converting analog to digital for the first time,need advice

[Spunjer]

eversince i got my pc last december, nothing interest me more than transferring my analog videos into digital. i finally got everything on what i think is necessary to do my conversions. i started this new hobby this past weekend, of course with all the disappointment that comes with the territory as a full on newbie. i've been visiting different forums pertaining to this subject, but instead of helping, it confuses me even more, so instead, i decided to get all the necessary equipment and ask questions as i go along. to begin, here's my system:


Pentium 4 Processor at 2.60GHz w/800MHz front side bus/ HT Technology

Microsoft? Windows XP Home Edition w/ Microsoft Plus!

512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 400MHz

First Hard Drive=40GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Second Hard Drive=160GB Ultra ATA/100 w/8mb cache Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

16X DVD ROM Drive 16DVD

8x DVD+R/+RW Drive with CD-RW

FireWire Card (IEEE 1394)

Canon Elura 65 Digital Camcorder

MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 2004





also, i downloaded the latest patch for the software and the latest directx9 from microsoft, as it is required per instruction. i even uninstalled the program (Magix Movie Edit Pro) from c: drive and reinstalled it to the second hdd, just so it will all be in one place. i also defragged the hdd before starting, just so i can have a clean slate. i turned off the firewall and antivirus so as not to put a lot of stress on the pc.

anyway, for starters, i taped a short clip, about 2 minutes, of someone skateboarding. i wanted to see how it would come out with something that has a lot of movements. i reckon skateboarding would be a good choice because it's relatively fast, and you have movements going vertically and horizontally. with the dvcamcorder connected to the pc using firewire i started transfering the video. i wanted to do the most basic thing; transfer the video from camcorder to pc, then burn to dvd. no editing at all, and also everything on default. to those that are not familiar with Magix software, it has an option of reviewing your movie before burning (maybe all editing software does this, i don;t know. shows my knowledge on this subject...) here are the results:

1) the subject was moving faster than normal, almost like one of those old charlie chaplin movies.

2) whenever subject goes side to side, it create jagged edges on the subject

3) movements were jerky

4) it froze for a split second a couple of times

5) audio has echo and sounded very hollow.

instructions and tutorial were straight forward on the software. what i mean is i didn't have to change any parameters to start; only when i start getting deep into it like editing and stuff. it actually have those beginner's guide were you do step one, then step two, and then step three. at one point, i actually followed thru and went ahead and burned a disc thinking it might come out different from preview. well, it didn't.

with the cd-r, it showed exactly what the preview showed, and with the dvd+r, the dvd player got stuck on 'reading'.

i am planning on posting this same topic on the software's forum; also on other forums as well just to get a broad response. can someone tell me what i'm doing wrong? is there anything else i need to do, i.e. like maybe i need to download some other stuff? please explain it in layman's term, if you would, as i'm totally new to all of these. i'm sure this post is going to help somebody else in the future. thx in advance...

[Tommyknocker]

1. You're double posting. The quickest way to a warning around here.

2. Spending too much money. Since you camera can use fire wire, get a freeware program called DVIO. It will transfer your DV to your computer. Now, once you have it loaded, find a decent software player in the Tools section at left.

Hope this helps.

[Spunjer]

thx for a quick response, tommyknocker.

1) if you're referring to my forum comment, why would i get a warning for posting on dell's message board, magix's message board, and other internet message board simultaneously?

2)as i said, i already have to program installed; money spending part was a done deed. i 'll have to live with it now. if someone would be kind enuff as to tell me what i'm doing wrong and what i should do with what i got on hand...

[dxj40c]

I didn't see a capture card in your list of hardware. I think you need one so it can be encoded to DVD compatible MPEG 'on the fly'. If you have to re-encode to get compatible (which may be your problem) it'll take hours. I use a $99. Pinnacle card and it get great results copying analog tapes.

I have done most of my favorite VHS with great results by following 4 easy steps. 1) Capture "DVD Compliant" video with the Pinnacle (using Studio 9 which came with the capture card). 2)Use Tmpg DVD Author to convert the video file to the DVD title set (ignoring the size warnings as the captured file is usually over 5gb). Studio 9 can do this, but for some reason it takes about 6 hours, so I use Tmpg. 3)Open the folder in DVD Shrink to correct the file size to fit on the DVD. 4)Burn with Nero.

Times: 1) length of movie 2) 10-15 min. 3) 13-16 min. 4) 13-16 min @4x.

[pchan]

[quote="Spunjer"]
1) the subject was moving faster than normal, almost like one of those old charlie chaplin movies.
2) whenever subject goes side to side, it create jagged edges on the subject
3) movements were jerky
4) it froze for a split second a couple of times
5) audio has echo and sounded very hollow.
[quote]

1. Check your frame rate setting - NTSC = 29.97, PAL = 25
2. Turn ON the DMA for your HD and DVD writer / ROM

These 2 items should fix problem 1, 2, 3 and 4.

[thecoalman]

thx for a quick response, tommyknocker.

1) if you're referring to my forum comment, why would i get a warning for posting on dell's message board, magix's message board, and other internet message board simultaneously?
...

He's not what he's effering too is your statement that you were going to post the same subject to different forum's here. Stick with one post per subject per forum. Don't post the same thing in whole bunch on this site. What you post elswhere doesn't matter.

I'm assuming your capturing your analog VHS through your camcorder (passthru) or it's digital tape your capturing right from the camcorder???? Might want to clear that up.

If your viewing your video on your computer your video is probably fine. NTSC video will not look that good on a computer because it is interlaced. Try burning it to disc and view it on your TV to see how it looks or use software on you computer specifically made for viewing DVD's such as PowerDVD.

[Spunjer]

thecoalman,
thx for clarification. now to clarify my statement,; the title is misleading, shows my ignorance about this whole thing. i'm actually transferring my digital tape from the dvcamcorder, not as a pass-thru. i did burned it on a cd and dvd. the cd (cd-r) came out how the preview was on the pc, and the dvd (dvd+r) wouldn't even play. the dvd player was stuck at 'reading' part.

pchan,
1)the frame rate setting was automatically set for the numbers you mentioned.
2)what is DMA and how do i set those?

dxj40c,
what's a capture card? i thought/believe my editing software does all of that? but then again, i could be wrong. as far as what i need, i've checked out 'how to's' for beginners on any video editing website and majority says this on what is needed:

1)a fairly decent pc
2)analog/digital converter or dv cam as pass-thru
3)firewire for dvcamcorder
4)software for editing

i got all of those. is there anything else i need?

[pchan]

Here is how you check if your hard disk is on DMA mode.
1. Start -> Setting -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager.
2. When you are at the device manager, click the + beside the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
3. Right click Primary IDE Channel and select Advanced Settings. In the Transfer Mode, if it's PIO then change to DMA if available for both Device 0 and 1.
4. Repeat 3 for Secondary IDE Channel

[Spunjer]

thx pchan,
primary IDE Channel has "DMA if Available" on Transfer Mode for both device 1 and 2; the only thing is although the Current transfer mode on device 0 says Ultra DMA Mode 2, the Current Transfer Mode on Device 1 says PIO mode. secondary IDE Channel both shows Ultra DMA Mode 2.

[pchan]

The Slave drive in your Primary IDE is not on DMA. I notice you have 2 hard disk. If they are both connected to the same cable and connect to the Primary IDE slot, you need to set the Device 1 Transfer Mode to DMA if available.

[Spunjer]

pchan,
thx once again. they are both connected to the same cable. as for being connected the IDE slot, i'm not sure exactly what that meant. i did set the device 1 transfer mode to 'DMA if available', but it still says 'PIO mode'.

[pchan]

Is the Device Type on Device 1 on Auto Detection ? If it's set to None, then set to Auto Detection mode. You have set your Transfer Mode to 'DMA if available' in order for your video to play smoothly.

[Spunjer]

pchan, thx for your advice. i've tried everything, from uninstalling and reinstalling the hdd to changing it from PIO mode and back to 'DMA if available' then reboot, but somehow it wouldn't get out of PIO mode. finally pulled out resource cd that came with the 'puter and , viola!, there it was. needless to say it's both on 'Ultra DMA Mode 2' (device0 and 1) on both hdd.

tried transferring the digital tape to video and the result was the same. any other suggestions

[pchan]

The next I can suggest is to ensure that the video is properly transfer to your hard disk.
1. Get a copy of DVIO from the Tool section. Just capture is short video clip and see if it plays OK.
2. Get a copy of Gspot from the Tool section. Check the video clip that you have just capture and see if you proper codec installed.

[Spunjer]

sorry to bug you again, pchan, but what exactly does DVIO and Gspot do? i checked it out and am really clueless as to what they are. does DVIO act like a 'middleman' for my dvcamcorder and magix program?

[pchan]

No problem. I suspect your software is not pulling the video from your camera correctly. DVIO is simple sofware that can pull video from camera via firewire connection. This is just to confirm your software is OK. If the video capture using DVIO is OK, then your software is the problem. If the software from DVIO is not OK, then use Gspot to see the video and find out what is the problem.

DVIO is not a middleman bet your cam and magix. It takes video from your camera and put it in your hard disk.

[Spunjer]

pchan,

thanx for your time. it starts to make sense. if i know you in real life, the beers' are on me, bro...

[pchan]

You are welcome. I am just puzzle with your problem and curious to find out.