Capturing using either ADS Tech Instant DVD or DVD recorder ...

[CaptainChaos]

Hi,
I have got a load of camcorder tapes I want to transfer to DVD.
I have 2 options:
1) I've got an ADS Instant DVD "box" to connect to the computer, connect the camcorder to that & transfer it to the hard drive, or
2) Go out & buy a DVD recorder & record it to disc, then transfer it to computer and play around with it in TMPGenc.
So far, it seems the DVD recorder is the easiest option, but what format does a standalone DVD recorder record in?
The ADS Tech device seems to be a bit temperamental (it's all connected, but the computer doesn't even "see" it when I start "CapWiz") so I don't know which route to try & follow.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Ian

[akrako1]

I'm not sure what version of 'Instant DVD' you're using, but the box I used some years ago gave a significantly lower-quality encode then my DVD Recorder. I found CapWiz to be very buggy, and difficult to get running smoothly (no dropped frames, etc). I would have to recommend a DVD recorder in this instance. They record in MPEG-2 format, with adjustable bitrates (typically you choose the running time you want, and the recorder sets the appropriate bitrate). Once you're over an hour or so, most records switch from PCM to AC3 sound, to save space. If you're wanting to do custom menu creation or editing, I'd highly recommend you use re-recordable dvd's in your recorder. Record on the DVD-RW, then dump the data over to your computer, where you'll be free to edit and use your favorite authoring program. Erase your DVD-RW, and use it for the next time!

[CaptainChaos]

Brilliant - That's What I expected - I'll go & search for a good dvd recorder now!
Got to try & upgrade the camcorder video l/r & audio leads to connect to the recorder, as they look a bit cheap!
Thanks again - MPEG2 is no problem in TMPGenc!

[vhelp]

fwiw, the ADS VideoXpress was a great USB-2 capture solution. IMHO, this option got missed
for its basic though bare-bones features but its captured video was excellent. It came with
Uleads Movie Factory and it was when you used these two together that they provided excellent
MPEG-2 video. I was surprised myself. And the test clips I was mostly working with was VHS
sources, though they were commercial tapes. Analog cable tv also came out great.

I just think that this external capture box got missed, prob on account of its tiny footprint size.
It really looks cheap, and prob is, but like I said, its performance was, IMHO, excellent. The
only reason why I didn't stick with it was because something happend to my OEM version of
Uleads Movie Factory (on my XP home computer) and it no longer work -- something to do with
the driver and serial number -- they got cross contaminated or something. Also, because I
only analog captures with my Pinnacle Studio AV/DV pci capture card these days, though I
mostly use the Lagarith codec (I was trial testing other codes, such as XviD and DivX but they
in the end, they proved troublesome) and on occasion (when HDD space is very low) I use
the Cedocida DV codec because it produce excellent and trouble-free results.

-vhelp 4696