Removing a running time from vhs conversion

[eiffelgirl]

Hello, Everyone. I'm new here, so I hope I'm not asking a question that has been asked a million times before (I searched! I promise!).

For Xmas, I took my grandmother's old super 8 videos and was going to have them converted to digital files so I could make a dvd for my family. Cost about $375 for the first step, which was giving me a "viewing tape" on vhs that has a running time on the bottom, at which point I was supposed to mark where I was supposed to mark at what point I wanted a chapter to appear. When I asked the agent why the videos I had given weren't transferred to individual digital files, she said they didn't transfer that way. When I asked why I was told I would be given dvds of individual files that I could then pick and chose from (it's for an extended family - some files will go to some people, others to other people), she said she must have misunderstood me.

Anyway, so then I asked if, once she gave me a dvd if I would be able to load it into my computer and then save each "chapter" individually, she said she didn't know. So that's question number one.

Question number 2 is, I know I can buy a vhs to pc converter for about $200, and I'm thinking I should just do it myself instead of paying another couple of hundred bucks to probably not get what I want. But the problem there is the running time on the bottom of the vhs. So the question is, before I buy the converter, will I be able to remove the time without having to screen capture and mask every frame of a 2 hour tape?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Cat

[guns1inger]

The answer to question 1 is simple - it is quite easy to copy a DVD and cut it into parts to rebuild and distribute without re-encoding or losing quality.

The answer to question 2 is more complex, however the short answer is not nicely. You would have to capture the video to a PC, use a logo removal script or filter which will, at best, replace the numbers with a blurred section, or you can crop off the timecode completely. You would then have to re-encode the entire video to DVD compliance and author the DVD. Added to this is the fact that your source is a VHS tape. Their source is the original film. I suspect the quality of the transfer you get from them will be far higher than the quality you get from your VHS preview copy.

[eiffelgirl]

I was afraid of that!

Thanks for your reply. So in your opinion, I should just have them make the dvd. Then I'll be able to load it in my computer and rip out chapters individually?

Cat

[gadgetguy]

You don't want to use the VHS as a source. The quality of the VHS is much worse than what you should be getting from the film and removing the timecodes will further degrade it. It can be done, but will look like, well, not very good.
Extracting clips from the DVD is not a very difficult process, especially on a disc without copy protection. This should be higher quality than the VHS tape.

Having said that, I wouldn't give "her" any more money until you have a clear understanding of what you are paying for and/or that she has a clear understanding of what you want.

[eiffelgirl]

That makes total sense, and believe me, we'll be clear this time before any money changes hands (thought we were clear last time).

So I should ask her to make sure and not copyright the disc (which seems a simple request) so that I can rip the files.

Another quick question, though (and I can just ask her tomorrow), is... if she's already given me the actual film back, on what format does she have the stored? If it isn't digital, I worry it is on vhs. Which would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn't it?

Cat

[gadgetguy]

That's an excellent question and yes, if she only has it on VHS, then there is no point in giving her any more money because she clearly doesn't know what she's doing. On the other hand, she may have it all on a hard drive in digital format and just needs to know what clips you want and where to set chapter points, and the DVD(s) should be significantly higher quality than the VHS.
There isn't any real copy protection for burnable discs so that really isn't an issue. It's not even a real issue with discs that are pressed with the best protection that Hollywood can buy, it just takes a little more work and some more software.

[eiffelgirl]

I've got it!

But one more thing (I swear, I think I'm out of questions now).... I will eventually want to convert my family's vacay videos that were originally on vhs. Would the converter be the right buy for those? I know there are the systems you can buy where you can turn down all the noise, etc, but wouldn't it be just as easy to convert a vhs from a vhs to pc converter, with not much loss of quality?

Cat

[gadgetguy]

Yes. There are different options depending on what you want to do with the videos, how much editing you want to do, and how much you want to spend. But it's a relatively easy and inexpensive process to transfer VHS to DVD.

[eiffelgirl]

Gadgetguy, you are the raddest (you too guns1inger). If I can ever help you out in return (wanna buy some art? I own a gallery), let me know!

Cat

[lordsmurf]

so then I asked if, once she gave me a dvd if I would be able to load it into my computer and then save each "chapter" individually, she said she didn't know.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good grief, I just cannot stand seeing this sort of thing anymore. How in the hell can somebody run a video business and not know a damned thing about the most basic functionality of video, specifically DVD-Video in this case. Seriously? What is wrong with these people?

Of course you can do that! It's not as easy and copy/paste, but you can extract disc contents, not a problem. This is one really easy method: http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/edit/dvdrecorder/recorderedit.htm -- Then it's just a matter of cutting the extracted file into pieces and saving each one. I'd use Womble MPEG Video Wizard, Womble MPEG VCR, or Video ReDo for it. Hard? No. Time-consuming? Yeah, a little.

She cannot copy protect the disc, and she'd be a fool for even trying.

You need to get that film transferred directly to disc. Or better yet, skip the stupid disc, see if you can get it loaded directly onto a hard drive. My business model had to change this year, I now accept USB2, Firewire, SATA and IDE drives -- and many people go this route, skipping the disc entirely.

When it comes to film (something I don't do), you need it to be cleaned first, and then it needs to be transferred to a lossless codec, to DV, or to high bitrate MPEG-2. The conversion devices needs to be free of spotlight effects, flicker, shimmering and other unsteady motions. If they use "SP mode" on a DVD recorder, run away -- fast. I suggest looking at www.wood-land.com for film transfer needs. While I've not used them personally, they are competent with concepts and information. (Note: If you would be spending $1,000 USD or more, I might have different advice.)

The $375 for a "test tape" is unreasonable, in my opinion. If more work was done (all captures made), I would understand. If the "setup cost" was $375, that's insane.

[lordsmurf]

I've got it!
But one more thing (I swear, I think I'm out of questions now).... I will eventually want to convert my family's vacay videos that were originally on vhs. Would the converter be the right buy for those? I know there are the systems you can buy where you can turn down all the noise, etc, but wouldn't it be just as easy to convert a vhs from a vhs to pc converter, with not much loss of quality?
Cat

No.

Most of the "VHS to PC" devices (I'm screaming on the inside, because I'm certain you've seen some sort of boxed piece of crap in Best Buy or similar) are pure junk. You'll not only get ALL OF THE NOISE from the tape, but the junk hardware/software will add more. Oh goody. You'll want a good VCR and probably a TBC too. It will run $100's easy, to do a good job. My family memories are important, I would never archive it in low quality.

Certain DVD recorders would be good. Not Panasonic, not Sony, not Philips -- pretty much not anything easily found on a consumer store shelf. The best DVD recorders, many of which must be bought used online, remove the VHS noise for you. The AVT-8710 is an affordable TBC. A good VCR might run $150-250 on eBay. Read the sticky thread in the RESTORATION forum for suggestions.

Your suggestion would lose tons of quality.
My suggestion would not only NOT lose quality, the DVD would look probably twice as good as the tape did.