Thanks for the site. I don't care about a full disc either concerning cd-rs. As I have found out that since degradation can start in approx. 2 years when a cd-r will begin to degrade, I read somewhere that to prolong the life of said cd-r that one should notburn more than 500 mb onto a typical 750 or whatever it is cd-r thus prolonging the life of that cd-r because of the degradation starting from the outside in (and cds being written from the inside out). I will make sure to not install InCD or any of those other 2 packet writing softwares if I should happen to see them while installing RecNowMax and Nero. That Roxio site seems loaded. Hope I find out how to uninstall it Thank again friend. Oh I wasn't doubting what you were saying, I just thought it might give your funny bone a laugh to know how unprofessional some of these people at these sites can be. ( and their lack of knowledge about their own products). smg
Hey SMG, I tried to respond on the 6th., but was unable too. I was going to suggest that either NTI CD Maker or Pinnacle Instant Write might be your problem. More than likely its Pinnacle. That is probably the packet writing software giving you the problems your having trying to burn music cd's. Just go to add/remove programs and remove it. Then use explore and delete the program folder and all files for it. Sometimes when doing a uninstall it don't remove the program from the programs entry from the main start menu programs link. If not just click on start, programs and right click the Pinnacle entry and chose delete. That should remove it from there. If you go into the registry beware. You could do a find on pinnacle and look for any entries for Instant Write and delete those keys for it, but if you delete something you shouldn't you could screw up other programs that use shared files. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Hey alleng Thanks. I don't think I have either of those installed though. I have only seen that reference to Roxio when the cd writing wizard popped up with a couldnt finish the process etc. I do know though that the NTI does come on the Win cd as I was considering using it at one time when I discovered I couldnt make a complete music cd. I changed my mind after hearing about Nero and decided to give it a go instead. As usual neither NTI or Roxio of Pinnacle appear anywhere in the ADD/REMOVE programs (big surprise). I appreciate your help, maybe I have NTI or Pinnacle installed also but just can't see it anywhere. But thanks for that advice. I will dive into the Registry and see if any of those programs do appear anywhere in there. In the meantime I am going to learn how to use a program that drchips turned me on to (HijackThis). And when I feel confident enough, I will use it to see if I can't at least get rid of Roxio. smg
SMG, Like I stated it could be possible that either NTI or Pinnacle may be compiled by Roxio. My reason for believing this is your comment about seeing it in when the CD wizard pops up. Sonic MYDVD is for making Video CD's and DVD's, DirectX is needed for multimedia and Cineplayer 15 is more than likely for playback of VCD's or DVD's. The only other 2 applications you listed was Pinnacle which appears to be a packet writing software program and NTI CD Maker which I assume is for writing data and making audio CD's. When you check the registrey look for the NTI CD Maker. Like I said NTI might be wrote by Roxio for the burner manufacture of the burner you purchased. If thats the case Roxio won't show up in the registrey. Good luck and I hope your able to correct this. I also am a newbie still reading as much as possible before I attempt to back up my dvd's or copy my vhs tapes I captured off tv over the last 15 to 20 years, plus those I purchased. My last attempt to capture one had a jumpy screen througout the picture. Even though it played fine on my tv. I watched the movie while my pc was doing it's work. Let me know how this comes out. alleng1 _X_X_X_X_X_[small]alleng1usa[/small]
SMG, Also, as Jackie Chan's Uncle would say "One more thing". You probably should go to Windows Update and download the latest version DirectX9 for your O.S. alleng1
Thanks again alleng. I had planned on originally of transfering all of my vhs movies onto dvds, but after just a short while gave up on it as it seemed too confusing (I want all my dvds to be able to be played in a standalone player)and I couldn't decide which would be the best video card that didn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. But just trying to dig up an easy to understand guide and what was needed seemed beyond me. Can you tell me what card you plan to use and let me know if you are able to get the dvds to play correctly but also will they play in a standalone player correctly. I have at least 300 vhs movies that if I can ever find a good guide how-to, I might reconsider the whole idea if someone else has luck with it. Thanks again for that advice. I have downloaded DirectX9 and burnt it to a cd already (but have not yet actually installed yet as I am going to be doing another factory system restore before I do any dvd creating as I am also trying to find out if one should or should not MS Service Pack 1 installedwhen doing this dvd stuff. Apparently this one real smart guy thought one should mot have any Service Packs installed when dvd authoring (I think it was the guy from Doom9 but am not sure as I have been to so many places researching). So naturally I want to reformat and get it off my sytem first before I begin any dvd work. Please let me know how you are doing with your vhs to dvd project, as I might give it a try later on if you are successful. smg
Transfering VHS to DVD probably will require at least two discs per movie. When you copy a VHS tape to your hard disk it is in AVI format compression. When you decompress it into mpeg2 the resulting file is larger than 4.7 gigs.
