Hi8 to DVD - Use Cature Card or Dvd Recorder ?

[dearsara]

Seached The Forum Couldnt find answer. So Here I go..

I have bunch of old Hi8 movies which I want to convert into DVD.

I have Hauppauge 150 Card in Dell 8400.

Also I have a Pioneer DVR 533HS

What would be my best option quality wise, to transfer Hi8 to DVD ?

One more question please if I may..

If I use a TBC like Datavideo 1000 to record cable tv to dvd recorder, will qaulity improve or TBC is only for VHS Tape stuff.

Thanks In Advance

S

[SingSing]

The quality is about the same, but the DVDr is much easier, just hook up and press the button, and no computer is involved.

[edDV]

Seached The Forum Couldnt find answer. So Here I go..

I have bunch of old Hi8 movies which I want to convert into DVD.

I have Hauppauge 150 Card in Dell 8400.

Also I have a Pioneer DVR 533HS

What would be my best option quality wise, to transfer Hi8 to DVD ?

One more question please if I may..

If I use a TBC like Datavideo 1000 to record cable tv to dvd recorder, will qaulity improve or TBC is only for VHS Tape stuff.

Thanks In Advance

S

The DVD recorder is a good solution if you aren't looking to tightly edit, filter, add transitions, etc. Use a higher than typical bitrate. Hand held camcorder movement and noise limit the compression possible. Add bit rate for quality.

A TBC is not needed or useful for recording off cable. It will degrade the video with an extra A/D D/A with no benefit.

[trhouse]

Hi8 is good for 400 horizontal lines and is similar to SVHS. The Pioneer 531/3 units are not the best recorders in the resolution department.

This was tested here,
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=279460&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I would try it both ways. If both look good to you the recorder is the easier route.

[dearsara]

Thanks So Much For Responses.

Could you please tell me which DVD Recorder will be a good buy these days. Mine is atleast 3 years old and may die soon.

I also have access to Datavideo DAC-200 Converter. Would that be any better than other two optioins for Hi8 Tranfer?

S

[edDV]

The DAC-200 will do a very good job capturing Hi8 S-Video to DV format (~13GB/hr). DV format is great for editing and easy DVD MPeg2 encoding. Four steps:

1. Capture at 1x to DV
2. Edit video and audio
3. Encode to MPeg2
4. Author the DVD

A DVD recorder does this in one step but with less control of the result.

[dearsara]

I will most certainly then use Datavideo DAC-200 for capture.

Not planning to edit, Just encode /burn.

My Sony Sony Hdr-Hc3 camcorder will also gives me AVI files, I will probably get the same from DAV-200. Right?

[edDV]

I will most certainly then use Datavideo DAC-200 for capture.

Not planning to edit, Just encode /burn.

My Sony Sony Hdr-Hc3 camcorder will also gives me AVI files, I will probably get the same from DAV-200. Right?

The DAV-200 outputs normal 480i DV-AVI format. Most encoders will take that directly.

The HC3 can output SD 480i (DV mode) or 1440x1080i HDV which is MPeg2. You need HDV aware software to import in HDV format.

[dearsara]

Thanks Again.

I dont use HDC-HC3 in HD mode since I don't know to use that output.

Has anyone use Canopus ADVC-300 ? It seem to have layman LTBC and some color correction and sharpness controls. But somecone complaint on this site about over processed output.

Can the adjustments be turned off to make it like ADVC-200 if needed?

S

[edDV]

Thanks Again.

I dont use HDC-HC3 in HD mode since I don't know to use that output.

Has anyone use Canopus ADVC-300 ? It seem to have layman LTBC and some color correction and sharpness controls. But somecone complaint on this site about over processed output.

Can the adjustments be turned off to make it like ADVC-200 if needed?

S

The ADVC-110 is the base bidirectional DV transcoder. I don't think there is an ADVC-200.

The ADVC-300 adds a line TBC and proc amp controls. If these features are turned off, it performs similar to the ADVC-110.

[dearsara]

Thanks A Lot.

I recorded a section with Hauppauge 150 and same with Pioneer 533. To my untrained eye they both looked the same.

I will try now with DAC-200 this weekend.

Unfortunately, I could not find a replacement for my Pioneer DVR. In NYC no one seems to carry Hard Drive equipped DVR.

What happened ?

