ADVC-110 ... problems converting VHS to DVD

[MrHanso]

First post here, but I've actually done a search, and tried all of the things I've read ... and they're just not working well.

My goal here is to convert VHS home movies to DVD. I wanted a painless high quality (I know it's only VHS) solution the was simple to do. After reading the reviews on this site, I drop down $250 and purchase the ADVC-110. I hook up the device, download Ulead MediaStudio and within minutes I'm capturing surprising good quality AVI files.

Not so fast.

I then try TMPGEnc, which I was pretty familiar with, to convert to MPEG-2 (DVD). I tried every option available (I think), and when I play back the MPEG file, the parts of the video that are moving somewhat fast, like when the camera pans to the left, the resulting video is not fluid and pretty choppy, however the AVI file looks great.

I tried Constant Bitrate (up to 15000), VBR w/2-pass, Constant Quality, even Motion Search with the Highest Quality. I checked the AVI file through G-Spot, and it shows FPS at 29.97 and that what I have TMPGEnc set at. Still Choppy, so I download MainConcept MPEG Encoder and try that. Still Choppy.

After reading some more, I see that Canopus Procoder might be the answer. But I'm not going to lay out another $60 to find out that the software has the same result.

Did (Does) anyone have this same problem as me? Many people seem to be happy with the TMPGEnc and MainConcept results. Why can't I get good results?

Anyone with a Canopus device ... please help because I'm at a loss here.

Thanks in advance.

[Ron B]

I've had some problems with TMPGEnc handling some of my AVI files so I use this Canopus File Converter to see if I can produce a file that will work.

[MrHanso]

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded it and tried it, however the quality wasn't that much better. I'm starting to think there isn't a great solution to this afterall and that I wasted my money on the advc.

[harley2ride]

When I first started doing video, I was using my ADS PYRO AV/LINK (similar to your CANOPUS), and using rca component inputs to capture. I used Ulead Studio 7SE for the entire project, and the result was as good as the original VHS tape. You may want to try to capture with VirtualVCR, or HUFFYUV, and then try encoding with ulead. Now I use Adobe Premiere 6.5 or Vegas 4 to do everything just because it gives me more options for editing, and better encoders. The quality is a bit better than with using ulead all the way, but not a really big difference.

[junkmalle]

If it's a very fast jerky motion the problem is probably field order. Make sure TMPGEnc detects your DV AVI is interlaced and bottom field first (Settings -> Advanced -> Video source settings) then make sure it's encoding as interlaced (Settings -> Video -> Encode Mode).

If that's not it you may be exceeding the DVD bitrate limit. The max is about 10,000 kbps for audio and video. You should stick with 8000 or less for video in case your player has a little trouble reading R/RW media.

[edDV]

First post here, but I've actually done a search, and tried all of the things I've read ... and they're just not working well.

My goal here is to convert VHS home movies to DVD. I wanted a painless high quality (I know it's only VHS) solution the was simple to do. After reading the reviews on this site, I drop down $250 and purchase the ADVC-110. I hook up the device, download Ulead MediaStudio and within minutes I'm capturing surprising good quality AVI files.

Not so fast.

I then try TMPGEnc, which I was pretty familiar with, to convert to MPEG-2 (DVD). I tried every option available (I think), and when I play back the MPEG file, the parts of the video that are moving somewhat fast, like when the camera pans to the left, the resulting video is not fluid and pretty choppy, however the AVI file looks great.

I tried Constant Bitrate (up to 15000), VBR w/2-pass, Constant Quality, even Motion Search with the Highest Quality. I checked the AVI file through G-Spot, and it shows FPS at 29.97 and that what I have TMPGEnc set at. Still Choppy, so I download MainConcept MPEG Encoder and try that. Still Choppy.

After reading some more, I see that Canopus Procoder might be the answer. But I'm not going to lay out another $60 to find out that the software has the same result.

Did (Does) anyone have this same problem as me? Many people seem to be happy with the TMPGEnc and MainConcept results. Why can't I get good results?

Anyone with a Canopus device ... please help because I'm at a loss here.

Thanks in advance.

The only thing unique in your description is "capturing" with Ulead MediaStudio. Since I don't have that, I can't duplicate your problem with my ADVC-100. If you try to capture the DV stream with WinDV (a simple free program) then we can duplicate your steps and figure out were it is going wrong.

Make sure the "setup" switch is in the 7.5 IRE position on your ADVC-110 for a NTSC VHS source. Otherwise black will be captured as dark gray.

[FulciLives]

If it's a very fast jerky motion the problem is probably field order. Make sure TMPGEnc detects your DV AVI is interlaced and bottom field first (Settings -> Advanced -> Video source settings) then make sure it's encoding as interlaced (Settings -> Video -> Encode Mode).

If that's not it you may be exceeding the DVD bitrate limit. The max is about 10,000 kbps for audio and video. You should stick with 8000 or less for video in case your player has a little trouble reading R/RW media.

Definately sounds like a field order problem so I agree with junkmalle. Check your settings in TMPGEnc regarding field order.

As for bitrate I agree that 8000kbps is the MAX you should go for video UNLESS you are using PCM WAV audio then 7500kbps is the MAX you should go for video.

But the problem sounds exactly like a field order problem.

DV AVI is bottom field first.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman