VHS to DVD conversion - Am I expecting too much?

[EddyH]

Very clean gshelley61, and well defined;
but I can't honestly say I like it, being a
PAL person. NTSC just can not replicate flesh tones.
You are used to it - I'm not. :/

Is the good captain embarrassed, or we are seeing it with NTSC fleshtone artifact ?

Ahhh i love living in a place where FM, differentially encoded colour broadcasting is the norm

However having had to make VCDs from some rather rubbish downloads before that originated on NTSC VHS, I can state that the TMPGEnc YCbCr colour correcting tools are fantastic and you really should give them a try for this sort of thing (or, i suppose, any other tool which works similarly - but TMPG's phase histograms of the three signal constituents are super helpful in lining it all up right when your eyes have got paint-colour-swatch judgement fatigue)... I don't even think you need to MPG encode through it, as it can export AVI after all..

Some pretty good info in this thread, particularly the megapost Will have to refer back to it fairly soon as I intend to do some VHS -> DVD conversion... and will need some serious hints on what free tools and plugins would be the best to use to stop a 23 year old (but well preserved) tape looking terrible when archived on disc (sooner or later the cellulose backing of that iron oxide film is going to biodegrade..)!! Luckily it's only an hour and thirteen so I can give it lots of bits, and episodic so capturing uncompressed will likely not be an issue either.

Always remember kids - VCD is half VHS quality, background noise and audio fidelity aside. CVD is VHS, SVCD is about SVHS. Tape is better than you think it is, thanks to the interlacing! (even a long play one i used as source recently looks quite good on disc)
But it does only record, natively, in composite (that's the actual signal that's laid down on the tape, a composite one.. early players had no super complex circuitry, they just stripped the RF off an incoming feed, and added it back on to an outgoing one), so your SVideo connection is not really worth much unless the VCR itself has a really really good comb filter installed.

Hm. Also need to find some info on repairing/servicing of Mitsubishi models. The one I was going to use as source - and had done until very recently, for my tests - is a pretty nice 6 head model thats been in the family for the best part of 14 years ... and has developed a very worrying bearing shriek on the rewind spindle that now shows up during play. Have chopped in a much newer and reliable Bush spare, but although the quality is roughly the same (not bad for a 4 head), there's a slight loss of smoothness, of line-to-line horizontal shift sync, and no control over sharpening/smoothing/auto-enhance/tracking like the old one had. All it needs is a bit of axle grease on the spindle, but i can't figure out how to get access once the lid's been lifted. Too complex.

(It's all dying, boooo)

[paulotaka]

Hi Friends,

I'm new in this forum, and I'll appreciate any information that somebody could give me. I have a combo LG RC7000 and I'm trying to convert VHS to DVD, but when I try to convert, on the screen appears that's not possible to copy. I beleive that the VHS is protect agains duplicate. Does any body know is there is a way to disable the protection on the VHS on the RC7000?

My best regards,
Paulo

[blackice]

Hi - What would be a god VHS deck to capture from? Any recommendations?

I'm in the UK and just using some basic deck at the moment

M

[2Bdecided]

[quote="EddyH"]

Tape is better than you think it is, thanks to the interlacing! (even a long play one i used as source recently looks quite good on disc)
But it does only record, natively, in composite

No it doesn't - chroma and luma are separate on tape. However, the limited bandwidth of each when coming back off VHS means that they don't overlap in frequency on a composite output, so can in theory be perfectly separated again later. Practice isn't theory, so an S-video output is still handy.


I echo blackice's question - here in 2007, are there any decent S-VHS decks available in the UK/Europe?

Cheers,
David.

[soulandy]

could anyone tell me what leads software I need to transfer old video tape to my pc to transfer to dvd's? I have old camcorder tapes when the kids were little and would like them on dvd. I have been told I just need some leads from the back of my video recorder to the pc then some burning software. Any help advice much appreciated. I'll now go and trawl through this thread.
Cheers

[TheFamilyMan]

Nice joke

[noeth2]

I started out reading this post to find help on "how to" convert my VHS movies to DVD and now I am so totally frustrated and confused that I am about to throw the whole computer in the trash. Is there anybody out there that can help me figure this out with very simple english language. I have a VCR using commercially produced VHS movies. I want to convert them onto DVDs so I can save my collection. The movies I am having trouble with are protected,therefore I am not able to copy them on my DVD/VCR all in one. I amthinking Ihave to therefore go through my computer, which is a media center and does have an AVI (or capture) card already onboard. From what I have read, I think that if I can get the movie to stream onto my PC, I can then burn it onto a DVD? Am I totally off base here or am I somewhereinthe neighborhood of being able to do this?

Thanks,
You can call me "totally confused", I will know it is me you are talking to....

[SingSing]

Why PC at all ?

Try VCR -> macrovision-remover -> DVD recorder.

Most of the time, peole don't edit commercial movies. If you really need to edit it, then rip from the recorded DVD and do it. Hey, a DVD disc is only $0.10.

[TheFamilyMan]

Check out lordsmurf's excellent website for nearly everything you need to know about VHS to DVD via a PC. Copy protection is a problem that cannot be solved with software, so you'll need a device to remove it: a TBC, a "digital video stablizer", or a capture device that is not effected by it. BTW the above suggestion is very good advice IMHO.

[noeth2]

Thank you for the information. What is your opinion of a digital video stabilizer? I have looked at the macrovision removers and they are a little cost prohibitive for me right now, thus the reason for trying to go through the PC. I have a pretty good size VHS movie collection and need to save what I have onto DVD format.
Again,
thank you for the information.

[SmokieStover]

Thank you for the information. What is your opinion of a digital video stabilizer? I have looked at the macrovision removers and they are a little cost prohibitive for me right now, thus the reason for trying to go through the PC. I have a pretty good size VHS movie collection and need to save what I have onto DVD format.
Again,
thank you for the information.

From your original Post and computer specs, I see you have a Hauppauge PVR card or box of some kind. Is it internal (PCI) or external (a box which sits outside of the PC with Video-Audio inputs and USB or firewire outputs)? What is the model number? Do you have the installation Disk?

With more information, someone may be able to help you down the trail.

[thecoalman]

I have looked at the macrovision removers and they are a little cost prohibitive for me right now, thus the reason for trying to go through the PC. .

You either have to remove it before it gets to the capture device or use a device that doesn't care if it's there, these are few and far between. As mentioned the internal Hauupage cards is one group of devices that will ignore it. Have you tried your external Hauppage device?

[orsetto]

Thank you for the information. What is your opinion of a digital video stabilizer? I have looked at the macrovision removers and they are a little cost prohibitive for me right now, thus the reason for trying to go through the PC. I have a pretty good size VHS movie collection and need to save what I have onto DVD format.
Again,
thank you for the information.

Sometimes people forget there are many different kinds of "macrovision removers". The very expensive ones are pricey because they facilitate DVD-to-DVD backups, there are many lawsuits against these devices and scarcity of some of the better-known models is driving the price way up.

YOU do not need such an expensive recent one: you are simply transferring your tape collection to recordable DVD. Commercial tapes have MUCH less elaborate protection schemes than commercial DVDs and the details of that tape protection did not change every five minutes like it does on DVD releases. So you can look on eBay or at online stores and pick up whatever "black box" is in your price range. You can buy an old one from pre-dvd days or you can buy a new one for as little as $22 from the MCM Electronics website. These "lesser" filters won't allow DVD-to-DVD transfers but they WILL fix your tape-to-DVD issues. I agree with Sing Sing that you shouldn't bother using the PC for commercial tape backups: its more trouble than its worth for this many tapes. It would be MUCH easier if you can find or borrow another VCR from someone, plug it into the protection filter you buy, then plug the filter into the DVD recorder section of your all-in-one. (Most all-in-ones don't have connections to allow fitting a protection filter between their tape outputs and dvd inputs, that's why you need an extra VCR.)

[SingSing]

My VHS macrovision remover costs $19.00, and runs for 1 year on a 9V battery.

[chupacabra]

There is a great guide on DOOM9 that tells you how to capture analog video and improve its quality: http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/capture/start.html

It will definitely take some time to finish it reading, but it's very good!

[noeth2]

First, let me say thank you, thank you, thank you! I have a WinTV-PVR USB2 by hauppauge and seem to have it working through my PC. I have been able to stream the VHS movie through my PC and save it in a file on my computer, but it saves it in a .mpg file and wants to play it back through the Windows Media Player. Is there a different extention that I need to try to save the file as before I can burn it onto a DVD?

I think I found the forum to learn from.
Thanks,

not quite so confused anymore

[SmokieStover]

First, let me say thank you, thank you, thank you! I have a WinTV-PVR USB2 by hauppauge and seem to have it working through my PC. I have been able to stream the VHS movie through my PC and save it in a file on my computer, but it saves it in a .mpg file and wants to play it back through the Windows Media Player. Is there a different extention that I need to try to save the file as before I can burn it onto a DVD?

I think I found the forum to learn from.
Thanks,

not quite so confused anymore

You want to record as a mpg DVD compiant file (the mp audio is fine/don't convert to PCM or Dolby digital). The WinTV software will record by default in DVD Extra Long Play......DO NOT USE that recording profile.

To set the recording profile, open WinTV>click on the PREF button>click on the Movies Tab>then in the Quality Settings Box select a setting or profile which best matches the length of the movie, for example:

DVD Standard Play.......1 Hr 30 Min Max,

DVD Long Play..............1Hr 58 Min Max,

MPG2 4.0 Kbs 1/2D1....... 2Hr 18 Min Max.

