Looking for VHS to DVD capture advice

[bkstyl]

I am new to video capture and looking for advice on which device to get. I have it narrowed down to:

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150 PCI
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 PCI
AverMedia Ultra TV Media Center PCI 500

What I want to do is transfer old VHS tapes to DVD, like most everyone else. At this point I don't plan to do much editing, just capture and transfer to DVD. Just looking for a device that will transfer at least in VHS quality.

I got some bad feed back on the AverMedia from other forums and saw this topic https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262165 listed here regarding blocky captures with Hauppauge. I plan to play the captures on a 27" TV, will the block be really visible (I guess that question is hard to answer)? Which is better of the three? Or is there a different device you would recommend?

My CPU specs are listed in my profile.

Thanks for the advice.

[edsmith77]

bkstyl
I have the PVR 250 and I have absolutely no problems with it. My only problem is with the software that came with it. When ever I try to start a capture I always have to do it twice. The first time is to get it so that it records in sync with the material. I then stop it and reselect record and everything is just fine.
My only other nit is with the OTR. It will only go to 4 hours. I have a bunch of VHS tapes with 3 movies on each tape and I need to go to 6 hours of record time. Thus, I have to do each tape in 2 segments.
Aside from these two nits, I think it is a good piece of equipment.

[Captain Satellite]

The best device for what you want to do would probably be a DVD recorder.

[bkstyl]

The best device for what you want to do would probably be a DVD recorder.

A good quality DVD recorder will cost several hundred $, correct? I really want to spend $150 or less.

[Captain Satellite]

The best device for what you want to do would probably be a DVD recorder.

A good quality DVD recorder will cost several hundred $, correct? I really want to spend $150 or less.

There are a lot of good quality recorders in that price range. Here's an assortment up to 200.00:

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=1773&sortby=priceA&vendors%5B%5D..._p=200&x=0&y=0

[gshelley61]

Some refurb and pre-owned name brand DVD recorders are going for a little over $100 on eBay lately.

[FulciLives]

I am new to video capture and looking for advice on which device to get. I have it narrowed down to:

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150 PCI
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 PCI
AverMedia Ultra TV Media Center PCI 500

The WinTV PVR-150 has some serious audio issues right now so I would stay away from that. Some hope that a firmware upgrade (yet to be released) will fix it but I wouldn't count on it.

The WinTV PVR-250 is a good choice as it does not have the same horrible audio issues ... although you will have to "tweak" the settings some. For more info check out the following website: CLICK HERE

I would ignore that thread you read about the Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250 having "major" image issues. That person was being unrealistic and a bit silly to boot.

AverMedia has been a very much "hit or miss" company and the model you are talking about is a definate miss. Stay away from that thing!

Please note that you can get a Pioneer (model 220) stand alone DVD recorder for just under $200.00 USD these days (I think that deal is at Wal-Mart currently).

However, the Pioneer stand alone DVD recorder will not record from a source that has MACROVISION or some form of COPY PROTECTION and YES some VHS videos do have COPY PROTECTION. This can be bypassed by using a Full Frame TBC (which is good to use anyways when you capture from VHS to DVD) but the cheapest Full Frame TBC on the market is about $200.00 USD. Just about all stand alone DVD recorders work this way. A few models have a "hack" that will record anything by making the unit ignore copy protection but the only stand alone DVD recorders with such a "hack" are the low quality units that have other issues making them much less than desirable.

The WinTV PVR-250 will record from any source as it totally ignores COPY PROTECTION but ... and this is a big but ... it can be very sensitive (more so than a stand alone DVD recorder) to poor quality tapes and the only thing that will often fix that is using ... you guess it ... a Full Frame TBC.

So in order to "do it right" you are looking at $150-$200 for the WinTV PVR-250/Stand Alone DVD Recorder and then another $200 for a Full Frame TBC device.

So you really need $350 to $400 to get the best results ... and that isn't even counting on the fact that you should also be using a high quality VHS VCR and some people go with the JVC S-VHS models (usually the 9000 series) which can set you back around $350.00 USD alone.

Although if your VHS VCR is half decent and you have a Full Frame TBC you should be A-OK

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Here is a link to a website that sells that $200 Full Frame TBC I talked about. The model number for this unit is the AVT-8710 and is made by TVOne aka AV Tool Box.
http://www.bhphoto.com/

[inaki]

I have the same problem than you and the probed answer is avermedia ezmaker dvd pci. The quality is excellent.
Before i used one digital camera Sony with analogue line in for captures from vhs. I had to stop every 15 minutes for 4gb when you pass your dv tape to fierewire port.
With avermedia you have similar quality for one hour.

at https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=262931
I explain how to edit simply afther your capture and even using your card for captures from tv at much cheaper prices than with the cards your mentioned.

[FulciLives]

The AverMedia DVD EZMaker PCI is a very good capture card but it really isn't the best when you capture direct-to-MPEG although you can do that with this card.

The card really shines when you capture to an AVI format such as the HuffyUV codec but even then you might experience A/V sync issues not to mention the long and complicated process of encoding it to DVD with something like TMPGEnc Plus or CCE etc.

Due to the nature of the questions of the original poster of this thread I decided to "stay way from" such capture cards as the AverMedia DVD EZMaker PCI ... it is not a card for a newbie or anyone wanting it "done fast and easy".

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[fmctm1sw]

These threads almost invariably break down in to standalone recorder vs. the capture device method. Playback hardware can make a difference whether you use a set top recorder of a cap card solution. As you mention, if you don't want editing and just a capture to DVD solution, a set top recorder may well be your best bet. Be careful with feedback, especially wary of the folks that owned the product one day and dismiss it as trash. Some people just jump to conclusions without making sure they aren't at fault. I've seen alot of good reviews on the Hauppauge PVR series though...

