My main objective is to transfer several vhs tapes to dvd. I have been doing alot of reading on the subject but get more confused the longer I read. I have nero and roxio. My question is whats the best and easiest step by step way to obtain my objective? I read that pinnacle has hardware bundled with software that allows you to plug your vcr into the hardware and then connects to the computer through usb.I have also read that alot of people had problems with this setup.Any input would be greatly appreciated.
You need an interface between VCR and computer. They come in 3 or 4 flavours. 1.) Time Base Corrector, expensive, but extremely good, fast. 2.) Hardware capture card, less money, slightly less quality, fast. 3.) "Soft" card, far less money, great quality if done right, extremely time consuming. 3a.) USB, cheap, ok quality, time consuming, and you must have a computer with enough power to capture with no dropped frames on USB 2.0 4.)PVR DVD Recorder standalone. Expensive, reliable, questionable quality, no control (no editing out commercials etc.) 1 produces a dvd mpeg-2, ready to author and burn. 2 produces a dvd mpeg-2, ready to author and burn. 3 produces an avi (optional mpeg-2 if your system is fast enough), that must be encoded, then author and burn. Sacrifice time for saving money. 3a produces either an avi or mpeg-2, however, it is RARE that it can capture at full D1 (dvd resolution). Sacrifice quality for convenience. 4 produces a dvd, no editing, no authoring, no burning, no control.
I broke this up into sections on purpose. You will need some authoring and burning software. Roxio, in my opinion, should be deleted. Nero will burn, and Nerovision Express will author...BUT, it will re-encode all your video. Not a good solution. Depending on which card you get, which software you get. Most come with some sort of authoring software. It would be better to choose which of the 4 above you want to buy, before deciding which software you want to use with it. Pinnacle's bundled software is excellent, their hardware is shoddy. Again, this is just my opinion
Either Ulead DVD Movie Factory (which came bundled with my external Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-USB2, which I find to be a pretty good card, IMHO) or DVD Workshop (expensive) will do the job for authoring. Neither will re-encode provided you're not feeding it too much video in the first place. Menu options are reasonable and the interface for Movie Factory is pretty simple--not as simple as NVE's, but as rebootjim mentioned NVE forces a re-encode, even if your source file can easily fit on one dvd. I'm pretty sure trial versions of both are available.
I do sometimes use Ulead 2 (came with the card) and it's reasonable. For professional stuff, I use DVDLab Pro.
Thanks for the time to respond. You said I need a interface between vcr and computer. I also read you mentioned a card.By that I assume I would have to open up my computer and install it? I read on cnet about Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV . This looks the easiest and cnet had high ratings for this product,however like I mentioned in my previous thread alot of users had bad feed back on it. Does anyone have any positive experience with this set up? If not is there a similar product out on the market which is better? This seems the easiest ,you just plug in the rca jacks to your vcr,plug the usb into the computer and capture. One last thing, by author do you mean edit? I use nero to back up my dvd's and it works flawlessly. I also use roxio once in a while,never had problems yet. I guess I dont have to use pinnacle,I could go with nero or roxio if I wanted after I capture.
Because I do not know what sort of computer you have, it's speed, memory, hard drive, and operating system, I cannot recommend anything but a PCI card, preferrably one with a hardware encoder, or a TBC. If you have a newish system (less than 2 years old), then it MAY be possible to capture using USB. Even USB 2.0 has trouble capturing to full D1 DVD aspect and framerate. You can do things that will improve USB capture, but they involve purchases you may not want to make. You save money on USB, then spend it on other hardware to make USB work as you want. The Pinnacle stuff, as I said before, is too buggy. Very poor reviews in most cases. If you only have 2 or 3 tapes you want to do, get a $20 capture card, and do everything with software, but be prepared to spend hours and hours to get it right. If you have lots of tapes, and you plan on doing this on a regular basis, get a TBC. If you want to cap live TV, as well as your tapes/cam, get a good hardware card. Authoring is different from editing. Editing is the process of removing or adding stuff to the actual movie. Authoring is taking your edited movie, and making the DVD structure needed so the finished burn will play on (almost) any standalone DVD player. Nerovision Express will edit, author and burn, but will not capture from a hardware card. It will capture from firewire and most "soft" cards that use WDM drivers. I know nothing about Roxio, and refuse to use any of their products on any of my computers. Most capture cards come with some sort of capture software, as well as (usually) some sort of TV viewing, and editing/authoring software. Some are much better than others.
