Really simple from VHS to DVD

[martinvdm]

I have a TV/capture card from Terratec. It is all working fine. I want to capture my VHS video and burn it to DVD in good quality. Now i'am looking for a program that is very very simple (My dad has to do it). I'am thinking about pressing a couple off buttons and thats it.

Who knows???

Thanks

[jgandara]

What program are you trying to get?
Authoring VD moviemaker 2
Editing & Capturing: VideoStudio 6+

Ulead has simple and easy to use programs

[j1d10t]

What are you looking to capture to? Avi, then convert to MPEG2? Or capturing directly to MPEG2? Are you looking for a program that does it all - capturing, encoding, and authoring?

If you are looking to capture directly to MPEG2, I would suggest either PowerVCR, or WinDVD Recorder - both are very easy. But PowerVCR captures the audio in MPEG layer II, so unless you are in PAL land your set-top DVD player might not play the audio. Whereas with WinDVD Recorder you can choose to capture the audio in LPCM, AC3, or MPEG layer I or II. Using either one of these programs will require you to have a separate program to author to DVD.

If you are looking to capture to Avi, then convert to MPEG2, I'd go with VirtualDub - very easy to use, and free.

Keep in mind these are just a few programs you could use, and there are many more out there.

Check out the tools section on the left, and look at the capture programs.

[Bob W]

NeoDVD Plus simple and very fast.

[martinvdm]

i'am lookin for a program like Bob W means. I'am in europe, so i thought that is PAL mode. i only looking for a very easy tool (one-button-tool for so far is possible) that captures and burns and do all the work.

I gonna try neoDVD. thanks. Other suggestions?

[sacajaweeda]

i only looking for a very easy tool (one-button-tool for so far is possible) that captures and burns and do all the work.

I gonna try neoDVD. thanks. Other suggestions?

If you or your dad are unwilling to put forth the effort to read through the multitude of detailed, free guides that have been made available to you at this site and actually learn something, then capturing/editing/converting/authoring/burning DVD is most likely not for you.

My suggestions to you would be to either buy yourself a set top DVD recorder to make your VHS->DVD transfers, or to simply pay somebody a few bucks who actually knows what they are doing to do it for you. You will no doubt save yourself countless hours/days/weeks/months of frustration trying to attain satisfactory results.

Not a flame, but your request for a one button solution to what you are hoping to achieve may seem like a rather simplistic task to you, but there is quite a bit more involved than you realize if you are expecting any real quality results.

There *ARE* "one button" programs out there, but unless your expectations are fairly low in terms of quality, you will ultimately spend a great deal of time just frustrating yourself.

My $.02

[LNielsen76]

Here is a simple guide for transferring VHS to DVD.

http://www.geocities.com/nielsen_85205nielsen_us/VHSTODVD.doc

Ulead Technology is simple, but capturing with Ulead isn't all that great. I like to use Moviefactory to convert my SVCD's to DVD! But other than that, I don't use it much. Ulead does support resolutions of 352x480 that WinDVD Recorder and PowerVCR II do not, but since it does poorly with the MPEG quality, I stay away.

Here is my guide:

VHS TO DVD

Tools Needed:

Intervideo WinDVD Recorder
TMPGEnc
DVD-Lab
CloneDVD or Pinnacle InstantCopy

Alternatives:

Since WinDVD does not allow you to capture DVD Compliant mpegs at a resolution of 352x480 alternatives for mpeg capture at such resolution is Ulead’s Moviefactory 2. A resolution of 720x480 is unnecessary in most VHS cases and using a lower compliant resolution will free up bitrate for better quality captures. However, for this guide, I will be using WinDVD for captures.

PROCEDURE

WinDVD comes with several templates designed to capture different formats of mpeg files. The DVD template is designed to capture 1hr and 20min of video feed; any greater amount of feed captured will result in exceeding the 3.96GB WinDVD file size split limit. This guide will use the preset DVD template to capture all feeds of any length. However, it is possible to create your own templates for varying feed lengths that will allow you to capture any video to an mpeg file not to exceed the 3.96GB WinDVD file size split limit.

I use the following equation to determine the Total Bitrate based on time. In this equation, "x" represents the desired minutes you wish to capture.

7715 (4063 / [50.788 * X]) = Total Bitrate [Do not mistake for video bitrate!]