Hiya Guys, Sophocles said: Not right, depends on the encoding. Not right, depends on the encoding. Admittedly, the initial captured file may be HUGE, but the output file from the encoder (TMPGEnc 2.5 for example) can be whatever size required. It is a tradeoff between Quality and Size by adjusting bitrates, encoding standard and other variables too numerous to mention. Think of it this way: 2 Hours of film on a DVD is acceptable quality. Using the correct tools, in a competent manner, it is perfectly possible to transfer a 2 Hour film from VHS to DVD with very little Quality loss. It is NOT QUICK, it is NOT SIMPLE, but it is perfectly within the bounds of achievable just using what is available to your PC. I have done it a number of times. If the DVD production house can get 2 Hours of film on a DVD at reasonable quality, I am DA*N SURE I CAN!! Have Fun...
Hi SMG & Drchips, SMG, from what I understand you have too have MS SP1 for WindowsXP installed in order for XP to work properly. Also you will have to reactivate it online with Microsoft. My system is a Abit KG7{non raid}, AMD 1400 TBird Processor, 1 Gig Crucial PC2100 DDR, 160 Gig WD Hard Drives {2-80's}, Phillips DVD+R/RW228 master, Memorex CD/DVDRom slave. My capture card is ATI AIW 9700 Pro w/128Mb's mem, Sound Blaster Audigy ll, 6.1 Creative Speaker System and Iomega Paralle Zip 100 and Visoneer 3300 Scanner. I captured a taped movie I edited out commercials from while taping. Total time approximately 92 minutes. I captured to: DVD High Mpeg2 Video 720x480, NTSC {525}, 6.00 M b/s. Audio 48,000 KHz, 16 Bit stereo The file size 4,192,448Kbs The picture appeared to be jumpy as if signal strenght was weak and being lost. That could be due to the fact my connection from my HDTV to the AIW is about 15 feet. It could also be due to the mode I set for capture. Since DVD I believe is 1:1 I also had dropped frames. The picture on my HDTV did not jump, but was not too good since I was using an amplified antenna for my signal input when all my VHS tapes were made. I have seen a number of posts that state one should capture to AVI Full Res and then convert using TMPGEnc. Another option is too capture too: Full Resolution Video 720x480, NTSC {525}, 7.20 M bit/sec Audio 44.100KHz, 16 bit stereo Like you SMG I am a total newbie too, I also have over 250 VHS tapes of shows with commercials edited out while recording that I want to convert to both DVD and VCD depending on size and time of show taped. Most tapes will end up on DVD, these are the 2 hour movies {Minus commercials} and the rest as VCD's {1/2 hour kids shows w/o commercials}. Good Luck with burning cd audio's SMG. DrChips, I noticed that you are quite knowledgeable in the area of DVD and VCD. Your posts and those of others I have read show that if one needs help they need look no further than the Afterdawn forum sight. I always find some information that is/or might be useful too me somewhere down the line as I learn a whole new field in backing up my tapes or dvd's. Thanks too people like you it makes the process that much easier in learning how to back up their valuable tapes and disks. God Bless and please continue to help out us newbies as we go through the learning process. It is very mucn appreciated. alleng1
Hiya Guys, alleng1, I thank you for the kind words, the people here (the majority anyway) are kindly folk, willing to help, and a thank you can go a long way. I think you are on the right sort of lines in trying to capture analogue video into your system. Might I suggest a few things: A lousy signal going into your capture device is a waste of time, improve the signal somehow (disconnect other devices etc.) Always try and capture at the HIGHEST POSSIBLE QUALITY that your system will support: the file you capture is the foundation for everything that follows, if the foundation is not of the best possible quality, the end result will not be of the best possible quality (once detail is lost, it cannot be regained). Your AIW 9700 is a good general-purpose card, but it is NOT designed for high-quality analogue capture, so you will have to help it along a bit. Your 1400 TBird is not really powerful enough, so you will have to help it along a bit. Everything else is fine. When you are going to capture analogue video, try and shut down as many processes