Don't know where to start - Analog/8mm to DVD - Help!

[Dave123]

Would really appreciate some help getting started.

I've spent a lot of time on the net researching video
capturing and editing and all I can say is that I'm a
bit overwhelmed.

I have 100-ish old Beta tapes from the mid-80s that
contain home movies.
I have 50-ish Sony 8mm tapes from my Sony Video 8
Handycam.

1) Do I need a hardware encoder as part of my
video capture card? I'm under the impression that this
will help keep the audio/video sync where it belongs
as well as keeping the fps at 30+?

2) Should I use a Time Based Conversion unit?

3) Does my Sony510 DVD burner have either a TBC or HW
encoder?

4) Should I use an external DVD burner that has a TBC and filters
installed.

5) If I use an external DVD burner will I be able to edit the video?

6) Should I use a device that copies directly from Analog to MPEG-2 or from Analog to some intermediate format for editing and then convert to MPEG-2?


7) Another thought was to buy a new Digital Sony
camera which will still be able to view my older 8mm
analogy sony tapes, use this to input into the video
capture unit. This will completely remove the
video/audio sync issue?

8) Since I'm just moving home moves to DVD, should I
concern myself with the removal of the Macrovision
protection stuff?

9) Should I concern myself with filtering my video/audio?

As you can see, I've read a log of message forms and
now have more questions than answers. I'd really like
to get going with this project, but am bogged down in
the research before I buy the right items.

I would very much appreciate any help and am willing to communicate via phone, email or IM in addition to this fourm.

Thanks.

[ZippyP.]

I don't capture video but I do a lot of video conversion and can help with some of the theory.

Burners quite simply do just that, they put data on a disk, they don't capture or convert. You can get a standalone DVD box which captures and burns to DVD, from what I've read.

TBC's (Time Base Corrector) are used between VCR's and capturer devices to clean up and synchronize the signal, some VCR's have them built in.

Some digital cameras (like some Sony's) have a video pass through feature. Hook up your vcr to the analog input and it will capture and convert to DV-avi format. You transfer the DV video from the camera via Firewire into your PC for storage/editing/conversion. All you need is a Firewire port for your PC (cheap) and this set up does away with the need for any other sort of capture device.

The Canopus ADVC-100 is a capture device widely recommended. It's a standalone box that connects via firewire to your PC and captures to dv format. Check out the Capture Card section for comments or do a search on this site.

Filtering video: If you filter before encoding (to mpeg) you can clean up the video so that the encoder will not waste bits on noise. Noise (even unseen noise) reduces video quality.

Some people like to capture in avi format so they can filter and edit before converting to mpeg. Some people like to capture directly to mpeg as they then don't have to convert, it's personal choice I guess. Personally, I think you give up control over the final product by capturing to mpeg. Filtering and editting is much easier in avi format and software encoders can be adjusted to suit your preferences.

Once you have a DVD compliant mpeg file you then Author and Burn to disk.

Hope that helps.

[frankb]

Ok, Dave, here goes

1) Do I need a hardware encoder as part of my
video capture card? I'm under the impression that this
will help keep the audio/video sync where it belongs
as well as keeping the fps at 30+?

I use a Pinnacle PC TVPro (spftware encoding to DVD Longplay) to capture video from my HI8 camera (using both HI8 and Video8 tapes). Audio/video sync so far has not been an issue for me. Howevr, I read A LOT of issues with this for this card. I understand (from posts on this site) that a card with a hardware encoder will eliminate any sync issues.

2) Should I use a Time Based Conversion unit?

Not sure here. If my memory serves me right, time-based would only be necessary if the timing info is relevant e.g. for editing. I never use it, as I just edit visually on my PC.

3) Does my Sony510 DVD burner have either a TBC or HW encoder?

I happen to have a Sony 510a DVD burner as well (and very happy with it so far!). It just does what it says: it burns DVDs. Any encoding will be done on your PC. So neither TBC nor HW encoder is relevant for a DVD burner.

4) Should I use an external DVD burner that has a TBC and filters installed.

Once you have a good video file the Sony 510a should burn fine. In the Tools section on this site there are several excellent bits of software to prepare your movies for burning. An yexternal DVD burner will basically just do the same thing that your Sony does.

5) If I use an external DVD burner will I be able to edit the video?

As you will (I guess) be doing your editing on the PC, you can simply use the Sony to burn the end result to DVD.

6) Should I use a device that copies directly from Analog to MPEG-2 or from Analog to some intermediate format for editing and then convert to MPEG-2?

I would suggest going to MPEG-2 straight away (as I do with my Pinnacle card), unless you would use software for editing that works best with specific file tipes (e.g. AVI).

7) Another thought was to buy a new Digital Sony
camera which will still be able to view my older 8mm analogy sony tapes, use this to input into the video capture unit. This will completely remove the video/audio sync issue?

The video/audio sync issue, as far as I understand it, is one that occurs during capture. The camera used is not relevant in this respect. (Saved you a couple of bucks here... ).

8) Since I'm just moving home moves to DVD, should I
concern myself with the removal of the Macrovision protection stuff?

Macrovision is a protection that is put on DVDs to prevent copying to VHS tape. As your tapes are home movies anyway , I doubt whether there is an issue with Macrovision. (Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone, but I thought Macrovision is only put on DVDs and not on tapes?)

9) Should I concern myself with filtering my video/audio?

Ah... No personal experience there. I guess you mention filtering to boost the audio and video quality of your old tapes. That is probably a good idea, although (as I have not captured from my VHS recorder yet) I would not know exactly where to look or how to go about it.

I hope this helps (initially). Let me know whether you need more info.

Frank

[Dave123]

Thanks for the quick response.

So I think the route that looks to the best is something like this:

AnalogSource --> TBC --> ADVC-100 --> PC in AVI format.

This assumes the TBC has a hardware encoder. Do you know?

Almost all of my captures will be of home movies from both 16 year old beta tapes and 9(?) year old sony 8mm tapes.

I plan on doing lots of editing before finally burning to DVD.

Does the above route look good? Suggested software packages?

Thanks again!

[macleod]

figured I would throw my two cents in here....

2 other ways to go about this rather than buying a capture card and going through the motions. This may save you a lot of time and keep you from getting to P.O.'d about this whole thing.

1. If you have a digital video camera, you ought to try a digital pass through. Basically, send the analog stuff through the dv camcorder, and then from the dv camcorder to the computer for editing

2. Another option is a hardware capturer/burner like the E-20. You kind find them for under $300 and basically all you do is hook them up to your analogue source, press play and record and come back and you have a "finished" product. I say finished because you will then want to take your now digital source, dump it into your computer and then do all of your editing. The BIGGEST problem, in my opinion anyway is the quality loss when capping from analogue to digital. Your software cap cards, unless they are expensive (there will be at least one person who will respond to this comment that his $20 card caps perfectly....) wont give you the same throughput as a dedicated hardware capper/burner. Oh yea, the E-20(and alot of others) already have the TBS built in.

I think the rest of your questions (i.e. macrovision questions were answered by other posters). I would do some searches for the E-20, read the comments and judge for yourself. Not saying to go out and buy the E-20, but see what people say about software capping vs. hardware capping and then also using a DV as a pass through. There are some guides on this site that will give you more than enough information.

[g_shocker182]

With that many movies to put on DVD, I would go with a standalone DVD recorder/burner. That way all you have to do is hook up your beta/8mm player (probably the vid. cam) to your TV and then output it from the tv to the DVD recorder. That way (hooked up to your TV), you can judge where to stop recording, etc. 50-100 movies would take too long to do with a computer in my opinion.