VHS to DVD Help

[jrgandara]

Hi everybody, This is my second try with capturing video. I want to convert my kids homemade VHS movies to DVD. My first try was a deception. To be short, my first try was with a Pinnacle DC10 card, I tryed everything to convert a VHS to VCD/SVCD. I read everything I found on internet. Tryed every single guide, and the results are so bad that I give away my Pinnacle card.

Now, I giving a second try. I bought a HP200i DVD writer. Now I looking for some help to decide which capture card is the best to buy. I just want to converte my old VHS tapes to DVD. I want the same, or if impossible, almost the same quality I have in these tapes! Everything I tried give me a terrible quality. No matter, at this point, how much I will spend in this new card. I want the best.

My question: Wich card to buy? I figure out reading some articles that Pinnacle DV500+ is great, is it true? Is this card a good option for it? What the best way to capture VHS and burn a DVD? No editing, no nothing! I just need save my kids treasure in a more reliable media. But I want quality. I know VHS is not good like DVD, but if I can save my tapes on DVD with near VHS quality is already enough. I bought a DVD writer because I think all the problems is the compression rate. With a DVD I have more room for less compression.

Can anyone give me a light?

Thanks in advance

ps: Sorry my poor english, I speak portuguese

[Fred©]

Olá,

tenho uma velha ATI AIW 128 Pro que faz um bom trabalho de captura... o VHS tem, aproximadamente, 240x320 de resolução... eu capturo meus VHS e transformo em VCD sem os problemas que vc descreveu... mas capturo em 325x480 (a resolução vertical em dobro, para capturar ambos os campos)... ligo meu Video cassete na ATI, capturo em AVI com o virtualdub, usando o codec PICVIDEO MJPEG, qualidade 18, em multiplos segmentos habilitados...
depois, frameserve - não sei a tradução - para o TMPGEnc, com o filtro de smartdeinterlace e VHS (ambos de terceiros, encontrados na Net), usando o template padrão para VCD NTSC... fica muito bom!

Qualquer coisa, email-me para discutir alguma dúvida... o fórum fica ruim para escrever em português... ninguém vai poder opinar...

Fred©

[pijetro]

How about this for the latest (correct me if i'm wrong). I've seen now, for sale a dvd-r camcorder (don't buy the first one yet, ever), that burns vbr mpg 2 straight to cd while you are recording. If that's the case, then it should be possible to hook your VCR straight to the camcorder and burn. If not, it's a matter of time before you can. You say you want a straight forward and simple capture with no editing.

[holistic]

Greets jr

You english seems better then some posts i seen .


The AVDC-100 is (in my opinion) the best value for VHS tape conversions if you are just using an analog sourced VHS deck and already own a video camera.
If you don't have a good video camera consider the new DV cameras with A/D converters (or at least inputs) [may not be an option since that feature may be disabled due to european duty laws]

Too lazy/tired to type - have a read here
http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=94336


You are correct in your assumption :
You CANNOT improve the quality but a HIGHER bitrate will improve the final result . Keep the bitrate below 8000 for DVD compatability. (some may not read higher)

1/2 D1 = 352*480 ntsc (thinks Pal is 576 ??)

Try 352*576 @ a ConstantQuality of 5000 (padded at 3500) in TMPGEnc see how it looks.

[xiaNaix]

You might want to research the new Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250. It captures direct to MPEG2 and, if what I've read is true, uses the same encoder chip as the more expensive Navis Pro.

I'm currently capturing VHS to DV AVI using Pinnacle's Studio Deluxe and, quite frankly, I'm sick to death of waiting 4-12 hours to encode everything to MPEG2. I'm looking at the Hauppauge myself but, since it's so new, am waiting for a few reviews first.