Laserdisc to DVD questions

[RMM]

Ive got some movies on Laserdisc that I would like to convert to DVD and I have some questions that I hope I can get some advice on. I dont have a capture card yet so Im not sure if I should get a hardware mpeg2 capture card a sw mpeg 2 capture card or capture the video with a DV card or device then encode the DV to mpeg2 using my computer. If I caputred the video as DV I would probably encode the DV to mpeg2 with TMPGEnc Xpress and use some of the filters it has such as the noise reduction and sharpness filters. I would like to get the best picture quality possible without spending over $70. The encoding time is not really that big of an issue. PQ is most important.

Also with the video I was thinking of running the composite output of my laserdisc player(Sony MDP-600) to the composite input on my HDTV to take advantage of the HDTV's much better comb filter then take the HDTVs s-video or composit output to the capture device's video input although if there is a better way Im not set on anything. I just thought It would probably be a good idea to take advantage of a better comb filter

Another consideration is I would like to be able to convert some of my VHS tapes I have bought that are not out on DVD which Im sure will contain some copy protection


As far as audio my Laserdisc player (MDP-600) has an optical digital output and I would like to capture the audio portion as PCM instead of using the analog RCA outputs because Im assuming the digital audio would be much better. Is it possible to capture the digital audio without too many problems such as sync issues or just basic software capturing problems I might run into if I try do it this way? I dont have an audio card with optical input but I have seen several for $30 and under so I was just waiting to see If I was able to capture the optical digital audio before I came to that point.

Any suggestions and thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks

[budz]

My suggestion would be to get a CANOPUS ADVC-100 or 110 model which is a analog to DV device. I've done laserdisc conversions using the ADVC-100 & SCENALYZER LIVE to capture with no sync problems at all. The CANOPUS is pricey but it will do a great job. I've no experience with hardware MPEG2 capture cards. But from what I've read there are tweaks that is needed to prevent or fix sync issues. Or you could just buy a standalone dvd recorder to do the conversion.

[Bob W]

The easiest and fastest way is just to buy a DVD recorder imo.

This device will allow you to back-up VHS tapes.
http://www.facetvideo.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=83&cat=0&page=1

[lordsmurf]

I doubt you're editig extensively, so DV would be a waste of time and money.

A hardware MPEG card or DVD recorder would be great.

You can also look into any number of processors to tweak color, contrast, sharpness, etc.

[edDV]

A DVD recorder would be fast and good but has no S/PDIF audio in.

The Canopus ADVC-100/110 does a good job, but again no digital audio capture. I have some laser capture tests at the bottom of page 1 on this thread. https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=259098&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

The idea of using your TV's 3D comb filter is good but expect significant video delay that will throw audio out of sync.

Similar issues will occur when capturing S/PDIF to a audio card only this time, audio will be delayed.

All in all, a DVD recorder sounds less of a hassle.

Also, use the composite output rather than S-Video from a laserdisc player. Laserdiscs are encoded composite. The Y/C separators in laserdisc players are generally poor. The DVD recorder will have a better one.

[RMM]

A DVD recorder would be fast and good but has no S/PDIF audio in.

One concern I have about using a dvd recorder is eventually I would like to be able to copy some of my vhs tapes that have not been released on dvd and Im sure they will have macrovision. If i have to buy a device that strips the macrovision before that signal goes to the dvd recorder then I would probably be better off just buying something like the ADVC-100 to begin with Im thinking?

Also about the analog verses digital sound how much of a difference would the sound quality of the captures be? Im trying to get the best sound possible but if there isnt much of a difference then I guess it probably wouldnt be worth worrying about. I dont think sync issues would be much of a problem because there are programs that should be able to fix this. I remember playing with videoredo with some satellite recordings and adjusting the sync was pretty easy.

At the very least I will probably do some small editing such as cutting begining and ending as well as the disc flip stuff

[RMM]

One more question. After the signal goes from the laserdisc player to the tv for the tvs comb filter should I output from the tv using the composite or s-video or does it even matter?

[davideck]

One more question. After the signal goes from the laserdisc player to the tv for the tvs comb filter should I output from the tv using the composite or s-video or does it even matter?

A comb filter converts composite to S-Video, so use S-Video out.

You might be interested in this;
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=281044&highlight=

Going directly from laserdisc to capture device might look better overall.

[edDV]

One more question. After the signal goes from the laserdisc player to the tv for the tvs comb filter should I output from the tv using the composite or s-video or does it even matter?

Yes as davideck said, the whole point to a comb filter is to separate Y and C so use S-Video. A VHS VCR is a different animal. The signal is recorded in components on tape and luminance is low pass filtered in a way that avoids overlap with chroma frequencies so a comb filter isn't required.

S-VHS is a different story as full luminance bandwidth is used. Use S-Video out from the VCR. If composite is used, a comb filter would be required to reseparate Y and C.

[Dennis A.]

Another laserdisc question: I have an industrial Panasonic laserdisc player LX-120 without a remote. I can't seem to play audio commentary on THUNDERBALL Special Edition (with a bunch of extras on the discs). It this not available on this model?