help with capturing from various analog devices

[TARfan]

Hello, all. Here's what I have and what I want to do.......

My current PC
* Vista 64-bit Home Premium SP1, Intel Core2Duo 2.67ghz, 4GB RAM, single HDD (~300GB free currently) -- have a 1TB external USB2 WD (My Book Essential Edition) unopened [likely would not use to capture to but could transfer to for storage] -- not opposed to getting another internal if needed to do video 'stuff'


My experience
* On older PC had Pinnacle Studio MovieBox USB (a silver-y colored device about 7x7x1 inches that stands upright with one corner screwed in to a round base), with inputs of S-video and yellow-red-white composite, and outputs of S-video and yellow-red-white composite. Had the Pinnacle Studio software (MediaSuite, maybe?), too -- started with v7 or v8, and some time upgraded to v9.
* Did some basic video projects, including capturing from VCR and/or camcorder, but not for archiving or conversion purposes just to put together compilation videos, etc. The capture was all analog so real-time, which I learned to live with, but the post-edit 'encoding' was painfully slow at times (ie, overnight), depending on the titles, menus, etc., that I added. Did not ever seem like something I'd want to use to do any mass conversion, even without editing involved. Captured a few things and just saved the .mpg files and wondered why not do that for everything?
* Still have the hardware -- not sure if it 'works' with my newer PC, have not tried installing.
* Comfortable with PC hardware/software -- have built last few PCs from parts, don't mind opening the case and messing with internal devices.


miniDV
* Approx 10 miniDV tapes
* All were recorded in 'best' 1hr mode
* All were new Sony tapes, recorded to one time
* All were recorded on a Canon Elura70 -- still functioning as our current camcorder
* The Elura70 has a single yellow composite port with a cable that splits on the other end to yellow-red-white composite -- also has an S-video port -- also has a DV port
* The Elura70 has ability to convert Analog-to-Digital (I believe as a pass-through, but have never done A-to-D conversion, so ???)
* Mostly hand-held recording of family events, vacations, etc., rarely had tripod available
* Editing desires -- don't want to make any changes to content, even the goof ups (oops, taped the ground while I walked for the last 2 minutes, etc.) -- wouldn't mind being able to cut tape into individual 'files' for each event/occasion/etc., but could just do individual captures manually to accomplish this
???IS THE BEST SOLUTION to capture via (Elura70 DV port out) > some lossless format


Hi8
* Approx 10 Hi8 tapes
* All were recorded in 'best' 2hr mode
* All were new, various 'name brand' tapes, recorded to one time (always used Hi8 tapes, even though I think it would take regular 8mm???)
* All were recorded on a Canon ES4000 -- when this died we upgraded to different format (miniDV, see above), so we ebay-ed a used Canon ES3000 (could not find a 4000) to have a Hi8 machine for future needs with these existing tapes -- this was a few years ago, made sure it 'worked' then it has sat unused so far waiting
* The ES3000 has the usual yellow-red-white composite ports -- also has an S-video port
* Mostly hand-held recording of family events, vacations, etc., rarely (never?) had tripod available
* Editing desires -- same as miniDV above
???IS THE BEST SOLUTION to capture via (ES3000 S-video out) > (Elura70 S-video in) > [A-to-D] > (Elura70 DV port out) > some lossless format


VHS
* 100+ VHS tapes
* 95%+ of them recorded in 'best' 2hr mode
* 95%+ of them were brand new tapes, mostly Sony 'Premium', recorded to one time (a few times at most for a very few of them)
* Source signal was the cable company's cable from wall, often through a coax surge protector, often through a splitter (so signal could go simultaneously to VCR and to cable box) -- no way of knowing which tapes followed which exact path -- so assume all were (wall) > (surge) > (split) > (VCR)
* A few more recently followed path (wall) > (surge) > (split) > (cable box) > (VCR) ....... why, because after we got HD cable box found that I thought the signal looked better using an HD channel via the cable box-to-VCR than the corresponding SD channel direct to VCR
* Most were recorded on a Sony VCR (can get model# if needed) with no S-video out option -- still have/use this VCR
* Editing desires -- basically, none -- almost all tapes contain two 1hr shows, I honestly don't want to take time to remove commercials -- I would just want to create one 'file' per show (either by doing the capture manually on the two 1hr shows, or with a simple 'cut' to divide a single 'file' in two) -- there are a few times when a show spans two tapes; if it was 'very easy' I would stitch them together into one 'file', otherwise I'm fine with two 'files' like 'show pt1' and 'show pt2', trying to keep this simple
* Quality -- want really good quality (within parameters of what I'm starting with), but this is not as important as the personal miniDV/Hi8 stuff (above)
???HOW GOOD IS THE SOLUTION to capture via (Sony VCR composite out) > (Elura70 composite in) > [A-to-D] > (Elura70 DV port out) > some lossless format