For longer movies, you can use DVD Standard PLay, and split the tape manually (overlapping recordings) or in software from one continuous recording using either VideoRedo + the INCLUDED DVD Authoring Software, or using TMPG DVD Author by itself. You can also make custom DVD recording profiles, but that's a bit too advanced for now.

To burn to DVD for playing back to a TV, you need a proper mpg2 recording and DVD Authoring Software. Your PVR should have came with some version of Ulead DVD Moviefactory....it will Author the DVD (write the DVD folder using the recorded mpg2) and also burn it to DVD.

Most burn with ImgBurn, and so do I. But for now, I suggest you record one half hour of one of your tapes at the DVD Standard Play profile, and then use it to learn the next step....DVD Authoring.

Did Ulead DVD Moviefactory come with your PVR?

[stevesgrabber]

Believe me get the EasyCap video grabber dc 60 +. Its really amazing and Im doing exactly what you want to achieve. I also have a DVD recorder JVC and record to dvd RW and import these files to hard drive and edit in Ulead video studio or pinnacle ultimate or vegas or movie factory. My favorite is videostudio plus or SE and pinnacle ultimate.

[globirdie]

I found the answer for Analog and VHS transfer to DVD plus capturing video at the same time via firewire.
I purchased a Panasonic DMR-ES40V VHS Recorder it burns VHS to DVD instantly with some chapers and titles built in. But the true beauty is that connecting my Cannon ZR85 to ithe DMR either via AV wires single jack into the camara. with Just that Jack and a firewire I can record a DV tape as the VHS is burning a DVD. AND at the same time capture the video into the pc for editing via the firewire from the camara Or I can attach the AV wires, or S Video or DV input in the front of the DMR and burn a DVD directly to disk without any captureing into the pc
But the real sweet treat is I can send the LIVE output to the camara attached to the DMR and use a TV as a Monitor. Good Luck it took me alot of sleepless nights to find this solution It works and saves time I found the DMR on Ebay for 300 several years ago. Beats capture card troubleshooting The hardest part was decifering the manual

[gabs247]

Hi all,

I have been searching the net for some help, as I really want to convert my parent's old home movies from VHS to DVD. I think this is the right forum, don't know if this is the right place to ask for help or not?

So I have an old PC that I've turned into a HTPC. I ended up buying a Hauppauge HVR2200 (as I’m in Australia) and it is a dual hybrid PCIe tuner. It also has external inputs from S-Video/3.5mm audio jack from VHS, with hardware acceleration so that it converts the input to MPEG2, ready to copy to DVD.

I bought the tuner for HDTV Recording, but thought it sounded like an easy and efficient way to back up those old home movies, because I have also tried VCR->Camcorder->PC (Firewire), then using Video Editing software and CPU to encode to MPEG2, then DVD…what a long, arduous and CPU intensive process that was!

So now this hardware seems good, but the only software I have found to exploit this facility is the Hauppauge WinTV software (been meaning to try MediaCenter but then I lose all my digital channels…). The output looks just as good as the input, but every now and then it seems to pixelate quite a bit in certain areas? Is this as good as it’ll get, is it a hardware limitation (I’d assume since it’s using hardware encoding) or software limitation?

Just wondering if anyone can advise, as the output really doesn’t look good enough for me to use this hardware, even though it’s so much easier and efficient???

Cheers,
gabs

[Tafflad]

To make the most of capturing at lower than full DVD resolution you want to...

Capture to a lossless video format - uncompressed or HUFFYUV codec.

Use a video noise reduction filter when you re-encode your capture to MPG for authoring to disc.

If you capture more than 288 lines of horizontal resolution then you can or may capture the source as interlaced video.
Interlaced video needs to be de-interlaced if you're authoring a (MPEG1) VCD.
But if you're authoring a (MPEG2) DVD then interlaced video will look better when played back on a TV - so don't de-interlace it.

Both noise reduction and de-interlacing dramatically increase the amount of time it takes to re-encode your capture, but your VCD or DVD will look infinitely better!

I capture with VirtualDub and re-encode with TMPGEnc, both of these utilities have easy access to the various settings required to make the best original capture and then re-encode it.

Martin.

2 questions here .... I capture using SonyVegas .. into DV format.

Is that the same or not as good as you suggest here ? Media info I have is:

Format : Digital Video
Codec ID : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint : Sony
Duration : 1h 18mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 5:4
Original display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Interlaced
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 2.357
Stream size : 15.8 GiB (95%)


As per OP .. I want to get the best I can in from SVHS tapes, is this OK or should I change to HUFFYUV codec.


Second part to Q ... you mention VHS noise reduction ... can you give a bit more detail on this, running on what application ? etc.
I would aim to be using Sony Vegas to render the completed files and then authored with Sony DVD Architect.

