I just want to copy VHS to DVD but want high quality

[daveb289]

Hello,
I started with a Kworld 878 card and Sonic MyDVD. The results were not good. I assume that better is possible but just how complicated does it really need to be. Downloaded VirtualDub, TMPGEnc plus, TMPGEnc DVD author. Now I am about to try to put it all together. I know that a Hauppauge 250 or ATI AIW card would be easier, but what kind of results would I get. I really want to maximize the quality and fit a 1.5 or so hour video on a 4.7G DVD disk. If the Vdub TMPGEnc route is really better, I will do it.
THANKS!!!

[Tommyknocker]

If the quality was not what you expected, you may want to capture at a higher resolution, like 352 x 240, or 702 x 480.

[presto]

I capture with ATI AIW Radeon 7500 and author with Tmpgenc DVD Author. If the vhs is good quality I can get over two hours on a DVD and the quality is perfect (to my eye, anyway). I can even get 7 hours and the quality is quite good. (I use vcd settings but ATI's filters improve it quite a bit).

If the vhs copy is bad it is very difficult to get a good capture. Frames will drop or you get a "flagging" artifact that is harder to eliminate than macrovision.

There is no need to capture avi and then convert to mpg. (unless you are planning to do a lot of fancy editing). There are several tools that cut mpegs very well.

[sacajaweeda]

Where Sonic MyDVD kills you is it makes everything PCM audio and that limits your bitrate immensely. Toss that crappy software in the bitbucket. It probably came free bundled with your burner anyways. You want more control over things than that program will allow you, especially if you're working with VHS source. Also, if you want to clean up your source file at all, ignore the post about capping to MPEG because if you're capping noise to MPEG you ain't gonna do much good trying to improve it. Cap using a good codec like the Huffyuv or the Picvideo MJPEG codec and convert it to MPEG2 with TMPGEnc, using a bitrate calculator to get the highest rate possible and convert your audio to anything but wasteful PCM...

[presto]

Also, if you want to clean up your source file at all, ignore the post about capping to MPEG because if you're capping noise to MPEG you ain't gonna do much good trying to improve it

I suppose I agree, UNLESS you have an ATI card. The filters can improve things quite a bit.

The diffence in time is enormous. Hours and hours to convert avi to mpg and no guarantee that there will be any improvement vs mpg. mpg capture and editing has come a long way and some people don't understand that. Always capture to avi was good advice two years ago. It's not so clear now.

[Dennis1968]

I cap all of my VHS at 720x480 @ 4 meg per second with 224 kps audio. when it get burned the audio is 224 AC3. this allows me to get 2 hours 15 minutes on a 4.7 gig disc.

Remember, 99.99% of the time, what you see on the VHS is what will be on the DVD. garbage in is garbage out.

[daveb289]

I'd like to thank everyone for the good information
PRESTO, it sounds as if you are happy with the ATI card. I've seen them mentioned before, some like them some don't. As I said, I would like to simplify the process if possible.
All I really want is to reproduce the VHS tapes as close to the original quality as possible. I'm not expecting a better video than I have.
THANKS AGAIN!

[handyguy]

ITs real easy for me using a panasonic dvd recorder, it has all sorts of special filters.

[vcdforme]

You want simple. Get a standalone DVD recorder.
An added benefit, they can actually improve the
quality of the tape.
My Samsung R4000 is great.
People are raving about the Lite-On 5000 ($230)

[lenti_75]

I use Ulead Video Studio 7, and perfect. BUT, what you see on tape, is what you gonna see on dvd...don't expect to get better quality no matter what...
I try not to encode lower than 5000, but that is relative of what you want, even if the source is analog, and the result, is what is IN that is OUT....