capturing vhs 2 dvd

[kas187]

Hi people,

ok im relatively new at capturing i have sony viao machine see link for specs and i wanna put my vhs onto dvds, is there a guide on here that can help do what i want... id like a step by step guide of what to do with what i have on my machine, i.e. capture card, software etc etc... all help is appreciated,

kas187


http://www.vaio.sony-europe.com/eng/products/desktop/rx405/bilder/rx405.pdf

[yg1968]

You'll get different suggestions from different people. I would suggest this:
1- Get one of the following: a Canopus ADVC-100 or ADVC-50 or a digital camcorder with a passthrough feature
2- Get Ulead V.S. 7.0. They have a trial version.
3- You might need an exta hard disk. Video takes up a lot of space. DV takes up 13 gig per hour.

That's actually all that you need.

An alternative would be to get the following programs (which is what I use):

1- Windows Movie Maker (included with XP), DVIO or DVapp (freewares)
to capture DV
2- TMPGEnc for encoding to mpeg-2
3- Dazzle DVD complete to author and burn. They have a trial version

To make backups of DVDs:
1- DVD decrypter (freeware) for making backups of DVDs
2- Pinnacle Instant Copy or DVD2one for making backups of DVDs. They have trial versions. These progams allow you to fit a DVD-9 onto a DVD-5.
3- You might sometimes need the latest Nero. They have a trial version.

You should always download trial versions of softwares before buying it. Otherwise, you will spend a fortune spending on software that doesn't work or that you don't like.

Actually, your DVD burner comes with all the necessary software to convert VHS but I personally did not like the software it came with.

[kas187]

thanks for the reply yg1968
i have another question, and it is a dumb one but what is a Canopus ADVC-100 or ADVC-50, all i want to do is transfer vhs video to dvd, i already have tmpeg.

from the sound of it i like your 2nd method, where can i get these applications from DVIO or DVapp and if possible can you give me a step by step guide on what to do, truley im very new to this...

i dont really wanna buy a digital camcorder either thats just ££££ for me, thanks for ur help so far...

[Will Hay]

Video takes up a lot of space. DV takes up 13 gig per hour.

13gb per hour?
Using huffyuv gives a resultant file of 60gb-ish, and PicVideo mjpeg at quality 19 gives 20gb.
Will

[q1aqza]

Video takes up a lot of space. DV takes up 13 gig per hour.

13gb per hour?
Using huffyuv gives a resultant file of 60gb-ish, and PicVideo mjpeg at quality 19 gives 20gb.
Will

yg1968 is quite correct in stating 13GB for one hour of DV.

DV is lossy compression whereas those you mentioned are not lossy, although PIC Video at lower setting is lossy.

[Will Hay]

thanks for the reply yg1968
i have another question, and it is a dumb one but what is a Canopus ADVC-100 or ADVC-50, all i want to do is transfer vhs video to dvd, i already have tmpeg.

from the sound of it i like your 2nd method, where can i get these applications from DVIO or DVapp and if possible can you give me a step by step guide on what to do, truley im very new to this...

i dont really wanna buy a digital camcorder either thats just ££££ for me, thanks for ur help so far...

You certainly don't want to go the high expense of Canopus but these *are* great products.
My proceedure is simple.
I installed a ATI Radeon 64mb DDR ViVo (Video in & Video Out - your system looks to only have video out so you can't capture) for £30 on ebay brand new and it's superb.
A second hard drive is a necessity in my opinion, depending on what quality you're happy with you don't really want to be capturing to your primary hdd, you'll lose an unacceptable amount of frames.
First get yourself a capture card, then...
Install something like Virtualdub (free) or FreeVCR (free) to capture from your input, in your case VHS.
Install the codec's, ie huffyuv or PicVideo mjpeg (these are programs that compress the capture as you capture, so minimise file size).
Then, use TMPGEnc Plus to encode to mpeg2 compliant dvd (note the free version of TMPGEnc only has mpeg2 support for 30 days but it's well worth buying).
Then, get a simple to use program like Ulead Movie Maker to author menu's and chapters, and output to dvd-r.
There are guides on this site (top left of your screen), specifically this link:
start with this, it's fundamental to you getting it right and all the software I've mentioned will be found buy using this:
Use this to find links to codec's, Virtualdub etc
Hope that helps and one piece of advice:
Asking for help before searching the site will only get you flamed although not by me, I know how hard this is when you first start out
Good luck,
Will Hay

[q1aqza]

Another option is to use the Hauppauge WINTV PVR250. It will encode your VHS to MPEG2 in realtime ready for DVD authoring. It also comes bundled with Ulead DVD Movie Factory v1.0 which will allow you to put your conversions on to DVD.