as possible: Defrag your hard drives (both of them). Physically disconnect from the internet (unplug it even), this is because you will be shutting down any protection you may have. Shut down ALL firewall software Shut down AntiVirus. Shut down as much of the Creative support software as you can. Shut down every background and foreground process you can (without de-stabilising your system) - this will have to be a process of trial-and-error to see what works. Switch off the scanner. This will give your system the maximum resources (cpu cycles, ram and hard drive). You may have to experiment to see what the maximum quality you can capture is WITHOUT DROPPING FRAMES (dropped frames can manifest itself as audio synch problems later in the process). Be aware, it is easy to make problems for yourself with respect to audio synching, if you get it right at the beginning it is easier later on. Another thing to watch out for is the synchronisation of video capture and audio capture clocks (the graphics card and the sound card have timing clocks on them and if you work them too hard the clocks can start to wander out of synch). Those are just some of the reasons for maximising the resources of your system. Remember, you DON'T HAVE TO CAPTURE THE WHOLE FILM IN ONE GO, you can do it in multiple segments and join them later (that can minimise audio synch problems). It takes a lot of experimentation to learn what your systems maximum capability is, so stick at it and you will get there. Good Luck...
WOW Thanks alleng. I will leave Sevice Pack 1 installed then. You're sure right about drchips. Just in two days of reading his posts think I learned enough to equal at least a weeks worth of fumbling around thru different sites and threads. I used to have TMPGEnc (the freeware version) but I got rid of it when I read what the author said about the predictibility of the outcome being basically unknown (it all had to be trial and error). Now if I didn't have a house to maintain (and a huge garder during the spring thru fall seasons) I might have given it a try eventually. But I just don't have that kind of time. After what drchips said about those sync issues, I don't think I will be able to transfer my vhs to dvd. I mean sheeeeeesh everything is so damn complicated. I just haven't found a site yet where I can go to read up on this kind of stuff that is halfway easy to understand. But I still want to know how you get along on your end as maybe I might still consider it if I think it's possible for someone like myself. Thank you again. smg
Hiya back Drchips, I pretty much do everything you suggested right now. I close all app's running in my system tray. I pause task scheduler, close web capture, disable norton, close quicktime, exit remote control and am not sure yet how to exit the creative volumne control. The only thing that is really open is the ATI bar. I also had InCd installed but just removed it. I recently did a complete format and reloaded my system and hardware/software back on. To shut down my scanner I will need to boot up with my zip drive unplugged as both my printer and scanner are in paralle with it. My scanner don't have a on/off switch. I forgot to post my operating system in the post. I'm still running Win98SE. I'm not crazy about XP as I here it's a memory hog and have been debating either going to Win2000 upgrade instead of XP. What are your thoughts about running 2000 over XP? The quality of my VHS tapes I'm sure is not the best. As I told SMG they were all taped on a older TV with a NEC DX 1000U VHS which I do not use now. The record head is bad, however it will still playback fine. I also was using an amplified antenna for my tv video signal. Currently I have a Symphonic VHS for playing my tapes. My connection setup is like this. Amplified antenna to vhs rf in, rf out to 2 way splitter in. One out goes to my rf in on the HDTV {new, bought in september} and the other splitter out to my AIW video card rf connector. The reason for this is that there is only a composite out and a single audio out on the VHS. I would have to use a adapter spliter on the audio out to give me both a left and right audio signal to the HDTV. Is there a better way to hook this up? If so how? Also what would be the better capture setting for transfering my tapes to my HD? Should