question on Plextor ConvertX PXM402U

Hi, I am new to the forums here although I have been a long time "lurker", there is some really excellent info here!!

I have decided to purchase the Plextor ConvertX to transfer some of my old VHS tapes to DVD. These are store bought movies not home made and my question is will I need to purchase a stabilizer along with this unit or will it defeat macrovision without any extra parts? If anyone with this unit has done these kind of transfers and would let me know if I need anything additional it would be most helpful.

Thanks!!

 

On most tapes no, but there will be exceptions.
I would suggest a good vcr though. And if it has some tbc function then all the better.
I've been using the PX-M402U for 7 months and have only actually seen evidence of MV on one tape. It was a 2000 release. Most of my others have been circa 1980's and early '90's.
It's a good little unit provided your comp. is up to it.
BTW- Vdub latest eperimental release will work with it.

 

Thanks PFH!

 

You'er welcome. Download software updates is reccommended of course plus, go ahead and download the GoCap utility from Plextor too. You might find this tool to your liking. It's great for setting up test caps, caps only, experimental caps, or use it to capture all the time. It has less cpu overhead.

 

PFH, I could use a bit of guidance here. I used WinDVD Creator to capture a VHS tape. It captured fine but it put the file in WMV format. Unfortunately I had to use WinDVD Creator to put the file into "dvd format". The process took a loooooong time (about 3 hours). Is there any way to capture directly to an image file that is DVD friendly (such as a VIDEO_TS file)? If not, is there a process or a program that doesnt take so much time to complete? My PC is a 3.2 ghz P4 with a GIG of ram and I am capturing to a dedicated 80 GB 7200rpm hard drive with an 8mb cache. Any help is much appreciated. THANKS

 

It doesn't cap as wmv. It may appear as a Windows Media Player icon because WMP can play mpeg. I bet you don't have your file extensions showing. It most likely has mpg as the extension. I often use Windows Media Player just to give a quick check of my mpeg caps. The mpeg video/audio stream we are capturing could be streamed right to an entertainment center if we had the right setup. But anyway, Go to CONTROL PANEL -> FOLDER OPTIONS -> VIEW - UNcheck "hide known folder extensions".

On the Windvd Creator side- you've discovered what I did, it reencodes the ENTIRE MOVIE!!!! Very dunb. We go to the trouble of setting up a capture the way we want and the size is ok, quality is fine, then make a simple menu, add some chapters, compile this and the Intervideo dvd creator software re-encodes our entire project.
I went to using Dvd Lab and Womble mpeg-vcr just because these programs do not re-encode the whole movie afer edits or compiling the dvd structure. Much much faster then WinDvd. Aside from capture time- I can have a dvd compiled with Dvd Lab in 10-20 minutes. If I need to do some cuts and splices with Womble that would add to the total time but only another 10-20 minutes.

At least these two programs have 30 day trials and there are others out there that you might find to suit you just as well. But I would definitly try what I did. Capture with Windvd OR use the GoCap tool (free download @ Plextor). Then compile (edit if nesc.) with another program. You'll be surprised, after the learning curve, how much faster you can get from vhs to dvd. Most of all my captures are with GoCap now. I've messed with Virtual Dub a little but It's an AVI capturing prog. (it now supports the ConvertX)

I only use WinDvd Creator for 2 things- I will occassionaly capture to hard drive with it and I "load Image to Burn" with it. I've got an OEM of Nero but I didn't install it so my only dvd burning app is Intervideo. The dvd compiled with Dvd Lab can be loaded into WinDvd Creator and burned to disc. It burns discs just fine. I never did really like Nero stuff and I don't need all the "fluff" that comes with it.

 

FYI for us Plextor ConvertX owners- NEW DRIVERS THIS MONTH!
The following is quoted from Plextor Dirk over @ divx.com:

"received more information from my engineers which clears things up for me. I gave everyone some bad info previously in this thread.

The Philips decoder chip we have in the 402U always captures interlaced video. This video is passed to the WIS encoder chip we use. This encoder chip and driver only supports de-interlaced video at this point so the video is converted from interlaced to de-interlaced video before it is encoded.

For MPEG-2 video, we support three types of conversion; Blending, Direct Waving and Interpolating. We use the Blending method by default which gives good results on still images and slow moving images. For fast moving images, the Interpolation method provides best results but this method is not great for still images. The Direct Waving method is great for still images but bad for slow and fast moving images. We will release a new driver in the next week or so and it will be set to Blending by default and will allow the user to change to any of the other methods depending on what type of video they normally capture. From the beta drivers we have sent out, about 50% of people have had their problems cleared up and they are very happy with the quality so we are making some progress.

Unfortunately, these three methods are only available for MPEG-2, not DivX and MPEG-4. For DivX and MPEG-4, only the Blending option is supported and so there is no way to change the default setting to get better video."

