Software for high quality capture with ADVC-100

[iB.E.]

I am a video moron, but Just bought a Canopus ADVC-100 and now looking for capture software. Re-formatted a 70 gig partition to NTFS dedicated to capturing on a Dell 866, 512 megs RAM, XP.

People seem very happy with Vegas 4, but its feature list and price are overkill for my needs. Above-all, need to capture irreplaceable home/family movies on VHS at top quality. Also need to edit out sections.

I'm hoping there is some reliable software out there for less than $100.

I saw these here on DVDRHelp page:
AVIIO
DVIO
FreeVCR
Virtualdub

Your thoughts on which will result in the most reliable & highest quality picture? Or, should I seriously consider forking out the bucks for Vegas 4 in order to assure the high quality captures?

Thx!
i.B.E.

[Metaluna]

Any capture app that is compatible with DV video will yield identical quality with the Canopus, as all the A-to-D conversion and encoding is done in the ADVC-100's hardware and is not software adjustable. So as far as capture goes, the only differences between apps come down to bookkeeping features like what file types they will save the DV stream to, or whether they support automatic file splitting for file systems that have a 2GB limit. I'm not sure about some of the others, but for the actual capture itself, VirtualDub won't work with DV. I believe DVIO will do the job though. For myself, I use WinDV and Scenalyzer Live, which IMHO works a bit better than WinDV and has a nicer GUI, but costs US$30 or so to register. Make sure whatever you use can save the file as a Type 2 AVI as VirtualDub will not accept Type 1 DV AVI's.

I'm still trying to find a good workflow myself. Mostly I'm using a combination of AVISynth and VirtualDub to feed into TMPGEnc (I use VirtualDub to figure out the right values for cropping and trimming the video, then I enter them into an AVISynth script and apply filters and IVTC). Unfortunately even with all the advanced spatio-temporal smoothing and denoising filters I'm using my MPEG-2's still look worse and have much larger file sizes than my buddy who captures the same VHS tapes in real time with an ADS Instant DVD box that cost less than what I paid for the Canopus! (Not to mention the 20+ hours it takes to encode 2 hours of video). So I still have quite a ways to go on the learning curve, I'm sure.

[Hi8mate]

I'm brand new to DV and also want to capture analogue Hi8 family footage and burn onto DVDs. I have pretty much settled on the ADVC1394 or perhaps the ADVC100. Would you now go for the ADS unit instead? Im totally new to this and didnt realise that it takes so long to encode(is that the same as render?)I read the thread about best analogue capture cards and am wondering your thoughts on these 3 options. Any help appreciated.

[ADS Ivan]

Metaluna is right, any app that can capture DV should be capturing the same quality video as the compression will always be the same. Big beautiful 720x480 @ 29.97fps (NTSC) or 720x576 @ 25fps (PAL)...

Regarding hardware, like I said in the other thread...the key is to know your ultimate goal...

If you're looking to edit and export back out to tape, then solutions like the ADVC-100 or our PYRO AV Link are perfect solutions for you. Analog to DV conversion, in and out...These tools are great because they capture video natively as DV, which is a format compatible with pretty much ANY EDITOR (as consumer as MS MovieMaker or as prosumer as Avid Xpress DV).

If you're looking to convert your videos to disc, whether it be VCD or DVD, a tool like Instant DVD 2.0 can be a beautiful thing. This captures video as hardware encoded MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. The key benefit of this type of product is that you will never have to render. It's quite extreme I know, but I have talked to people at trade shows that have rendered 2 hours of video over a period of 3 days...Extreme, but still realistic. If you capture in the right format the first time (as Instant DVD does), render time is elimated...

Regards,
ADS Ivan
ivan@adstech.com

[TBoneit]

FWIW I use Scenalyzer Live to Capture...

Currently I am using the 30day trial of TMPGEnc DVD to author to DVD as it makes it easy to cut out the bits I don't want and make different clips different titles on the DVD or as chapters of a title...

Menus are a bit lacking in choices but do the job.

It's easy to use, powerful enough and lets me edit & cut & Set chapters while viewing files that Ulead MF2 would only author but not display for manual cuts and chapter setting.

Good Luck
Roger

[iB.E.]

Thx folks! Sounds like I should use DVIO to capture and Virtualdub to edit. (I already have Nero for burning music/data CDs so I guess it'll do for burning DVDs, but still need to get he DVD burner). iB.E.

[iB.E.]

I thought I had it nailed down, but someone elsewhere recommended VideoFactory 2.0. It looks like the free demo will do captures. If it is the same capture module that Vegas 4 uses, maybe this is the way to go?