The 'solutions' I've proposed (asked about) above only involve the camcorders/VCR that I have, and would require some software for capture/encode(?) [not sure what software].

I am not opposed to adding some hardware, but I don't really want to end up with a desk full of stuff (already too cluttered) if not necessary. I've heard the terms TBC, and have read about some external capture devices.

Interested in learning opinions on what software (ie, capture/encode???) to get?
Interested in learning if my situations lend themselves to some TBC/VCR/DVDR hardware (and what)?

In addition to the analog sources mentioned above, I would also like to be able to capture stored programs on my cable box (one is HD, one is not). I'd rather not put them on VHS and then capture from VHS (obviously). I'd rather use some other capture route. I've seen good things said about Hauppauge HD-PVR, but not sure if that is overkill and/or not sure if it would help me at all in my various analog sources detailed above.

Phew! Confused, overwhelmed, and anxiously awaiting any advice/help that anyone can pass along. Thanks!

[aedipuss]

check the miniDV cam, does it do analog to digital pass through? if so you can use it to capture all the analog stuff through it's video in port to DVavi along with the miniDV tapes. all you'd need is the free winDv to capture the output of the miniDV cam. DVavi is usable by every editing program out there.

can't help the the cable box stuff.

[edDV]

Budget?

[TARfan]

@aedipuss - thanks for the suggestion(s).

@edDV - that's hard to say. I can afford to spend some money on this, but it's not a "sky's the limit" situation.

Obviously, I'd hope to hear an answer like "what you already have will do wonderful"...meaning I don't need to spend much at all (except maybe for the going-forward capture of cable box recordings, HD/SD). I hate to give one of those vague answers like "it depends", but really it probably does depend. If there is some wonderful suggestion that will cost me $50 then I'd jump on it. Once it starts crossing the $200-$300-ish mark, I'd start really questioning the benefits gained. I'm definitely not willing to spend thousands for any sort of 'professional' level setup. In other words, to make my long answer even longer...it's more of a cost-benefit analysis. Doesn't need to be free (ie, what I have now) if spending a little will benefit the project. I hope that helps.

[lordsmurf]

For each format, you need a player, be it a camera or tape deck. The better the device, the cleaner the signal. i.e., S-VHS VCRs.

Next you need a capture device. Don't believe the marketing hype on DV boxes -- it works, yes, but that's about it. There are all kinds of capture cards, capture boxes and DVD recorders, that capture in various formats, to provide the digital files you need for various workflows (restoring, editing, convert-only, etc).

The extra goodness comes with devices that go between a player and the digital recorder -- this can range from a TBC to proc amp to audio mixers, etc etc. This is the area that separates a pro from a general consumer (or consumer goober pretending to be a pro).

And that just gets you a digital file .... that's just the hardware ....

Software is based on what you want to do, and what you can afford. Edit MPEG, edit AVI, restore video, encode to MPEG, author DVD, burn. Some is free, some is $50-100 range, some is $500+

$200-300 is a teeny tiny budget, given all that you want to do, but it's somewhat workable. Making smart choices is the hard part!

That Pinnacle box is junk, very low quality. You'd be better off trying the DV cam A>D, if using just what you have. A DVD recorder that is known for its ability to clean up analog sources would be the most suggested item.

Similar topics have recently been discussed at: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/dvd-project-help-9.html
Check out some conversations in the Workflow, Capturing and Restoration forums there.

Good luck on the projects.