This would be your fastest & most disc space efficient method. I have used the PVR250 to succesfully convert numerous VHS tapes to DVD. The MPEG quality is very good but not quite as good as the solution suggested by Silky, but will take a fraction of the time.

There are also other similar products to the PVR 250.

[kas187]

thanks for the advice silky31,

that was much helpful, i already have tmpeg, bought it a while back and is a wicked programme for encoding, also have virtualdub, but i will buy the capture card and try to do what i can, thanks again for your help guys,

im now,
kas187

[jfebus]

Another option is to use the Hauppauge WINTV PVR250. It will encode your VHS to MPEG2 in realtime ready for DVD authoring. The MPEG quality is very good but not quite as good as the solution suggested by Silky, but will take a fraction of the time.

Hi q1aqza,

Can you please tell us more about the capture quality of the wintv 250? I am planning to buy one and want to play safe!

Thanks,

Jose

[Will Hay]

Video takes up a lot of space. DV takes up 13 gig per hour.

13gb per hour?
Using huffyuv gives a resultant file of 60gb-ish, and PicVideo mjpeg at quality 19 gives 20gb.
Will

yg1968 is quite correct in stating 13GB for one hour of DV.

DV is lossy compression whereas those you mentioned are not lossy, although PIC Video at lower setting is lossy.

Yep, quite right, understood
Erm, Asst Moderator?
Will

[Will Hay]

thanks for the advice silky31,

that was much helpful, i already have tmpeg, bought it a while back and is a wicked programme for encoding, also have virtualdub, but i will buy the capture card and try to do what i can, thanks again for your help guys,

im now,
kas187

Suggest you post a thread in 'newbie' asking for capture card recommendations up to £x value, and see what comes up.
I'd seriously think about another hard drive, having tried one drive and now three I feel it's essential in capturing
Will

[q1aqza]

[quote="jfebus
Hi q1aqza,

Can you please tell us more about the capture quality of the wintv 250? I am planning to buy one and want to play safe!

Thanks,

Jose[/quote]

As you know, you can't improve on the VHS quality, although I've read that many people can get some small improvement using the Virtual Dub > TMPG route using various filters which takes about 20 hours for a two hour VHS conversion.

I have found that the PVR 250 gives more than satisfactory results at bitrates in the region of 4000-4500 in order to fit up a two hour VHS movie onto DVD. At higher bitrates you don't really gain anything due to the VHS source, but if I capture a digital TV program at higher bitrates 6000-8000 the quality is almost as good as the broadcast - even at lower bitrates (3000-4000) to fit more on a DVD, broadcast TV capture is still far superior to a similar VHS recording. It also ignores Macrovision

I personally can't see any difference in quality between the original VHS movie and the conversion to DVD using this card and the time saved over the software methods makes up for any small difference in quality.

A few cons:
- If you have VHS movies that you need to edit then you are limited in what you can do with editing MPEG2 files.
- Some poeple get this card working fine first time, others can't get it to work properly at all, and the majority (like me) get it working fine after a few tweaks and driver downloads, etc.
- Poor quality VHS tapes can cause audio sync problems (although I think this is also the case with the software capture methods). A Time Base Corrector is apparently the answer.

All in all I recommend this card, it has achieved what I bought it for, that is I have converted a large number of my personally owned VHS movies to DVD, I have converted my old analogue home movies to DVD, I have created DVDs from my favourite TV shows and I have created a few DVD films recorded from Sky Digital. All in realtime. I'm happy

[q1aqza]

Erm, Asst Modemator?
Will

I was fed up with just being called a 'member' so I promoted myself 8) . And lets face it, the Mods do need a bit of assistance now and again don't they

no we don't - mod

[jfebus]

Hi All!

I just bought a pvr250! My only hope is to get the exact same quality of my VHS tapes in DVD-R. Will I be dissappointed?

Regards,

[q1aqza]

Hi All!

I just bought a pvr250! My only hope is to get the exact same quality of my VHS tapes in DVD-R. Will I be dissappointed?

Regards,

I hope not otherwise you might blame me .

A good site to look at on re: this card is www.shspvr.com. Lots of good info.

[Tiribulus]

Hi All!

I just bought a pvr250! My only hope is to get the exact same quality of my VHS tapes in DVD-R. Will I be dissappointed?

Regards,

No.
Tiribulus

[q1aqza]

Erm, Asst Modemator?
Will

I was fed up with just being called a 'member' so I promoted myself 8) . And lets face it, the Mods do need a bit of assistance now and again don't they

no we don't - mod

Maybe it's the sense of humour then that needs assistance