep quality when doing VHS to DVD conversions.
    Last edited by _yo_wasup_; 17th Feb 2010 at 15:19.
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  15. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    There's no reason it should conflict.
    The so-called TBC in the DV box does almost nothing noticeable anyway, neither to image nor signal.

    The thing most people don't understand about video is there are large bodies that have to come together and agree on set standards. While HDTV is new to some people, the specs were set almost a decade ago. Joebob Consumer thinks it's new tech, but it's not. This is largely an amateur/hobby site full of generic consumers. If you were on a private pro site talking about how "rapidly the field is changing" they'd mostly ask what you're going on about. Cameras, content delivery, etc --- it doesn't change as much as grow and adapt slowly to the new tech. Even "new tech" is a misnomer, as those things slowly advanced, too. Nobody woke up one day to a news release announcing Blu-ray.

    Even at the most base level, nothing is different: prep, shoot, edit, package, market, show/distribute (content delivery). The exact details and options grow over time, but there's nothing "rapidly" changing here.

    When you actually work in video/photo, you can't get toy-happy.
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