Convert old VHS-tapes to mpeg2?

[Mållgan]

I have several old VHS-tapes. I have produced DVD of some of them using Adobe Premiera Elements 4.0. Now I would like to get rid of the VHS-tapes but save the contents. What about capturing them in Adobe Premiere Elements and produce output mpeg2-files which I save? In the future I may want to produce DVDs in Adobe Premiere Element using the mpeg2-files as input files.

[nharikrishna]

First of all, in my opinion, you should never throw away your VHS tapes. They are your "source". If you don't want to have your source on VHS, try an Analog-to-Digital device such as Canopus ADVC 110 to capture the video as DV AVI File, and then "write" the DV AVI file onto a MiniDV Tape using the Digital-IN option of the MiniDV Camcorder. This way you would have "digitally preserved" your VHS source. So the next time you want to convert your video to MPEG-2 or some other format, you can just capture directly from MiniDV tape into your computer using Firewire connection. There will not be any generation-loss as it is in Digital format.

At the same time, you can also store your DV AVI file on a Hard drive but make sure that you never use it for any purpose other than just accessing your DV AVI file.

You can also convert your DV AVI file to MPEG-2 and store it on your hard drive. But remember, editing an already compressed file such as MPEG-2 will be counter-productive if you make add a lot of transitions...etc.

Others may correct or add.

[Mållgan]

Thank you for your proposals! I had not thought of the possibility of transfering the tapes as avi-files to minidvtapes. I think that I will do so. Thank you again.

[Mållgan]

I hope that I will get the same quality if I first import the VHS-tape in to Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 where I then cut/delete some scenes and then export from Adobe to DV-tapes (in my Canon HV20-camera).

[nharikrishna]

Yes, that's right. You will get exactly the same quality.

[lordsmurf]

Read a bunch of the capturing guides here: http://www.digitalFAQ.com
That will answer most questions, spread some understanding for you.
Quite a few discussions here, too: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/dvd-project-help-9.html
Lots of common questions answered in Workflows forums.
Then you'll have some idea as to what you should and should not do.

I DO NOT think the MiniDV advice is good.
But neither is using Premiere Elements for any kind of capturing work.

[Mållgan]

Still confused, but now at a higher level!
Well, I have now captured some VHS-tapes and the results are avi-files. If I do not want to save the huge avifiles on disks, why is not miniDVtapes a good choise? Of course, the quality of the tapes can get bad in the future, but what to do?

[Valnar]

To get the VHS tapes in a digital format (and keep the A/V sync, which can be hard) I highly recommend a Canopus ADVC-110. Nothing else works as good.

I bought one used on eBay, digitized everything analog that I owned, and resold it on eBay with only a $10 hit. It's worth it.

[Mållgan]

I have already a device, "Directors´Cut", which I have used to create avifiles from my VHS-tapes. I have used these avifiles as Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0-inputfiles. After producing videofiles (VIDEO_TS-file including vobfiles etc) in Adobe, I have deleted the avifiles.
The issue now is what to do with the VHS-tapes, for example converting them to mpegfiles or...

[nharikrishna]

I DO NOT think the MiniDV advice is good.

LS, for storing "raw" video from VHS for future editing, which is the other better way than MiniDV? Please throw some light.

[Mållgan]

When Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 captures VHS-tapes and miniDVtapes (for example from my Canon HV20-camera), large avi-files are produced as input files in Adobe (2 hours VHS- or miniDVtape = 15-20 GB avifiles). After editing in Adobe, this program produces DVD-files (VIDEO_TS-file), size 4,7 GB. A quality loss seems to occur as a 4,7 GB-fil is not as large as a 15-20 GB-file.
BUT when I use my videocamera Canon Legria FS36, the camera produces mgeg-files (2 hours = 5 GB) which Adobe uses as inputfiles and produces an output 4,7 GB-VIDEO_TS-file. A "guality loss" of only 0,3 GB seems to occur or am I thinking wrong?
If this quality loss is "only" 0,3 GB, I ask myself if the quality loss beetween the 2 hours VHS- or miniDVtapes (15-20 GB) and the mpegfile which Adobe can produce (mpg 5 GB from a 2 hours-tape, 15-20 GB avi), means that the REAL loss is 12,5-17,5 GB. If I in the future want to edit this 5,0 GB-mpgfile in Adobe, I imagine that Adobe will produce an output VIDEO_TS-fil, size approximately 4,7 GB, which should mean almost no quality loss.
Summary: A quality loss occurs beetween the VHS-tape (15-20 GB) and the Adobe-outputVIDEO_TS-file (4,7GB) but why is it not to recommend to let this loss occur, using a 5,0 GB-mpgfile as inputfile (which in a previous stage has been produced with a 15.20 GB-avifile as inputfile) instead of a 15-20 GB-avifile?