OK, first post and yes it is a cry for HELP.

I'm planning on purchasing Nero 9 if I can get around a few issues that I'm having with the trial version that expires on 01-25-2009.

I really have tried this on my own and I have 5 wasted dvd-r discs to prove that.

Here we go!

What I'm trying to do:
Convert vhs tapes to DVD

What I'm trying to do this with:

Computer-

Pentuim 4 1.8 ghz, 512 mb ram, 75 GB hard drive (47 gb free space or 25 gb free space after I capture a 2 hour video), Windows XP Home SP2, Nvidia 6600GT AGP x4 with 128 mb, SONY DVD RW DRU-840A, Adaptec Firewire1394 AFW-4300A LP UNIV HOST ADAPTER.

DV Camera-

Sony DCR-TRV 230 set to DV passthrough.

VCR-

Sony 19Micron newer but average everyday dvd/vcr combo

Software-

Nero 9 Trial Version (version 6.2.6.1) with the following video sttings: General settings at NTSC with SmartEncoding set to automatic. DVD-Video settings at Mpeg-2, Aspect ratio at 16:9, Sample format at progressive, Motion adaptive framerate conversion is checked, quality setting at 'Automatic (fit to disc)', Bitrate unselectable, resolution is at automatic, super resolution box is checked, Encoder quality fine speed is set to 100, Encoder mode is set to High quality (2-pass VBR) , Audio Format is set to Dolby Digital (AC-3)5.1

Issues that I'm having:

1) Very long encoding times @ 7 hours!!! (not including 2 hour capture time)

2) DVD looks good on 7 inch lcd screen personal dvd player, a little worse on a 13 inch crt tv, even worse on a 19 inch crt tv. However, the video looks like garbage (worse than VHS tape through analog cables) on my 37XBR6 Sony Bravia through Component cables.

HELP!

 

Since no one else has responded, I might say something. It looks like your computer does meet the minimum stadards for the system requirements. But if Nero doesn't have the extra assets it might use, it will take longer to encode.

When you say encoding times, I assume you are not counting the burn times?

The changes the encoding process has to make to the original video can also cause delays. I would suggest you try some different quality video files to see what settings might change the times required for encoding. I don't have Nero 9, but possibly the super resolution could affect this. I am not the expert, so I can't go into specifics, but the final quality of the video should not be much better than the original captured video. If you have more than one video, you can encode them separately and then burn them later.

 

1) The encoding times are what I would expect for a PC with your configuration.

2)I do not use Nero for VHS to DVD conversion, but I can tell you that whatever you use, it's a time consuming process.

I suggest that you look at some other tools.

There are lots of tools (free and pay) that are available for you to use.

I would suggest that you look at a free trial version of TMPGenc Express encoder and DVD Author 1.6. They are very easy to use. I use this to author my son's DVD from VHS and DV tape.