[tonerone]

I found my way to this forum (eventually) having recently purchased a Compro E650F capture card to convert some VHS tapes to DVD. I couldn't understand why the capture had lots of jitter and flux but when playing directly to my new plasma TV the picture was fine - until I discovered this forum and this excellent web site - http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video/introduction-restore-video.htm
Like just about everybody else out there I had no clue about VHS to DVD conversion and the need for a time base corrector (TBC) - an expensive bit of kit. I fell right into the trap of thinking all I needed was a £50 capture card and I would be all set. Doubtless my expensive new plasma TV has some electronics that clean up the output from the VCR - electronics that are sadly absent from the Compro card.
The reason for my post is thay I discovered that my DV camcorder has a TBC and a signal convert function to capture and convert analogue video and output it to a firewire port - saved me the cost of a TBC.

[gabs247]

Thanks for this great link. I have a similar problem with my Hauppauge, HVR2200. It says convert from VCR, but apparently it's just rubbish after talking to the support, because the quality I get out is worse than the quality going in (similar to you watching it on your plasma).

Great site you found there, that looks very informative. I guess the main problem that I'm having, is about 10-12 noise lines at the bottom of the picture, it looks like the image is being skewed, if that makes sense, at the bottom. It's just pathetic really, considering they bundle an SVideo adapter in teh box, they could have done something about these noise lines and made it passable.

Anyway, I didn't see anything about these noise lines on your site. I'm not sure why they occur or how I could get rid of them, but it means that I can't convert my video with my HVR2200, which is downright annoying and Hauppauge has really disappointed me with this product after hearing such good things. I probably won't buy one again.

But yeah, I'm looking into my dad's DV camcorder and he also has a DVD REcorder. He lives interstate, so I'll ahve to try it out at Christmas time. I have a relatively good 6 Head HIFI VCR, Panasonic which I bought in 1999.

cheers,
gabs

[jagabo]

the main problem that I'm having, is about 10-12 noise lines at the bottom of the picture

Those lines are always there on VHS tapes (it's a defect inherent in VHS). You don't see them on TV because TVs overscan the picture (you don't see the outer edges of the frame). All you can do is crop, mask, or ignore them.

[gabs247]

Thank Jagabo, I think you told me that before. But I didn't notice them when going directly to the TV? I will try to compare the picture and see if that part of the video is cropped when going directly to the TV and those lines don't show up then and report back.

Because the HVR2200 captures with a hardware decoder to MPEG2 though, I can't seem to find any tool to crop or mask the image. I tried DScaler, but it doesn't support the HVR2200 it seems, and anyway, provides an error message when I try to use it. If you know of any other tools, I'm eager to try them out

cheers,
gabs

[jagabo]

This post:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/312656-Can-someone-EXPLAIN-the-whole-720x480-thing-...=1#post1934511

has a DVD ISO image with some overscan test patterns. It will show you how much your TV overscans. Don't be surprised if you can't even see the edge makings! Your TV may treat different inputs differently so try using the same input (composite?) or record it onto tape and play the tape.

You probably can't crop or mask with a hardware MPEG2 encoder card. You would have to capture first, then edit the video and encode again. It's not worth it unless you plan on making videos to upload to Youtube (or similar) and are going to be reencoding anyway.

Oh, I just noticed you're in Australia so that NTSC ISO may not work right.

[kelemvor]

I actually recorded fine with my Hauppauge 150 MCE. Just hooked the VCR into the Yellow/red/white plugs and I use SageTV to do the recording. Worked great.

[RonM]

I need to put about 100 VHS and SVHS tapes onto DVD. The image quality from these tapes looks good on TV. I am not interesting in cleaning up the video, but do not want to lose image quality when converting to DVD. What is a good way to keep good video quality when converting to DVD?

[kelemvor]

Do you have a TV Tuner card? If so, plug your VCR into that, set the tuner to channel 3, and start recording as you play the tape. I did this to test some things and it worked flawlessly.

Once you get it onto the PC, you can use any number of programs to convert them. Most DVD players can play Divx files these days so I just get them into AVI format and copy them over. Can get many hours of video doing it that way.

Otherwise you have to use something to encode it into the actual DVD format and then you drop to am hour or two per DVD.

[jagabo]

I need to put about 100 VHS and SVHS tapes onto DVD. The image quality from these tapes looks good on TV. I am not interesting in cleaning up the video, but do not want to lose image quality when converting to DVD. What is a good way to keep good video quality when converting to DVD?

Easiest and cheapest, with reasonable quality, is to get a DVD recorder with a line TBC and frame sync. For best quality only record an hour per DVD, 2 hours at most. If you want better quality you'll have to spend several hundred dollars on a S-VHS deck with line TBC and noise filters, an analog proc amp, a full full frame TBC, and finally a video capture card. Then you can spend hours and hours tweaking your video to perfection.