HuffyUV VHS reduction - h.264 -vs- MPEG2 and other hyperbole

[magillagorilla]

I think I had a similar thread earlier but I was asking the wrong questions. I have a bunch of HuffyUV and DV AVIs I am cleaning up in VDUB. I want to reduce the files without any significant perceptual loss in quality. They are all 720x480i video. For some reason I sampled my VHS at 720x480, I don't know if that is good or bad (up scaling on capture rather than letting the display (TV) do it).

Anyhow, I know I want to leave it interlaced. I just don't like the results of deinterlaceing. I trend toward MPEG2 as the final format but I also understand h.264 can handle interlacing. I have used HB to do some h.264 tests and they seem to come out soft with some macroblocking even at 6mbps. My MPEG2 tests look good at VBR 8mbps.

I want to share the files and play them on media players.

So for my VHS interlaced material I guess it's h.264 -vs- MPEG2, any suggestions? If so, any settings suggestions. Should I leave my VHS video at 720x480 or should I downsample it to a native VHS resolution? With less lines of resolution the codecs would in theory allocate more bits to each pixel (increasing quality). Another acceptable answer is that I am simply over thinking all of this.

[hech54]

You are making this too complicated and/or listening to too many nutballs throwing the wrong terminology at you. Just make one as MPEG2, 720x480 for DVD...and convert another to H264 and save it as a video file....done. Now you have one of each....so what.

[budwzr]

AVC/AAC is by far the best format to be in because it plays everywhere except on older equipment, and there's no sense in building a video collection based on yesterday's tech.

VHS video should be treated as home videos from the past (a bygone era), and enjoyed as such.

H.264 is vastly superior to Mpeg2 in terms of filesize vs. quality, but is not easily edited on older equipment due to the compression complexity. It's densely packed.

[magillagorilla]

OK, thanks for the tips. I do agree that h.264 is becoming a very popular format but I doubt MPEG2 is going away anytime soon. By sheer commercial volume, the MPEG2 codec will demand support for a long time. Is there any plugin to get VDUB to encode MPEG2? My workflow has been converting the HuffyUV in Vegas. In Vegas I can transcode to both formats, though I'll likely side with one because I don't really need 2 copies of each clip.

I guess there's no way to predict the future. Some of my VHS is old 8mm film converted to VHS in the early 90s. I asked my father-in-law if he still has the old footage, knowing I could get a WAY better transfer from film>AVI now. He has since discarded the film leaving only the crappy VHS transfers. The moral of the story is, always keep your original footage. I plan to keep my VHS tapes and HuffyUV files on a HDD in a closet.

Meanwhile I believe the MPEG2 or h.264 versions will be the immortal copies of those old tapes which my great grandchildren will enjoy. You think it's hard to find a decent VCR now try to find one in 15 years. Codecs are also prone to obsolescence but digital problems are easier to solve than hardware problems.

[budwzr]

The thing about Mpeg2 is that it's not compressed enough for distribution via internet.

In the old days, radio and TV evolved over a longer time span so you could get by with what you had for longer. What you're up against now is network distribution of everything.

Even now, families share video via YouTube because they can do so much more conveniently at their own time and choosing.

If you're not in the mix, you're sidelined.

Of course you can always spring for a pizza party and fish the grandkids over that way.

[magillagorilla]

Thanks for the advise budwzr. I have always struggled with tossing out quality for convenience, and YouTube video is horrible. I am the same way about MP3s. I still buy CDs and Vinyl because I refuse to listen to lesser quality. I'll stay away from internet video quality for now. I'd rather preserve my footage in a fat bitrate and in 10 years when everyone has a 5gbps internet connection they can easily watch my 9mbps video.

By "fat bitrate" I'm not excluding h.264. Like the hours of 20+mbps h.264 home video footage I am collecting now, I will not reduce for archiving. All the same, my HD camcoeder is running about an hour per gig at 1080p (thank you h.264), so those HuffyUV files are killing me. They are way to big to manage, backup and archive.

[hech54]

To get to MPEG2 from VDUB....you can do what is called frameserving over to something like TMPGEnc Plus. It's pretty easy actually.

[hech54]

AVC/AAC is by far the best format to be in because it plays everywhere except on older equipment.....H.264 is vastly superior to Mpeg2 in terms of filesize vs. quality

People always seem to forget that part about ".......but nobody in my family will know what to do with these files or be able to play them."

[magillagorilla]

hech54, you are correct. Ease of use is definately a factor in my decession. For some reason Windows gets it's underwear in a bunch about h.264. You have to get the right codecs which is way beyond the ability of most of my family. Where MPEG plays natively in WMP and most players for that matter. MPEG2 is still the defacto king of video codecs but I can see where h.264 may take the throne soon.

[budwzr]

It's not that YT videos are horrible, it's that horrible videos are being uploaded to YT. Not everyone has the latest gear and/or knows anything about video. Most are just having fun with it.

[budwzr]

That's where YouTube or Vimeo or whatever comes in.

AVC/AAC is by far the best format to be in because it plays everywhere except on older equipment.....H.264 is vastly superior to Mpeg2 in terms of filesize vs. quality

People always seem to forget that part about ".......but nobody in my family will know what to do with these files or be able to play them."

[hech54]

I have Windows XP Pro and have no problems with H264....either creating them or playing them. A plain old DVD in the mail is still THE way to go to share with family...plus you'll have a backup somewhere as well as long as they keep it.

[budwzr]

The OP mentioned the grandkids, not the grandparents, big difference.

[magillagorilla]

Yep, I do have many backup DVDs out there at family members' houses. I like the idea of YouTube I just don't trust putting private media out in the wild. Same reason I don't put pictures on facebook. What do they care if my data leakes. Too many freaks and predators out there for me. I'll keep video of my children offline for now.

[budwzr]

That's why YT has "Private" and "Unlisted" options.

Vimeo and YT are available on many home media and BD players now, and you can just watch on your TV.