[non-linear]

Well, I own both a capture card (ATI AIW Radeon) and a DVD recorder (Panasonic DMR-E85), and I have to say that the standalone yields much better results -- the video levels are recorded at the proper levels, the video looks cleaner, and having a DVD drive that supports RAM discs, I just transfer the video to RAM, then take the vro file that the recorder makes when I dub, then to my trimming, reencoding and authoring.

Seems like more work, but I get the job done quicker as I get better results the first time, as opposed to the second, third, fourth, etc that I have to deal with capturing via capture card. Of course, your mileage will vary.

[gshelley61]

My JVC and Pioneer DVD recorders make capturing video sources to compliant MPEG2 faster, easier and the finished results are much better than what I was able to do with my computer. For simple VHS transfers, the DVD recorder method is really great. FWIW, YMMV

[bkstyl]

I am new to video capture and looking for advice on which device to get. I have it narrowed down to:

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150 PCI
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 PCI
AverMedia Ultra TV Media Center PCI 500

The WinTV PVR-150 has some serious audio issues right now so I would stay away from that. Some hope that a firmware upgrade (yet to be released) will fix it but I wouldn't count on it.

The WinTV PVR-250 is a good choice as it does not have the same horrible audio issues ... although you will have to "tweak" the settings some. For more info check out the following website: CLICK HERE

I would ignore that thread you read about the Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250 having "major" image issues. That person was being unrealistic and a bit silly to boot.

AverMedia has been a very much "hit or miss" company and the model you are talking about is a definate miss. Stay away from that thing!

Please note that you can get a Pioneer (model 220) stand alone DVD recorder for just under $200.00 USD these days (I think that deal is at Wal-Mart currently).

However, the Pioneer stand alone DVD recorder will not record from a source that has MACROVISION or some form of COPY PROTECTION and YES some VHS videos do have COPY PROTECTION. This can be bypassed by using a Full Frame TBC (which is good to use anyways when you capture from VHS to DVD) but the cheapest Full Frame TBC on the market is about $200.00 USD. Just about all stand alone DVD recorders work this way. A few models have a "hack" that will record anything by making the unit ignore copy protection but the only stand alone DVD recorders with such a "hack" are the low quality units that have other issues making them much less than desirable.

The WinTV PVR-250 will record from any source as it totally ignores COPY PROTECTION but ... and this is a big but ... it can be very sensitive (more so than a stand alone DVD recorder) to poor quality tapes and the only thing that will often fix that is using ... you guess it ... a Full Frame TBC.

So in order to "do it right" you are looking at $150-$200 for the WinTV PVR-250/Stand Alone DVD Recorder and then another $200 for a Full Frame TBC device.

So you really need $350 to $400 to get the best results ... and that isn't even counting on the fact that you should also be using a high quality VHS VCR and some people go with the JVC S-VHS models (usually the 9000 series) which can set you back around $350.00 USD alone.

Although if your VHS VCR is half decent and you have a Full Frame TBC you should be A-OK

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Here is a link to a website that sells that $200 Full Frame TBC I talked about. The model number for this unit is the AVT-8710 and is made by TVOne aka AV Tool Box.
http://www.bhphoto.com/

I want to thank everyone for their advice. I will take it all into consideration before making my choice.

If the audio issues are resolved with the impending firmware update would the PVR-150 be as solid choice as the PVR-250? I am leaning towards one of these two devices. Since I plan to use the line in audio part of the PVR-150 that audio problem should be a big concern for me. The only reason I put the AverMedia Ultra TV Media Center PCI 500 is because it says it has a TBC on it but I will stay away from that one. I do plan to use the tv feature on the WinTv PVR as well as using the still image capture feature to export pictures as jpeg. I wil do more research on the DVR's but I will probably the WinTv card.

[stillmars321]

pay a little more and save time and headaches. Check out Sony's new direct to DVD encoder/burner. No PC required!

here's the link : h

ttp://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1126084&CatId=4

[bkstyl]

stillmars321 - The link you attached was dead, at least for me. I have a DVD burner on my pc that works really well plus some of the VHS tapes I plan to transfer might have MACROVISION. I also have a really good VHS & DVD stand alone players. Does the DVR you mention also do TV? This is something I will probably do.

To me it just seems that a PCI card is the direction I need to go with.

[victoriabears]

thats cause he put the h on the first line, it should be :-

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1126084&CatId=4

bit like leaving the c out of oh rap!

[bkstyl]

pay a little more and save time and headaches. Check out Sony's new direct to DVD encoder/burner. No PC required!

here's the link : h

ttp://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1126084&CatId=4

Is this the same type of device

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1084496&Tab=0&NoMapp=0

[Matt D]

I have an Aver EZ-DVD card and it rocks. I have captured many VHS tapes straight to MPG painlessly using the NeoDVD software, and I've gotten many good comments on the picture quality. I also have nothing but good things to say about this card when capturing digital source material using Virtual VCR.
I spent like $50 on this card and it's never failed me yet.

[gguerra3]

This is what I use

Studio AV/DV version 9
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=2050&Langue_ID=7

It comes with capture card, breakout box, and software. for about $160

If you don't plan on doing much editing, there are many standalone options available

[dvautier]

I have been using avermedia vid capture card with my 90s vintage camcorder to capture a lot of my kids stuff. When I played back the video I got excellent mpegs, and when I burned these I also got excellent results on all three DVD players we have around here.

All my camcorder stuff is standard play (2 hours).

However when I used a regular VHS player on long play the picture got real jumpy--not so good.

[dvautier]

Forgot to mention. I put up a web page that talks about some of my experiences in converting VHS to DVD. see:

http://dvautier.home.comcast.net/video/video.htm