Capturing to AVI, what are my best options?

[jubbely2]

Hi All,

I am based in UK and want to capture from my VHS player to AVI format on my PC. I am well familiar with what to do after that once I have .avi files. I have used Hauupauge USB devices before to capture direct to MPEG format, but usually are pretty poor quality transfers even with pristine source material.

PC world sell various devices, but most are primarily TV cards and seem to capture to MPEG. Does anyone have any advice on how I actually capture in .avi and what capture devices/cards are available to me?

I should say that I am running Windows 7 with an ATI graphics card. I have browsed the "how to" guides, but most seem to refer to older stuff and I am somewhat overwealmed by it all. Sorry for noob question. Many thanks in advance.

Cheers Jub

[2Bdecided]

AVI is just a container format. It can contain anything from lossless uncompressed video, down to low bitrate XviD, with M-JPEG and DV-AVI being common and somewhere in the middle.

So, which do you want? What do you intend to do with it?

Cheers,
David.

[jubbely2]

Thanks David, I am not entirely sure. I have used avi with the XviD codec before that people have supplied to me (according to GSPOT), but in terms of my own captures, whatever is going to be a sensible balance really as the source material will invariably not be of top quality.

I will store the avi onto a hard drive for backup purposes, and also convert to MPEG format using Media Converters avi to Mpeg software for use in DVD LAB PRO 2 afterwards which seems to work very well for me.

[smartel]

HuffYUV (yuy2 color format) and audio uncompress

with VHS you'll have to filter

you can try every alternetive you want ,
but you will fold back to that option eventually

suggested reading : http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/capture/start.html

[jagabo]

For best results you need to use a line time base corrector. That usually means an S-VHS deck. You can also get away with something like a Panasonic ES-15 DVD recorder in pass-through mode.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/306272-Computer-video-capture-vs-vcr-to-dvd-combo?p...=1#post1882662
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-wh...=1#post1981333

Cleaning up the horizontal time base is essential to good recordings and it can't be done in software.

[2Bdecided]

you can try every alternetive you want ,
but you will fold back to that option eventually

That's not really true - some people are perfectly happy with decent captures straight to MPEG-2, and some of us use DV-AVI.

Cheers,
David.

[jubbely2]

ok... thanks for replies. I had a look at that Doom9 guide, but its too complex for me to start with. I guess I just need advice on what card might work with what capture software under Windows 7. I get it that the software has to use a codec, but that bit doesn't seem too bad. I know I'm simplifying, but if the audio is in sync, then I'm pretty happy, the source VHS quality won't be great anyway so no need for Rolls Royce solution.

Jag, will check those links today

Cheers Jub