Converting VHS tapes to DVD

[mnewxcv]

First post so bear with me. Have a couple questions.

I have about 100-200 VHS tapes that contain home recordings(from camcorder) that I want to put onto dvd to preserve them.

#1. Should I invest in a s-vhs player so I can use svideo instead of composite to the capture device? Right now I have a sony hifi vcr.

#2. Is this a decent capture device? http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pinnacle-Dazzle-Video-Creator-Plus-82301006461/sem/rpsm...oductDetail.do

#3. What is a good capture card, if that device is not good, for $75 or less?

#4. here is the model of the camcorder that took the recordings http://cgi.ebay.com/Magnavox-CVJ310AV01-VHS-Camcorder-for-Parts_W0QQitemZ310103364866QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamc orders_Professional_Video_Cameras?hash=item3101033 64866&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1 0|39%3A1|240%3A1318

#5. what brand dvd-r or dvd+r are good quality?

thanks in advance[/url]

[yoda313]

1 - yes a svhs player is the first place to start for increasing quality (to a point - this is still vhs so there will be limits on maximum quality mind you). Even better is to get one with either TBC built in or an external tbc to go between the player and the pc (time base corrector).

2 - I have not used the Dazzle series but I do have a pinnacle usb stick and it is a quality product. I assume the dazzle line will be decent as well.

3 - the dazzle should suit your purpose if you don't desire a tv tuner in your capture device. If you want a tv tuner for future use look around. Pinnacle also has some well priced hdtv tuner models that also have inputs for capturing.

4 - ok it is vhs that is all we need to know for this quest

5 - verbatim or TAIYO YUDEN blank dvds. Rima.com is one place to get them.

When shopping at stores in person try to see if any are made in japan. Those would be the top quality. Other manufacturing sites are not as good. Ordering online would eliminate that uncertainty.

Come back with more questions if you have any.

---

And welcome to the forum

[mnewxcv]

ok then, looking for a cheap s-vhs player! not looking to spend over $100, the cheaper the better really. I'm ebay friendly, so if you have a link to one, even better.

Like I said, under $100. I'm not trying to make this vhs tapes turn into a gold disc, I just want to preserve them.

[yoda313]

I just checked their for svhs player. I got several hits and ranged from under 50.00 to several hundred dollars.

I would imagine its a matter of trust and luck with ebay. If you see one you like in your range and trust the seller go for it.

[Canopus Smoker]

I have been trying to do the same thing as you, and it has taken over FIVE WEEKS to get it all together. The first three weeks were so awful I took five years off and only just now started working on the project again! Allow me to save you some time:

1.) The Dazzler - I got one of these initially, and the video quality was poop. Then I read that the Dazzler isn't DVD quality, it's made for uploading low-fi video files on the Internet. The audio was also trailing the video, if I remember right. This was in 2003, but I doubt much has changed.

Next you might be enticed to try a ATI All-in-Wonder device. Again, don't bother. That thing would lose the signal on older videotapes, and I had to buy some sort of RF booster at Radio Shack to create a signal strong enough for this thing to follow. It's made for tuning in the TV on your computer, not for serious video capture. Save yourself the time at the return counter.

Get a Canopus ADVC 110 ($240). I was inquiring how someone had done such a great job digitizing an old VHS video, and they pointed me to this thing. It's made by Grass Valley, who also make professional TV switching equipment, so you'll be doing things right. If I had known this thing existed at the beginning I could've saved myself some HUGE headaches. I can't believe these aren't all over the shelves at Best Buy.

Also, make sure the PC you're going to use for editing has a Firewire port which you'll need for the Canopus. If it doesn't you can get a PCI card, or you might need a PCI-E (express) card like I did. That's something I learned on this adventure.

2.) Use WinDV to capture. I learned of this piece of freeware on this forum, and it does the best job of any software I've tried. It tracked a two-hour tape and was never once thrown by multiple breaks in the time code. I can't say that of other software. CAPTURE IN AVI.

3.) For editing software, I've tried ArcSoft Showbiz 2 (bad with AVI, shakey with MPEG), Windows Movie Maker (great for editing AVI, freezes on MPEGs and has NO DVD burning capability), Roxio DVD Creator 6 full version and 9 basic free bundled version (awkward interface for editing, some video looked strobed after rendering), Sony Vegas Movie trial version (interface looks like the Space Shuttle dashboard, and has an unforgivably clumsy way of editing video frame-by-frame), and Ulead Video Studio SE 9 (the best, but has a horrible bug that it took me hours to conquer). So of these I recommend the Ulead, but look up my fix for the crash that will happen when you hit "Burn Disc" on a big project.

Also, don't be freaked if when you're capturing your video is silent, clicks and chirps or skips a lot. It's probably capturing fine, your PC is just having a tough time keeping up with the rate of data. The finished product should look fine.

Say farewell to friends and family. You're going to be working on this for awhile.

[mnewxcv]

I didnt expect this to be a short project by any means, seeing as I have hundreds of hours of video(even at 100 hours a week, capturing alone would take about a month, and triple that for editing/putting on dvd.

