Converting Hi8 for Mac using Hauppage WinTV PVR USB2?

[eamann]

Hello!

As a very recent "switcher", this is my first post on this Mac Video forum.

Last year, when I only had a Windows machine, I bought a Hauppage WinTV PVR USB2 to digitalize Hi8 cassettes. I ran into various technical problems, notably formats, and gave up.

Now I have a new iMac and I am motivated again to digitalize those cassettes. I would welcome advice on how best to go about that.

My aim is to produce edited films using iMovie 09 and then save them to DVD using iDVD. Since these DVD's are destined to be watched by our children and their children in years to come, I would want the quality to be as high as possible for use on HD television sets.

One option for me would be:

• digitalize the cassettes with the Hauppage peripheral, on our Windows computer
  copy the files to the iMac,
  convert them (with which software – Streamclip, Ffmepgx...?) to DV format (would that be the most appropriate format?)
  edit and save to DVD.

I have read that digitalizing Hi8 by using the pass-through facility of a digital camera produces better results and I am investigating the possibility of hiring a camera to do so (I only have 30 odd hours of cassette to convert).

I feel a little overwhelmed at present as I adapt to my iMac and learn how to use iMovie, iPhoto, Safari, etc., and I would therefore welcome advice on this question of digitalization, formats, etc..

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and expertise with me!

Eamann

[dizzie]

What kind of file does the Hauppage create on your Windows box? Perhaps it gives you the option of producing DV? If so, just import the DV files into iMovie. If not, create the highest quality file you can with the Haup. As long as it is not a Windows proprietary codec (.wmv, etc), iMovie will convert it to DV when you import it. Using iMovie and iDVD will allow you to create some very pretty DVDs. A much more quick and dirty solution would be to use Burn for mac. Good luck!

[rumplestiltskin]

The easiest way of converting your SD analog over to DVD is Roxio's Easy VHS-to-DVD device and included software. I think it's around $80 or less. It works beautifully.

If your aim is to create DVDs (which are SD) from SD source material, the Roxio device brings things in as MPEG2 so they're ready for authoring and burning in iDVD. MPEG Streamclip will let you remove the crud from the start and end of the recording without re-encoding. Drop that file into iDVD and have at it.

There is no reason to go to DV-Stream unless you really want to add titles (within the footage), remove footage in the middle of the clip, etc.

If all you want to do is make the DVD, then try what I suggest.

[eamann]

Hi!

I'm very grateful to you two guys for going to the trouble of replying to my query.

The Hauppauge produces MPEG2 files. When I import them into iMovie in DV format they double in size!

"iMovie 09 - The missing manual" recommends importing analog film via a DV video recorder. I'm waiting for a friend to come back from holidays and borrow his recorder.

A friend digitalised his old videos by feeding them into his TV and then recording that on a Sony DVD recorder. Then he converted them into files which his PC could read and edited them. He claims that the resulting quality was excellent.

Once more, thanks again!

Eamann

[rumplestiltskin]

{snip}...The Hauppauge produces MPEG2 files. When I import them into iMovie in DV format they double in size!...{snip}

That's normal. DV only uses intra-frame compression so you may do frame-accurate editing. MPEG2 does both intra- and inter-frame compression so it uses keyframes and only shows the changes between those keyframes. In other words, it uses temporal compression. This lets MPEG2 videos be smaller in MB. When you drop the MPEG into iMovie, the app uses the keyframes and the changes between those keyframes to produce all the "missing" frames. This is why it's double the size.

BTW, you gain nothing is quality by doing this. It's only necessary if you want to add titles and transitions, etc. (or if you're borrowing a friend's analog-to-DV device for free in order to get your analog stuff into your computer and not buying your own device).

[dizzie]

Hi!

I'm very grateful to you two guys for going to the trouble of replying to my query.

The Hauppauge produces MPEG2 files. When I import them into iMovie in DV format they double in size!

"iMovie 09 - The missing manual" recommends importing analog film via a DV video recorder. I'm waiting for a friend to come back from holidays and borrow his recorder.

A friend digitalised his old videos by feeding them into his TV and then recording that on a Sony DVD recorder. Then he converted them into files which his PC could read and edited them. He claims that the resulting quality was excellent.

Once more, thanks again!

Eamann

Yeah, if you go your friend's route, you will still end up with the equivelant of Mpeg2 files (VOB = m2t roughly) which will have to be converted to DV in iMovie. He likely just has some PC software that will edit Mpeg 2 files. If you've got plenty of disk space, I'd just say to throw them into iMovie at the end of the day and let them convert overnight.

[eamann]

Thanks once again for your input!

These Hi8 cassettes contain recordings of our kids birthdays, Christmas parties, holidays, etc. and I will want to edit them a lot to produce a DVD for each child and other relatives, plus little films of our holidays, etc., showing just the best bits. Am I right in thinking that I need therefore to convert to DV format?

I'll try capturing the cassettes first of all with my friend's DV camcorder (that won't cost me anything) and see what sort of quality that gives me. If I'm not happy with the result then I will try again the Hauppauge.

I suspected that my other friend's approach - actually my brother-in-law - using a DVD recorder could not be the miracle method that he makes it out to be.

Best wishes,

Eamann

[rumplestiltskin]

Many DV camcorders have a "pass-through" mode that will let you play the video from the VCR and pass it into the camcorder's analog ports and directly out of the FireWire port without having to actually record the video into the camcorder's tape. Check the manual.