7715 is the Total Bitrate [i.e., Kbytes/sec] for 80 minutes of feed.
4063 is the file split size [i.e., Mbytes].
X is the desired minutes wished to capture.
50.788 is the theoretical rate in megabytes per minute captured.

Note: I have found the actual average rate in megabytes per minute captured to be 54.171 in captures of 140 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes, 80 minutes, and 150 minutes. It appears that WinDVD captures at a rate that will require 4.36GB of media space for 80 minutes of video feed. Theoretically, all that should be needed is the file split size of 3.96GB. Misgivings of WinDVD: 1) No 352x480 resolution option in DVD compliant mpeg file capture, and 2) a split file size of 3.96GB! Should you feel that 3.96GB is enough space for your capture and will produce good quality playback, then use the actual rate to eliminate joining of rendered mpeg files.

When creating your own template, use the following settings,

MPEG2 GENERIC
Motion Vector: Vertical 7 Horizontal 7
Audio: MPEG-1 Layer II 48.0 kHz 224 Kbytes/sec

Note: Either 224 or 192 Kbytes/sec can be used. Using 192 will free up bitrate for Video.

Creating these templates for each individual video can be cumbersome and will require you to know the individual video feed length in minutes. Nevertheless, it does save time in the long run. No reencoding will be required later. Once authored, it can be burned directly to DVD using CloneDVD or your favorite burning program. I, myself, prefer to stick with the DVD preset provided by WinDVD, unless of course, the resulting mpeg file exceeds 9GB in length. Authoring an mpeg file, which may require ten or more VOB file creations, can be a DVD nightmare! Regardless, capturing large files less than 9GB can still be authored without reencode in DVD-Lab. The resulting VIDEO_TS folder can then be burned using Pinnacle InstantCopy. Pinnacle InstantCopy reencodes the video to fit a standard 4.36GB DVD5. I choose the latter route to preserve quality where it may be lost in pursuing the former. The former would not be so much a problem if WinDVD allowed you to capture at a 352x480 resolution and the excess bitrate placed back into capturing at high quality. Should you desire to use CloneDVD as your burning tool in the latter route, be informed that CloneDVD does not reencode VIDEO_TS contents exceeding the 4.36GB limit. CloneDVD compresses video much like DVD2One. It is a faster tool than InstantCopy, but the risk of quality loss is greater.

PROVISOR: WinDVD will capture feed until the 3.96GBlimit is achieved. Any excess feed captured is stored in *.tmp files that will require renaming of extensions to *.mpeg files. These multiple files rendered by the capture can be joined using TMPGEnc's mpeg tools. The resulting file can then be loaded into DVD-Lab and authored. I prefer DVD-Lab to other authoring tools using the methods of capture as described above. DVD-Lab does not require an mpeg file to be demuxed into video and audio files [TMPGEnc DVD Author likewise will import system streams]. Though DVD-Lab will give you the option of demuxing, it is not neccessary since your file is already compliant. Importing the mpeg as a system file in place of elementary streams will save you an enormous amount of time.

TOTAL TIME

Method 1 (Low Quality)

Capturing 2 hours
Editing 0 hours
Authoring 30 minutes
Burning (1X) 1.5 hours

Method 2 (High Quality)

Capturing 2 hours
Editing 1 hour
Authoring 1 hour
Burning (1X) 2.5 hours

Have fun transferring your VHS tape to DVD!

[chrisc]

Very well put, Sacajaweeda. I have been thru this path before!

For "straight forward VHS>DVD, l use a DVD recorder. The quality, l found on my DVD is better than the original VHS! The time spent is a few minutes on top of the actual VHS tape "play" run, it takes to record to the DVD disc.

BUT, as l have the "extra" time and wanted to edit, add menus to my movies, i use a few other programs to create the DVD. This takes many, many, many hours to achieve the final DVD (its an act of love and archiement at the end of the day!) This method, depending on what you want to do is definately not a one-button operation.

(try Ulead Movie Factory, its not bad and simple)

The quality of both these methods are very similar. on my playback on desktop sets.

[Bob W]

After going through the hassle of VHS to DVDR using a computer and capture card I must agree the best way (and for sure the simplest and fastest) is to simply buy a DVD recorder.

[martinvdm]

Thanks all.

[troyvcd1]

No way. Not a dvd recorder. And miss the fun of watching a 1-1/2 hour movie take 24 hours to transcode.