Ehhh...I don't understand why first go to VHS, if he can get it from VHS to CD he can also do that directly from 8mm... By first going to VHS you are loosing quality. MPEG-1 is for VCD which is definitely lower quality than DVD. Please read the basic articles at http://www.digitalvideoclub.com Also, I suggest you also subscribe to the forum over there. I will be able to help you further from there as well.
"Ehhh...I don't understand why first go to VHS" Because I have 12 tapes of 8mm, and just want to pick certain bits from all of them. I realise Im probably going to lose some quality here, but it just seems the easiest way forward. I am trying to make the process for my friend as easy as possible. Should he be able to copy from the VHS video in DV_AVI to his pc ? If so , what software does this . (I dont know what he has , but can find out).
Capture cards are not very expensive. I've seen Kworld and Avermedia hardware mpeg encoder cards for about $60 US. (newegg.com) They encode composite video or S-video (both analog) at up to 12Mb/s bit rate. Some of these cards are popular with Windows Media Center Ed 2005 which is a PC with a PVR function. Software encoding is far too slow.
Can anybody suggest a good cheap card I can buy here in the UK ? And do they come with the relevant software, or will Windows Movie Maker see the port on the card anyway ? Cheers.
My local pc shop has 'recommended' a digital card to me - the MSI TV Anywhere. I can get one cheaper than from him, but want to know is will it do what I want / is it any good ? Also , in the room next to my pc I have a TV on which I have a cable going into it that allows me to watch Terrestrial and Sky. If I put a splitter on the cable and then run a cable into this video card , will I be able to watch Sky on my pc ? The shop said no, but a website selling pc stuff said yes.
You are mixing up two types of cards. Analog capture card: these cards accept video signal over composite or S-video connection (e.g. originating from a VCR or camcorder) and digitize it. More and more video graphics cards (to which you connect your monitor) these days now also have an analog input. TV-card: you can directly connect an antenna cable. The card contains a tuner (usually for both TV and radio) and, using software that comes with it, you can select which channel to watch. TV cards in many cases also have an composite or S-video connection so they can also be used to capture form analog sources like VCR or analog camcorders. I guess the MSI TV Anywhere is in this category. TV-cards are usually around $50 and the price is more determined by the software that comes with it than the hardware. Dedicated analog capture cards are availabe in a wide range of prices depending if they have other connections like Firewire, DV conversion, hardware MPEG-encoding or real time video editing support functions. So, for selection of what to buy you first should think about what you want to do. Only capture? Go for a decent capture card. Make sure that the cards allows you to capture in a compression format that you want. Select one that allows you to use any VFW codec. If you wnat real good quality go for one that has DV conversion. Also want to watch TV? Get a TV card from one of the well known brands, like Pinnacle. Be aware that the quality for analog capturing can be less. You want to boost your grpahics performance of your PC (for example for gaming) replace your existing graphic card for a better one with analog input. Final note: my preferred method is still to use a DV camera with pass through capability to capture analog material...
TPFKAS - Thanks again for your reply. I wish it was as easy as borrowing a camera for thru-put, but mine doesnt do it , and I dont know anybody who can lend me a camera to try this (as it may take me a while to copy my tapes anyway). I can create a VHS tape for a friend, who could copy it to DVD for me , but I want to then copy it back to my pc to edit etc. I just wonder how easy that could be , seeing as he wouldve just made one big almost continuos film ? I have only started to go along the TV card route, as it seems I may as well spend a similar , or slightly more amount, and get the facility to get a TV (and Sky?) signal as well as being able to capture my Analogue stuff. Before I pop off to PC World to see what products they can offer (tho Im sure I can then buy them online cheaper) , can I please ask for some more advice... I noted from the Digitalvideoclub help page, it mentions making sure the card has a sound port to ensure you dont get out of synch. Is that the connection that would be labelled 'audio input' (phono type socket?) Do you have to use the software supplied , to capture the info from the tape, or can you use WinMovie Maker for example (as I use that with my firewire - and yes, I know, its not the best). If you have to use the supplied s/w , how can I tell in advance if it captures in AVI for example ? Can you recieve Sky digital pictures thru this typr of card ? (MSI TV anywhere). I have one aerial type cable that plugs into a TV near my , that carries Terrestrial and SKy pictures. And finally (Esther) , if anybody has done this type of copying , and would be kind enough to supply us with the cards /methods they may have used I would be most grateful. If anybody has used this paticular card for this type of copying any reviews of the card in general would be great. Thanks in advance .
Yes. In most cases you will be able to use other software to capture. The thing to look at is if the card uses DirectShow drivers. If this is the case you can capture in any codec installed on your system. It is not a digital tuner so you cannot receive digital TV with it. You would need to put your digital receiver in between the incoming cable and the card somehow (but again, I don't have personal experience here). Normal cable or antenna signal (analog) is OK. I have been reading that the card has problems capturing stereo through its own audio port and that it is not very good at capturing in AVI-formats at high resolution.
TP - Thanks once again for the prompt replys. I feel like Ive been trying to sort this for ages, but Im just trying to think of anything that I might use in the future , rather than just have to spend money on something I'll never probably use again. My friend gets Sky thru his pc , so I'll see if how he does this. Is it that the MSI card is analog , but other cards are digital ? The reviews you have read , are they on the net, or did you just read it 'somewhere' ? Cheers again. This is a nice relief from trawling thru job websites , which Im having to do currently :-(
Wow - Im still hanging in there. A friend now tells me he has a Sony DCR-TRV80 MiniDV. I have checked the full spec on Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009KYHY/qid%3D1122670104/202-8185315-1982253 ) and it mentions "analog to digital conversion with pass through" , and "dv input". Does that mean it can do pass through ? If so , I guess I have to get a cable as mentioned at the top of the thread... to save me going round lots of shops to find one , does the cable have a name as such ? Thanks in advance
Yep, it means it can do analog-digital conversions with a driect pass-through. And yep, you need a cable as mentiond in the top of the thread. Just take both camcorders to a store where they sell this type of stuff and they will know what you need...