$240 is steep, could you email me a video that you converted from vhs to dvd? something short, I just want to see the quality of it. mnewxcv@yahoo.com

As for the dazzle, I was just reading some user reviews and they werent stellar. Guess I had better start saving my pennies.

Also, that winDV thing seems easy enough, will it capture the video at a good resolution? All I want is for each 2 hour tape to fit on a single DVD and look the same as it did on VHS, if not a little better(seeing as we use coax from vcr to dvd and component from dvd player to tv.)

Are you suggesting I use windows movie maker to edit rather than a third party app? I have used it in the past so I know my way around it fairly well, if it will do the job.

Is AVI a format I can put directly onto dvd and expect it to play in standard dvd players or will that need to be converted? I want a piece of software that can put a title screen with scene selection as well.

thanks for all your help so far guys!

[yoda313]

avi needs to be converted to mpeg2 so it can be authored to dvd.

As far as the dazzle devices go it must say it captures to mpeg2 with a resolution of 720x480. that is dvd resolution.

I honestly did not look at that link you provided so I don't know if that is the case in that one. If it claims to let you make a dvd it should also say it captures in mpeg 2 at 720x480.

[mnewxcv]

so are cheap (read:free) avi to mpeg2 converters available, or would something like nero be able to convert right before burning to dvd?

I just want the winDV software to not limit my capture resolution. That would be my only concern.

great site!

[Canopus Smoker]

WinDV is going to capture in AVI, which, from what I read here, is the best resolution you can get. After you capture in AVI, whatever program you're editing in is going to encode it to MPEG2 before it puts it on a DVD. No need to get anything else once you get your editing software (and again, I recommend Ulead Video Studio, which you can find in a 30 day trial format all over the Internet).

I've made about a 12 second sample that I think Yahoo! will let me send to you. Just let me know where to send it.

EDIT: Duh! Now I see your e-mail address in your previous post.

[Canopus Smoker]

Regarding resolution, here's another thing with WinDV: as it captures, it's going to break your video up into small files, or clips. The two-hour VHS I did the other day broke up into about fourteen clips averaging 2.6 GB apiece. This is because (I think) a PC isn't going to be able to move with any quickness over files of more than 2.6 GB. Don't worry, they're neatly indexed so that when you highlight the group of them and move them into the timeline of your editor they line up and play seamlessly. But anyhow, don't worry, you're going to have more resolution than you can handle!

[zoobie]

generally, a capture card yields a little better quality while a device is a lot more convenient...it probably depends on how important all this is to you

theres a lot cheaper devices out there...datavideo Dac-100, Pyro AV by ADS, etc...look on ebay for a deal

some capture cards are rated and listed in the left menu

maybe you could buy a used hi-end svhs, capture your footage, and resell it
again, it depends how important the quality is to you
some just use whatever vhs player is sitting around

WMM is free, fine for beginners, and probably already installed but you may want a lot more control over your editing and learn technique...most here stay far away from it learning more advanced methods and developing editing skills

other beginner editors include Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Ulead Video Studio, and Premiere elements
for advanced, they each have their "pro" consumer editions

some don't care...anything will do

[2Bdecided]

If you want to copy VHS to DVD, and don't want to do any messing about, just get a decent DVD recorder.

Going to PC route is for people who have time and patience. Experience helps to, but you'll have plenty of that before you get a result that's usefully better than simple VCR>DVD-R!

Cheers,
David.

[victoriabears]

Get a dvd recorder and may be a avt8710 , that should yield good results for most of your tapes.

Suggest Latest JVC dvd recorder:-

http://www.ecost.com/Detail/DVD+Players+and+Recorders/JVC/DRMV79B+REF/42312977.aspx?navid=155438261

It is actually a re badged LG but I have had good luck with mine , and here is where you'll get a avt 8710 :-

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/276891-REG/AV_Toolbox_AVT_8710_AVT_8710_Multi_St...Time_Base.html

and dvd recorders:-

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/2663/DVD_Recorders_DVD_Recorders.html

Stay away from Panasonic, or in my opinion Sony (Too cranky), a lot on here like the Philips 3575/3576.

Completely agree with my UK friend about capturing on a computer, a lot of learning and work. keep it simple to start, see what results you get.

[citanool]

The original camera that recorded the footage might also be the best device to use for playback.

[mnewxcv]

okay, back to the numbering system!

#1. I do want to be "messing about", I don't expect it to be done in a couple of weeks, I want to have fun with it, organizing the clips chronologically and making some edits. I think it would be a lot of fun actually.

#2. I have a lot of time(student, so capturing during the day and editing in the evening) and patience to fool around. I'm pretty fast to learn how to use a piece of software so that's no problem.

#3. Sadly we tossed the camera out when the battery and microphone started failing. I remember I used to review tapes in black and white right through the viewfinder, good camera in its day.

edit:

#4, what is a Time Base Corrector and why do I need one?

[zoobie]

TBC
You can save yourself a lot of grief by spending a few hours reading the whole glossary

[mnewxcv]

ok cool. So do you think a jvc s-vhs player would have one of those built in?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=300277423983

like that one


because damn $200+ alone for that thing just doubled my budget.