S

[Alan69]

Tivo/cable DVR/PC or HTPC recording on one side, and on the more normal consumer side most people don't care enough about the hard drive to pay the extra for it, so pretty much disappeared..

I'm surprised most or all of the firewire equipped models won't DVR to an external HD. Would be a great selling point and easy to do..

[dearsara]

Very Interesting.

In NYC where I live, most of my firends own Hard Drive Equipped recorders.

Is there any other reason behind this besides lack of demand?

May be the same reason why Verbatim DVD+R /DL are still expensive while single layer came doen in price almost $0.25 per disc o less.

Anyway, which Recorders you pros are raving about these days?

S

[ChrisMtl]

The ADVC-300 adds a line TBC and proc amp controls. If these features are turned off, it performs similar to the ADVC-110.

Upon enquiring about this, I was told by Canopus staff that the ADVC300's TBC is hardwired into the unit and cannot be turned off. The DNR or noise reduction however, can be. The other controls such as brightness, sharpness etc. are all controllable. I don't know about overprocessed output, but yes, this can be a big concern.

I have found when transferring tapes to DVD that the simple conversion process alone tends to soften the image to some degree, so it's wise to evaluate any noise reduction devices or post-processing before commiting the results to final output.

[edDV]

The ADVC-300 adds a line TBC and proc amp controls. If these features are turned off, it performs similar to the ADVC-110.

Upon enquiring about this, I was told by Canopus staff that the ADVC300's TBC is hardwired into the unit and cannot be turned off. The DNR or noise reduction however, can be. The other controls such as brightness, sharpness etc. are all controllable. I don't know about overprocessed output, but yes, this can be a big concern.

I have found when transferring tapes to DVD that the simple conversion process alone tends to soften the image to some degree, so it's wise to evaluate any noise reduction devices or post-processing before commiting the results to final output.

I've used the ADVC-100/110 and 300 devices separately but not side by side so I can't judge if the nominal result differs.

[dearsara]

You Folks are incredibly knowledgeable.

You were absolutely right !

I capture a clip via DAC-200 and Window Movie Maker.

Wow what a difference in quality from Hauppauge 150 / Pioneer recorder.

One issue however. a couple of minutes of clip worth about 600MB!

S

[edDV]

Yep 13.5GB/hr. After you edit, you then encode to DVD MPeg2.

[codecpage]

Being that far you should take a look at noise and color flicker that are most likely present in all analog recordings.
A recent test by the german C't magazine showed that all DVD recorders examined could only treat noise by low pass filtering and flicker not at all.
So using your computer really gives you a big advantage.
Virtualdub comes with a very useful temporal smoother filter that compares between frames and therefore eliminates noise and also moderate flicker without scrificing crispness.
For more difficult color flicker issues, there is a 3rd party chroma noise filter, and for color displacement the so called VHS filter.
This greatly surpasses the abilities even of most professional softwares.
Cleaned footage will also encode much better.
Have Fun.

Cheers

[dearsara]

Thanks Again.

I downloaded and printed out lot of info about VirtualDub, as advised.

Lot of reading material for NYC Subway ride.

I will come back with questions I am sure.

But only one for now:

Does it matter, quality wise, which program I use for Capturing DV-AVI from DAC-200?

S

[codecpage]

The capture program can't influence quality with DV and firewire.
Only dropped frames could perhaps occur. In thie case, try another program. It should be curable.
The safest and most versatile capture solution is ScenalyzerLive.

Cheers

[dearsara]

Thanks Again.

Will buy ScenalyzerLive soon. Meanwhile I am still configuring Virtualdub.

Captured first video with it without Audio though :)


S

[edDV]

Thanks Again.

Will buy ScenalyzerLive soon. Meanwhile I am still configuring Virtualdub.

Captured first video with it without Audio though


S

Try the demo first. I think your issue is more fundamental.

[dearsara]

Hi Again:

I got a copy of ScLive 4.0 and I am using it for a day or so.

Very nice program with easy to use functions. I did not do Indexing though.

I was surpised to see drop frames ( 8 to 10 frames / 2 hour video )

Now I am lots of AVI files. Which program you recommend for encoding AVI to DVD.

I have access to Ulead Movie Factory 5 and TMPGENC Express.

S

[edDV]

Ulead Movie Factory 5 over Express

Dropped frames are caused by CPU activity during the transfer. The OS is taking the drive away from the DV stream.