Which file to save from capture card AVI, DivX, MPEG-2, MPEG-4?

[Izitbcoz]

Hi, i have dazzle HD and pinnacle 15, i am wanting to put many (12-15) vhs tapes onto dvd discs. what is the best file for quality, bearing in mind i have NO interest in blue ray. My computer is very fast 3gh and 8gb storage. The choices are:-
AVI
DivX
DivX plus HD
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-2 TS
MPEG-4
No where in the instructions, or th einternet can i find out which files are best, soooo i am hoping you's guy's can help me. Many thanks in advance, Tony

[Izitbcoz]

Hi, i have dazzle HD capture card and pinnacle 15 editing studio, i am wanting to put many (12-15) vhs tapes onto dvd discs. what is the best file for quality, bearing in mind i have NO interest in blue ray. My computer is very fast 3gh and 8gb storage. The choices are:-
AVI
DivX
DivX plus HD
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-2 TS
MPEG-4
No where in the instructions, or the internet can i find out which files are best, soooo i am hoping you's guy's can help me. Many thanks in advance, Tony

[yoda313]

First piece of advice is to not cram too much onto one disc. Also you don't say if it will be single layer or dual layer dvd disc.

Do you want this to be a regular playable dvd disc that you can pop into a normal dvd player? If so you will need to capture into mpeg2 and author it as a dvd.

Any other format will need a special hardware player that can recognize the file type. Keep in mind many settop dvd players that can play divx/xvid have special requirements and I don't know of any that can play high def files (note that won't be a problem since you would not be capturing vhs in high def anyway.

Ideally if you want to make regular dvds don't put more than two hours on a disc - four tops if you go dual layer. Use a bitrate calculator to determine the file size you will get from the capture.

If you are playing back on a computer only and just storing the files on dvd than it really doesn't matter. Though for most compatible choices use either divx/xvid or h264 in an mp4 file or whatever your device says is mpeg4 (this may be avc video but you haven't provided the actual codecs it uses - avi can be anything - divx and mpeg2 are codecs but you do not have enough detail for the mpeg4 capture option.

Ideally if these are quality sources you'd use a higher bitrate for better quality captures. If these are in a so-so condition you could get away with a little lower bitrate since they aren't great to begin with - but if storage space isn't an issue you can just go high and not worry about it.

No where in the instructions, or the internet can i find out which files are best,

Thats because there really isn't a perfect format for each scenario - it depends on what your destination is and what your storage format is.

The only true necessity is to capture to mpeg2 if you are making a dvd - that is fixed in stone (though technically dvd can support more than just mpeg2 if you are beginning in the digital world best to just do the most common on dvd).

Fyi for making dvds you need to capture at 720x480 for ntsc material and 720x576 for pal material for standard def dvds.


Oh and if you do make dvds use imgburn to burn and use good blanks like verbatim (not the life series) or taiyo yuden discs.

[TBoneit]

If you want to put them on a DVD that can be played in a standard DVD player then you need to follow the information below.

What is DVD?
https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

If on the other hand you want to only use the DVDs as storage and not play them in a DVD player then that is a different thing.

i am wanting to put many (12-15) vhs tapes onto dvd discs.

Is not enough Information.

The UK being PAL TV system

PAL

Video:
Up to 9.8 Mbit/s* (9800 Kbit/s*) MPEG2 video
Up to 1.856 Mbit/s (1856 Kbit/s) MPEG1 video
720 x 576 pixels MPEG2 (Called Full-D1)
704 x 576 pixels MPEG2
352 x 576 pixels MPEG2 (Called Half-D1, same as the CVD Standard)
352 x 288 pixels MPEG2
352 x 288 pixels MPEG1 (Same as the VCD Standard)
25 fps*
16:9 Anamorphic (only supported by 720x576)

The video has to be more than just MPEG2 and when all done it needs to be authored for DVD player playback.

Good Luck

FWIW just saying 3Ghz is not a indicator of speed these days. A Pentium 4 3Ghz would be considered slow, a dual core 3Ghz would be faster and a Intel I7 QUad Core with HT at 3Ghz would be pretty fast.

[Baldrick]

Izitbcoz: Please don't cross post your question. I moved TBoneit answer to this thread.

[Izitbcoz]

WOW many thanks guys, i know how long it takes to write such detailed and exact info. I am very appreciated, MANY thanks Tony.

I will have a go at the weekend and let you know my findings.

[yoda313]

WOW many thanks guys, i know how long it takes to write such detailed and exact info. I am very appreciated, MANY thanks Tony.

I will have a go at the weekend and let you know my findings.

Sure thing.

What I would suggest is to use a known good quality tape that doesn't have any obvious problems as a test bed.

Select a section with lots of action and than another with less action. Do different captures at different bitrates with the same format (divx for example if you are recording for the computer or settop players that can play divx). Than you can get an idea of what quality settings you would feel comfortable using.

I think we mentioned this but generally the higher the bitrate the better the quality the captured file will be. It will never be better than the original tape but it can look nearly as good (filters can be applied but everytime you mess with video and reencode it there will be some kind of loss - though applying filters during capture would eliminate a reencoding step if your hardware can apply the filters in realtime).

For the best test scenario use the same scene or scenes at different bitrates with the same recording format and then repeat the same test using a different format (ie first record the one scene in divx and then do it again in mpeg2).

That way you'll get a feel for the recording software and start to see what the differences are in quality and file size. Also note that the larger the bitrate you use the larger the file size will be. And note too if you are using mpeg2 to make a dvd note whether or not you are using single layer or dual layer dvds. Its best to record to the right bitrate that will fit your disc the first time rather than "transcoding" - that is reprocessing it - after the fact.

There are bitrate calculators that let you determine what a bitrate bit rate should be to fit your needs.

Good luck and don't be afraid to experiment.

One other note - if you are working with a live event I would suggest recording with another medium until you are comfortable with the process. Its best to ensure you have recorded the event and capture/convert later than it is to lose the event because you are inexperienced with the equipment. Though if its something like a news broadcast or something you don't intend on preserving then you can of course capture it with your new hardware.

And yet another note - if you are looking for quick capturing from scene to scene you'll have to take note of what the delay time on your particular unit is. It might be virtually instantaneous from the time you click the record button on the computer to when it actually starts recording. But depending on the hardware and your computer specs there might be a second or more lag from the time the recording starts and when you press the button.

But it won't be that much of a deal if you have EXTRA material as you can use a wide range of programs to "cut" extra stuff you don't want. But you would obviously want an extra second or two of material than miss the start of the broadcast or whatever it is you are copying.

Don't forget to browse through the capture how-to guides here on the website - on the left of the screen under "how-to". The link is here:

https://www.videohelp.com/capture

Good luck and feel free to ask away.

If its specifically related to the vcr or your computer it might be best to start a new thread in either the capture forum or the computer forum to get more direct help.