It will be pretty cool to try out some different conversion methods for comparison.

Also, Ulead video studio 8 has been added for use with the ConvertX. It is now included with new units.

 

Hi PFH thanks for the info. I took your advice and downloaded DVDLab. Much faster results with this program it is unfortunate that its so expensive though. I had Ulead included in the box when my unit came and I will give that a try also. Now, I am about to ask the dumbest question of my life but I have to. Is it possible to capture the VHS tape in Fast Forward and then slow it down to normal speed somehow? Also, is there any advantage (quality wise) to encoding in Mpeg4 with GOCap?

Thanks

 

Unfortunatly you can't capture in fast forward then slow it down. Capture time= video length. I mean, you could capture in fast forward but that's what you'd be capping- a video in fast forward. Also, the ConvertX capture software will lock up after a few seconds as most likely a lot of other units will if you try. At this point, I figure if cap time is the slowest part of my dvd creating then I'm doing something right.

I would give Ulead VS a try- I've heard good things about it and I plan on trying it out. Plextor Dirk stated a cost of $50 for us that bought in with the crappy Intervideo OEM s/w. But I plan a free trial run 1st. as I may not need it. I've come to really like Dvd Lab and I'm starting to get more creative with it. Reboot has some great Dvd Lab guides plus their web site has 'em too.

As far as mpeg 4 goes I haven't capped it yet. I tried once but didn't have the right codec. I have done some divx and honestly, wasn't that impressed. Fast moving frames suffered too much loss as compared to mpeg 2. In fairness though I didn't play around enough to refine the caps. Also, didn't try a dvd rip that already has great quality. I used a vhs capture for the divx encode. I plan to do more divx though and try mpeg 4. As I see it at this point, these two formats are good choices where the need calls for viewble quality and a LOT of compression (handhelds, web streaming, portables, etc.)

Yeah, Dvd Lab is a bit of a $ hit if you are on a budget. I coughed up $100 for the standard version. That's why I mentioned [bold]trying[/bold] Ulead 1st. But....if the encoder engine is as good as I've heard it might be worth me buying it.
Let me know your impressions of Ulead Video Studio if ya don't mind.
Happy capping.................Paul

 

Hi, well I tried the Ulead that ships with the plextor and although it offers more options than WinDVD Creator it slows my machine down to a snails pace. This happens when I open the program and just tinker around with settings I am not even using the program to do anything productive. Odd thing is I tried it on my spare machine and it does exactly the same thing. For now I will be sticking with GoCap and DVD lab, I have gotten used to the combo and like it alot. I usually burn the DVD image with Roxio media creator and havent had any issues after doing 25 tapes.

 

25 tapes and counting heh? That's great! Quality is actually not bad either right? More proof it can be done with a USB 2.0 device!
My tape count is approaching 40 with ~130 to go. (I can hear all those "pros" out there laughing at those numbers) Back off! Just a couple dudes here with full time jobs and all! Give us a break!

Kinda sucks about the Ulead s/w!! You are sittin on a 3.2 P4 and it SLOWS DOWN??!! Jeeesh, what's up with that? Doesn't sound very promising. Check Plextor.com? BTW- I haven't seen any GoCap or convertX drivr updates over there either.

Alright man, happy capping and don't forget to share your experiences and questions and what not.

 

Hello,
I to am new to the forum. Actually this is my first note on this forum. I have checked here often checking for info on the Plextor M402-U and the Canopus ADVC devices. I purchased a M402-u awhile ago and I had some trouble with it. Maybe someone can help.

First of all I have a Cicero computer. Gigabyte MO/BO. Intel P4 2.5 G CPU and 1GB ram. I have a brand new Emerson 4 head (19 micron head)VHS machine.

The problem I am having is this ...with my M402-U using GoCap or WinDVD my captures are real jittery. They are moving at the right top about 1/3 of the way down every 7 secs or so. The movies are home movies so no MV. I have tried to adjust the tracking but this just causes noise all over either way. I uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers. Now let me say that I have a Canopus ADVC-100. I capture, edit and save using Ulead videostudio 5 with the Canopus and all is ok. The Canopus device does not have a problem. If I import the .AVI files to make a MPEG 1 or 2 into WinDVD they stop and start and are just not smooth. I solved the problem by just not using the 402-U. I recently thought I'd give the forum a try to see if anyone has an idea for me????

Regards,
David

 

So many ways to skin a cat as they say. You have two capture devices. One allows you to capture as avi then encode to mpeg via software then author and burn to dvd. The 402 allows you to capture and hardware encode to mpeg then author/burn. Both will accept anolog playback it's just that their out put is different.
So let me get this right- what did you make the movies with? Lets assume a vhs camcorder. If so, you could use the camcorder as your playback device and hook it into the 402 or the advc. Have you tried this? That would tell you whether or not it is the vcr causing the problem. It sounds like a tracking problem.
Sorry, have to ask, you aren't using the 402 & advc at the same time are you?

