Very frustrated with with coverting VHS to DVD

[brodaiga]

Hey, guys, I have been trying this all week with no luck. I have a tv series I on VHS I am tring to put on DVD. I have the pinnacle capture card that came with Pinnacle studio version 8. There are two episodes per tape resulting in 105 minutes of footage, I am trying to put 2 tapes (210 minutes) on a DVD, so basically, I amtrying to make a 4 hour DVD by capturing MPEG2. Now the problem is, I cannot manage to get the right file sizes for all the video to fit (I do not even see a 4 hour option in my studio, the max is 124 minutes) , I change it to other sizes using Ulead movie factory, or try to burn with nero, or use TMPGNC, then infoedit and, but it takes a couple of HOURS to render. Basically, what software would produce the FASTEST way to make the 4 hour DVDs, I have so many VHS, I cannot wait hours for it to render (I have a fast PC 2.6ghz, 768 ram, so that's not it). How do I this in the shortest time possible, what software is best?

P.S. Speed is more important than professional results, I do not want to tinker with it for hours, I want a reliable QUICK way to do this project.

[CT2]

Buy a stand alone DVD recorder with Flex Record mode.

[Bob W]

The fastest way is with a DVD recorder. The second fastest way IMO is buy the aVer Easy DVD maker kit (about $40 at CompUSA if not on sale) which comes with a capture card (captures directly to mpeg2) and NeoDVD software (which actually works well and fast).

[jaxxboss]

I dont have the system you're using, but it would seem to me that once you finish your first tape of 105 min, start the second one and capture it into another folder. Then author using dvd author by adding both 105 min files. Then burn. Am I missing something? Your question seems to be wanting to overcome the time limitation.

[trossin]

Get a Hauppauge PVR-250 (~ $100) and capture directly to DVD compliant MPEG2. To squeeze more time onto a disk you will need to capture at half DVD resolution and a low bit rate. Then just author and burn using Ulead DVD Movie Factory. The Ulead code came with my card for free. I just upgraded to version 2.0 for better chapter creation. It is simple, fast and the results look great. After you capture you can have a disk in your hand in about a half hour. No recompression is required.

Messing with AVI is way too time consuming. I use a 600 MHz P3 and life is great.

[brodaiga]

hmm, I am interested in the standalone recorders, can theyburn 4 hour DVDs? This seems like the easiest option.

[Bob W]

hmm, I am interested in the standalone recorders, can theyburn 4 hour DVDs? This seems like the easiest option.

I think they can do as much as six hours. I have the Panasonic E50 recorder and it will do over six hours. BTW my recorder is on-sale at CircuitCity for $400 but I bet you could find one online for less.

[ktton]

hmm, I am interested in the standalone recorders, can theyburn 4 hour DVDs? This seems like the easiest option.

Yes, most can burn up to 6 hours. Panasonic recorders have a flexible mode that allow you to set your desire burning time.

[trhouse]

Have you tried DVD-Shrink? It seems to be well regarded software for this kind of job. And it is free.

https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=155#comments

[FOO]

1. Get a bitrate calculator an figger out what bitrate you need
for 210 minutes at 352 x 480 MPEG2.
2. Capture it like that.
3. Author DVD

if you go over a little, you can fix it with Shrink.