[BJ_M]

iB.E. re-read a few posts .. the app you use for capture DV doesnt mater much at all as it IS NOT A CAPTURE but TRANSFER of digital data ..

no mater what you use - it will be the same quality - UNTIL you re-encode it back into dv (or print to tape) AFTER editing (re-rendering).

[Hi8mate]

ADS Ivan - Hi are you saying the ADVC100 cannot do what the ADS2 can reference to capturing compliant DVD signal? Does the ADS2 capture DVD Compliant mpeg using software? I think thats what you said. Why would I buy an ADS insteads of the ADVC100. I want to convert Hi8 tapes onto DVD at best/very good quality. Still trying to get around all the terminology

[DVWannaB]

ADS Ivan - Hi are you saying the ADVC100 cannot do what the ADS2 can reference to capturing compliant DVD signal? Does the ADS2 capture DVD Compliant mpeg using software? I think thats what you said. Why would I buy an ADS insteads of the ADVC100. I want to convert Hi8 tapes onto DVD at best/very good quality. Still trying to get around all the terminology

No thats not what he said. He said the ADS Instant DVD can capture compliant DVD using a hardware encoder (inside a breakout box, ie, not inside your computer). He likened the ADS Instant DVD to software encoders, but software takes much longer. Instant DVD can capture DVD at 5 Mbps (704x480), SVCD at 2.5 Mbps (480x480) and VCD at 1.15 Mbps (352x240). All standard.

This is my opinion. If your Hi8 or any type of video you may have is clean and you are happy with how it looks, then I say use a device like Instant DVD. If you want to improve the visual quality somewhat, then ADVC-100, with any compatible software you can get you hands on (Scenalyzer $33 works great). Then use Virtualdub for filters and frameserve to your favorite software encoder (TMPG, Mainconcept, CCE, etc).

[DVWannaB]

Oh, I missed something. The new Instant DVD 2.0 now can capture up 15 Mbps. Can now do variable as well as CBR encoding. And now caps at 720x480 (704x480 previous), using USB 2.0, with backward compatibility to USB 1.1.

Hmmmmm........ I may have to check this product out.

[GreyDeath]

If you want an easy to use non-linear editing program, I have to agree that Video Factory or Vegas (both by Sonic Foundry) are the way to go. Easy to drag and drop clips, zoom in and out, and move footage around in the timeline. Vegas supports Dolby Digital AC-3 2.0 and 5.1 if you want to get that fancy (get it for under $300 if you know someone who's a student

I had Video Factory 1 for a long time, tried Premeire and couldn't wrap my mind around it... Bought Vegas+DVD just for the "official" AC-3 Encoding (Pioneer standalones have trouble playing AC-3 from BeSweet.)

One thing about my Canopus ADVC-100 is that I think it just transfers analog at a rate of 6000k. Anyone else notice that?

[iB.E.]

...no mater what you use - it will be the same quality - UNTIL you re-encode it back into dv (or print to tape) AFTER editing (re-rendering)...

Thought I read somewhere that the software could make a difference in dropped frames. That is with other cards and not the ADVC-100? Or maybe the # of dropped frames not noticeable to the human eye?

Looks like Video Factory might be good bang for buck anyway cause of its editing... features?

[GreyDeath]

The ADVC-100 does all the encoding to DV AVI taking a huge load off your computer resources. The only time I've dropped frames is when I decided to use a program that sucks 85% of my CPU resources away to open. :P Other than that, you don't have to worry about dropping frames and the speed of your CPU becomes less of a factor, until it comes time to encode.

I don't remember all the features of Video Factory, it supports 2 video and 3 audio tracks (Vegas is unlimited), has a bunch of transistions between cuts, has screen text capability (if you, say, want to put Greedo's subs on the picture itself instead of in the letterbox area *cough*).

If you want more info, you can visit the Sonic Foundry site at www.sonicfoundry.com

[JennyBear]

I use Ulead DVD Movie Factory...gives me speed and quality. I set the Capture Settings to VBR(8000 kbps) and set the quality at 15. I set the audio to Mpeg-3 and off I go.

And MAY I JUST SAY...I just received my Canopus ADVC-100 today and I am BLOWN AWAY !!! I can see why this thing has such good ratings...people, don't mess with anything else. This little capture box ROCKS !!! Thanks to ALL of you who recommended it.

JennyBear

[iB.E.]

Vegas 4 keeps popping up in recommendations for comprehensive video tools. Maybe my wife will do the editing for me cause I think she qaulifies for the student version!