The Canopus caps to avi but when you encode with WinDVD Creator to mpeg they do not playback very well? They encode with Ulead ok? The WinDvD Creator supplied with the 402 is designed to work with mpeg and AFAIK it does not handle avi very well and should not be used for that. So basically you are left with a choice of which route to take to get to dvd
1. The Canopus avi-> edit-> encode-> author-> burn.
2. The Plextor mpeg-> edit-> author-> burn.
The advantage of the avi route is more creative editing and control. The disadvantage is large storage space requirment, encode time and amount of time to final dvd.
The advantage of mpeg is less time to final dvd, smaller space requirements.
The disadvantage is less editing capability and less control.

Quality of final dvd is subjective and/or dependant on many variables.

Couple of things I'd try are- use the 402 with GoCap utility (free download from Plextor) and try a different playback device.

One other thing, GB-PVR is another free capture program that now supports the 402 but I have not used it. It's set up for primarily tv capture but could be used for tape.

 

I had the same problem with jittery video using the WinDVD that shipped with the unit. I also had a similar problem the one time I attempted to use Ulead, except it would jitter (wavy for lack of a better term) vertically. I have found using GoCap to capture eliminated these issues. Are you capturing to a dedicated hard drive and if not do you have alot of items running in the background? Also, check to make sure you are hooked into a USB 2.0 port, some motherboards have both 1.1 and 2.0 ports that are not the same.

 

Hello pfh,
Wow Thanx for the reply. Yeah two devices. I also have two ATI capture cards. One is a TV card and 1 is a 128 RAGE. Both are PCI and both had audio sync problems so I went over to external devices.

Back to the 402 problem..It looked like a tracking problem to me also. I adjusted the tracking on VHS and this causes noise all over so I know it isn't that. OK to ask ...Not using the ADVC and 402 at the same time. ADVC encodes with Ulead ok. The 402 is just too jittery, wavy.. what ever there is a problem. I understand the O/P modes of both devices. I have used GoCap it too is wavy. As you know GoCap won't open with ADVC. I didn't know that WinDVD doesn't like AVI. That's answers one question though. What do you mean different playback device. I use Windows media player. I'll try the GB-PVR and let you know.

Reagrds,
David

 

Hello alcoa,
Thanx for the reply. It is GoCap that is causing me trouble. Ulead seems to work ok. Go figure. Indeed I am using a USB 2.0 port. Wavy absolutely explains what I am looking at.

Regards,
David

 

By playback device I mean use your camcorder to play the tapes and hook it into either cap card. That is, if you've got a capable camcorder.

Also keep in mind that WinDVD and the Ulead that ships with the Plextor is programed specifically for the 402. The retail versions won't work- I've tried and they just freeze up. I wish I knew how to program.

There is suppossed to be new updates for the 402 this month according to the company rep. I've had contact with.

Now get this- last couple days my GoCap does not work but WinDVD does!! I think I messed up something with my codecs after using VDub to cap with the 402! I believe GoCap is stuck on using an improper codec for capture and fails to initialize but that's off the subject. A remove and re-install should fix.

I'll have to post back later- have to close for now upon further research.

 

Fixed my GoCap problem- I had inadvertantly changed the GOP size in the settings and therfore could not initialize the capture.

Getting back to the "wavy" problem. What's odd is the fact that your other capture devices don't exhibit the same problem. You might have a bad 402 unit. I did see one other poster on another forum that did in fact have a bad unit so I know it happens.

 

PFH, I know this isnt really relevant to the topic but do you know how to change format (screen size) on an existing DVD and also how to decompress a compressed image? Not even sure if this is possible or not.

 

alcoa- did you ever get Ulead VS working ok? Wonder if dworth got his problem fixed?

As far as decompressing- from what I've read, it's not something that can really be accomplished because of the nature of compression. Compressing a video to mpeg2 for dvd results in loss of info by basically throwing out the redundancy (theoretically). This lost info can not be reproduced by converting back or decompressing to the original. Ideally what we should do is make our dvds but also archive our vhs with the highest bitrate possible mpeg2 or avi for future encoding techniques that will no doubt surpass todays stuff. High def. is a few years out from mainstream but something to consider. This though would require A LOT of single dvd's ! There are those that store on hard drive but if you ask me, I wouldn't trust a hard drive for long term archiving- no way! They fail and are subject to magnetic data corruption.

On the aspect ratio thing I haven't personally done it but I have read a little. Not sure, but I think a 4:3 dvd captured as 16:9 just ends up as a stretched image unless there is 16:9 info already in the signal. Has something to do with "flags" in the vob header. I just rip 'em with Dvd Shrink or Dvd Decryptor and choose the one I want IF it has both. Changing the ratio during the encoding stage requires framserving your vid to an encoder with the correct filters applied and more time than I'm committed to at this point.