VHS to DVD Question

[jimmythesaint]

I have old family movies on vhs tapes that I want to transfer on DVD.
I think there are two solutions:
1) an analog to digital converter (like the Canopus)
2) a vhs/dvd recorder combo

What is, in your opinion, the best solution (quality) considering that I would like to edit the resulting movie adding menus and chapters with my PC?
I heard that with those combo the dvd you get (structure) it is hard to re-work, while on the other hand I fear that my PC (PIII 1Ghz 256ram) is too weak to work with a converter.

Sorry for bothering you all with this, but I would appreciate your advices. Thank you.

[thecoalman]

I heard that with those combo the dvd you get (structure) it is hard to re-work,

Not necesarily, there's really one distinct advantage to the DVD Recorder route and that is speed. With a system like yours MPEG capture is probably best (see below about AVI). There are also MPEG 2 capture cards that do this on the fly, it would be like using a recorder except the file goes directly to HDD. The disadvantage to MPEG2 is if you want to do a lot of editing such as applying filters for color adjustments across the whole video, AVI is preferable for this.

while on the other hand I fear that my PC (PIII 1Ghz 256ram) is too weak to work with a converter.

HD speed is more important here, the canopus doesn't rely on CPU power. It's essentially a file transfer, providing your comp can write the file fast enough to your HDD then you'll have no issues getting the to your computer. Your problem is going to arise when converting to MPEG, with a system like that you're probaly looking at 12 to 24 hours per hour of AVI.

If you have a Firewire port on your computer you can test it by borrowing a DV cam, if you can capture footage from a DV cam you'll be able too with a Canopus.

[SLK001]

What really matters is the quality of your original TAPES (not the VIDEO quality, either). If you can find a method that successfully transfers your tapes to ANY digital format without significant drop-outs, then choose that method. Once in digital format, editing is a piece of cake.

The problem is that the older video tapes have lost so much of their high frequency content that it is difficult to get a decent sync pulse for the converter to properly lock on. Sometimes a Time Base Corrector will help, sometimes it will not.

[jimmythesaint]

Thank you. How fast!
I was tempted with a A/D converter. I have a firewire I use for my DV tapes, but somehow I don't trust so much on my PC and I don't want spending money for a converter that maybe in the end I cannot use.
My VHS and Hi8 tapes are in good condition.
If I surrender and don't re-edit them, is the solution of a combo good enough to get a dvd at least with the same quality of the original tape?
Thank you.

[thecoalman]

I have a firewire I use for my DV tapes,

Does your cam have pass thru, many new ones do. You can hook up a VCR to the cam and have it convert to digital. About the same thing a Canopus would do. Additionally if the cam you have is a D8 you can use it for converting your Hi-8 tapes.

but somehow I don't trust so much on my PC and I don't want spending money for a converter that maybe in the end I cannot use.

If you can hook your DV cam up to it and it works then a canopus will work too, It's the same thing.

If I surrender and don't re-edit them, is the solution of a combo good enough to get a dvd at least with the same quality of the original tape?

You can edit the files recorded by a DVD recorder, it's just not as easy nor will the results beas good if you use AVI. Trimming edges and adding transitions really doesn't fall into the heavy editing category and shouldn't be an issue. For quality the key is to research the DVD players before purchasing, they are not all the same. Look to the left under recorders. I've never used a DVD recorder but I've seen it mentioned the combo units are to be avoided. Either the VHS deck or the recorder are sub par, one or the opther doesn't work as well which will result in sub par quality for your captures.

[Barnabas]

jimmythesaint,

I have the Canopus and love it. Keep in mind that to do it right, you really need a TBC, and a high quality vcr. Buying a DVD recorder usually provides some form of TBC.

As long as your can pass-thru your camcorder, you can use it rather than having to buy a Canopus.

[jimmythesaint]

Thank you, coalman. You are of great help!
My Canon DV camera has no pass thru but I can connect my old Hi8 camera to it. The Dv tape I get is good, but when I capture it on the Pc using VideoStudio 9 the quality is worse than the original Hi8 (grainy, jump of frames...).
I think that my old PC is good enough to process DV tapes to DVDs but nothing more complicated than that.
That's why I am thinking to a combo. At least if the dvd i will get has the same quality of the original tape...half the job is done.
I know.... I ride a bike pretending things a Corvette does!!

Thank you.

[trhouse]

I have four capture methods in house at the moment. An Adaptec AVC-2200 for connecting to the computer, a Panasonic ES10 connected to a Sharp VCR, a Pioneer 531H hdd drive recorder connected to a Sony VCR, and a Panasonic ES30 combo unit on loan from a relative.

The combo is the easiest to use to transfer good quality tape. It fast forwards to determine the positiion of the end of the tape so you do not need to figure out the record time.

The hard drive recorder is the easiest to edit, add chapters, and menus.

The AVC-2200 takes the most work and time but offers most flexibility with the editing, menus, and chapters added on the computer.

I would not recomment the combo if you have poor quality tapes. For that I use the ES10 and swap VCRs ( I have five ) until I get the one that plays back best. The ES10 has according to Panasonic a frame synchronizer which is able to work wonders on some but not all problem tapes. The first time I saw it work was on a tape that jittered horizontally and scrolled vertically. After the ES10, the horizontal vertical sync bar disappeared ( it was replaced with a transparent bar that moved from bottom to top of screen ) and the picture did not roll. The horizontal jittering was gone too.

[thecoalman]

My Canon DV camera has no pass thru but I can connect my old Hi8 camera to it. The Dv tape I get is good, but when I capture it on the Pc .

If the tape is fine the capture should be fine. If your capturing as DV -AVI via firewire it's not really a capture but simply a transfer. It's lossless, an exact copy of what's on tape.

[jimmythesaint]

Thank you guys! You cleared some of my doubts. Now let's see what Santa brings.....

Merry Christmas!!!