Am I compressing video from my camcorder too much with Nero?

[Thinking]

I have a Sony digital camcorder (Hi8 tape) which I connect via Firewire to my computer. Then, I am using the Nero software to capture the video (classifying it for DVD burning, so it seems to indicate it is saving it in the MPEG2 format). Then I burn it onto a DVD.

I've noticed 2 things:
1. The quality of picture on the DVD is not as good as the tape
2. I am only using around 3mg of the DVD space (according to Nero) -- even though I am capturing a full 120 minute Hi8 tape of video

So I am wondering if there is somewhere that I should change a setting so that the video captured is not compressed so much, or should I capture it as a different file type (DV-2?), edit down to seperate files then convert to MPEG2?

Or is Nero just not good for this and I should use another software?

I'd like to improve the picture quality and make sure I am using every bit of the DVD space. right now it seems like I'm not (or Nero is not) doing a good job of either.

The Nero software came with the external Sony DVD burner I purchased.

Any advice is apperciated.

Thanks in advance.

[tmh]

What is a "mg" ? If you meant "gb", then yes, Nero is likely short-changing you on quality by encoding at too low a bitrate. Read the guides on the left and search forums for DV to DVD methods.

Basically, you should probably transfer ("capture") as DV-2 then set your encode properly to get the highest practical quality. Lots of programs can do this. See tools section.

[thecoalman]

I've noticed 2 things:
1. The quality of picture on the DVD is not as good as the tape

Perfect reproduction is hard is hard to achieve even with professional equipment. But with some decent hardware and softwre you can get very good results.

2. I am only using around 3mg of the DVD space (according to Nero) -- even though I am capturing a full 120 minute Hi8 tape of video

By my calculations that gives you an average bitrate of about 3300 which IMO is not enough. This is probably where most of your quality is being lost. You should be using about 4000kbps VBR average. Personally I use 6000kbps VBR for VHS.

So I am wondering if there is somewhere that I should change a setting so that the video captured is not compressed so much, or should I capture it as a different file type (DV-2?), edit down to seperate files then convert to MPEG2?

Either capture at a higher bitrate or capture in DV-AVI, if your only going to trim, cut. splice clips mpeg is fine and is the fastest method. The key is to not reencode a mpeg. Don't know if Nero supports it but you should only encode to mpeg once. Most apps support only renecoding the parts of the mpeg that you have changed. If your going to do alot of editing such as adding transitions use AVI.

Or is Nero just not good for this and I should use another software?

I haven't made comparisons nyself but from my understanding Nero is terrible for this. Try using TMPGenc for encoding to mpeg. You can use Nero for everthing else if you wish. If you want to try an all-in-one similar to Nero give Ulead Video Studio a try.

[Thinking]

Thanks for the insights.

Yes I meant gb (my bad).

I will look for other tools to do the video capture.

[funkguy4]

if u have the HD space, you'd be much better off capturing to DV or HuffYUV (these are lossless) then running your video thru some editting (AVISynth/ VDub...personal prefernce is to use VDub to see what needs to be done then make myself an AVISynth script to do it for me...sort of a pseudo-GUI). Frameserve it to some notable MPEG encoder like TMPGEnc, or my personal favorite CCE.

[ZippyP.]

If you are capturing from a digital camcorder via firewire, then you do not need to "capture" but to transfer your DV footage from the camcorder. You need to use DVIO or WINDV which will enable you to create a DV-avi that is an exact copy from your tape.

You can then use a good quality encoder like TMPGEnc to make the mpeg for your DVD.

[guns1inger]

Tmpgenc, cce, mainconcept - pretty much anything but Nero. AFAIAC, any compression with Nero is too much.

[funkguy4]

on a side note, Nero's DVD backup codec has been getting some major kudos.

[Thinking]

If I don't plan to edit the downloaded video from my camcorder, would it make sense to capture the video using Nero as DV-2, then use TMPGEnc to convert to MPEG2?

Thanks again for your insights.

[funkguy4]

If I don't plan to edit the downloaded video from my camcorder, would it make sense to capture the video using Nero as DV-2, then use TMPGEnc to convert to MPEG2?

Thanks again for your insights.

even if you don't want to edit the stuff at all, unless you've got some program that can encode to MPEG2 decently while at the same time removing source noise (if it's present, which is has a good chance of being), and (optional but could lead to higher quality results) deinterlace, you'll prolly wanna download the footage to DV or huffyuv onto ur compy and then frameserve it somehow to something like TMPGEnc or CCE (the latter is much faster and arguably better)