[greymalkin]

OK..so you want to do edits, but what kinds of edits are you wanting to do? If you are just wanting to chop out boring bits and do simple transitions you would be saving yourself a ton of time and Hard Drive space by capturing to DVD-RW, then chopping the VOB files up using something like Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

The thing that's going to eat your lunch is the encoding time. Capturing the video is going to be a real-time process regardless of what you do, and authoring/burning to DVD will also be the same...but if you capture to dv-avi you had better have a lot of hard drive space. Also, after you edit you will have to encode to MPG which could take 2x as long as the video itself.

If you capture to DVD-RW then you can just copy the VOB files to your computer, snip snip snip..transition here/there/etc., then save the MPG file via stream copy (very fast) and re-author to DVD-R.

If you are wanting to adjust colors/etc. then you will want to capture to dv-avi, though, and will have probably thousands of hours ahead of you before getting it all done.

[lordsmurf]

The Canopus ADVC will not remove certain analog tape errors as well as good DVD recorders do. That ADVC is honestly a decade-old piece of tech, it's outlived its usefulness and has been surpassed by many other products, quite a few of which are lower-priced.

[mnewxcv]

The Canopus ADVC will not remove certain analog tape errors as well as good DVD recorders do. That ADVC is honestly a decade-old piece of tech, it's outlived its usefulness and has been surpassed by many other products, quite a few of which are lower-priced.

could you suggest another device, one that might remove tape errors like you mention? I shop at newegg.com primarily and they have the canopus for $190 shipped.

[Marvingj]

HERE WE GO AGAIN.....

[The_Doman]

OK..so you want to do edits, but what kinds of edits are you wanting to do? If you are just wanting to chop out boring bits and do simple transitions you would be saving yourself a ton of time and Hard Drive space by capturing to DVD-RW, then chopping the VOB files up using something like Womble MPEG Video Wizard.

I agree you should consider the option of a DVD recorder with a good TBC/stabilizing funtion.
I use here at the moment a (old/cheap) Panasonic DMR-E55 which really does a great job stabilizing the signal of old/difficult VHS tapes.
Even with a normal Panasonic VCR it gives me better results then when using it with my JVC HR-S8600 (PAL) which also has TBC.

[mnewxcv]

well as far as editing goes, I just want to cut and reorganize clips so that clips that are alike or are close in time are together, because that isnt always the case on these tapes. And transitions, menu screens, etc etc. I have a 400gig hard drive, but was planning to pick up 2 x 500GB drives just for this cause. I have a dual core cpu so the encoding shouldnt be too too bad. but hmm, would dvd recorder be better? would I lose quality?

[Canopus Smoker]

I shopped at New Egg, too, and it was $240, and that wasn't even a month ago! Thanks for the tip, I'm contacting customer service to get $50 back.

[zoobie]

not sure newegg works like that...

heres a bunch of Pyro AV by ADS...some even come with elements

1tb hdd $79 w/ 3 year warranty (thanks edDV)

UleadvVideoStudio 11+ $36

[mnewxcv]

well newegg is good about that, if you buy something then it drops in price, they will usually refund the difference. thanks for the links, I will search for reviews.

[2Bdecided]

The Canopus ADVC will not remove certain analog tape errors as well as good DVD recorders do. That ADVC is honestly a decade-old piece of tech, it's outlived its usefulness and has been surpassed by many other products, quite a few of which are lower-priced.

I think it's useful to capture and encode to DV if you want to archive the raw capture and do NR in software. Even then, there are good PC capture cards.

Other than that, straight to DVD is so much easier, often with better results!

Cheers,
David.

[lordsmurf]

NR in softare is often too late, however. Once the damage is digitized, it can be impossible to remove, or only partially removed. It depends on the NR being sought. Grain is different from a chroma error, for example.

[yoda313]

but hmm, would dvd recorder be better? would I lose quality?

Well it seems like nobody has responded to this part of your inquiry yet.

Since it seems like you are not interested in doing heavy filtering or lots of transitions and effects then yes a dvd recorder may be the best way to go.

As far as quality it should be acceptable. Your best bet for shorter captures would be to use the shortest record time on the unit. Usually an hour long mode. That would give the highest bitrate the machine can record at.

If you are capturing longer than that I would only move to the next longest recording mode and not any more than that. If these are ones that you truly want to save do not use a recording mode that is much longer than your total play time you need to record.

And yes it is pretty straightforward to rip from dvdr and do simple edits then reauthor. Once ripped I recommend mpg2cut2 for good vob cutting.

[2Bdecided]

NR in softare is often too late, however. Once the damage is digitized, it can be impossible to remove, or only partially removed. It depends on the NR being sought. Grain is different from a chroma error, for example.

If we're talking about lossless capture, S-video connection, a working TBC (so we don't need the syncs), and a capture device that's set to capture the full range of the signal, what useful information exists in the analogue domain at the output of the VCR that doesn't make it to the digital domain? Or am I missing something.

Cheers,
David.