I continue to use the DVD High setting that I first used or use the full Res settings. Also I'm not sure if the full res settings capture as DVD or AVI. Would it be better to capture to AVI and then use TMPGEnc to reencode the file before burning? My version of Nero is 5.5.9.8 bundled. It came with my burner and I tried to find the firmware upgrade 1.51 on Phillips website as the firmware version currently is 1.13 and the upgrade is for support of the 4x media on the market. I tried a contact request on Phillips site inquiring about the firmware, but have not heard back from them yet. Also can I hook a VHS directly to my AIW using another VHS and amplified antenna directly on my pc or would I end up loosing my ability to watch my DVD's or tv shows on my new HDTV by doing that? I very much appreciate any and all help you can offer as I would really like to get this converting started and up & running. I feel that after all the information I've read on Afterdawn that I will not have as many problems that others are having. If one can find or get as much insight as possible before starting, one should be able too learn much more quickly without a lot of errors or problems. I look upon my time spent reading the many posts and responces here as research and valuable time being well spent. Thanks again for the tips and look forward to hearing back from you. Hey SMG, I will watch for your posts and keep you informed as to my progress. I'm sure that you can also transfer your VHS tapes to either VCD/SVCD or DVD. It's a lot like learning to walk when your a baby. All the tiny steps one takes continues to build the confidence one has when you learn to standup and take those first steps by oneself. Good luck and happy burning. Alleng1
Thanks alot Alleng1. I will be most interested to say the least in trying to decipher how you are doing it. I have heard though that the 3 best systems (windows wise that is) were 2000, XP Pro and trailing by 10 furloughs XP home. A friend of mine in the UK was going to send me a copy of his win 2000 until he found out I had dial-up. It seems I would be well under 6 feet of earth by the time I got all the files. He says the only reason he wasn't using it anymore was because he switched over to Linux (yeah he's only 16 and is already doing the complicated stuff) I can't help but wonder if he isn't related to drchips (no offense intended) the guy is smart smart smart. From all my months of reading I have found more positive things said about win 2K and XP Pro more than any other Win OS. But XP home is just riddled with problems. I found out (among other things that not only was the MESSENGER service enabled by default (not a good idea), but even worse in my opinion is that the Indexing Service is also enabled. Apparently when you have accumulated somewhere around 4 GB of space used by files, this Indexing service will then actually start corrupting certain files. I have found this to be true as before I disabled it I was always getting corrupted files and had a hell of a time burning any data cds. But only after disabling it, did I manage to burn data cds again with regularity. So I would definetly keep that in mind if you do go with XP Home. You (and I'm sure drchips) probably already know this, but I just wanted to be able to contribute something back in appreciation for the help you two guys especially have given me. I also discovered that if both my burners (cd and dvd) were enabled at the same time, I would get incomplete data burns. Only after disabling the dvd burner did that clear up. Anyway, thanks again to the both of you and to everyone else in here for their help. Very much appreciated. smg
I am using Windows XP Pro with 1 gig of CAS2 DDR3200 memory. XP Pro is required if you are using a P4 with Hyper Threading, Win2000 Pro or XP home won't work. WinXP Pro does require more memory but it is far more speedy and responsive too. Linux is great and I am running it on an older system. Where Linux becomes a problem is in software development it is difficult to impossible to find application that match those available on Windows but it is catching up.
Hiya Guys, Whooo... A few posts to consider, I shall deal with them in reverse order if you don't mind.. [bold]Sophocles;[/bold] A common misconception, but understandable. Windows 2000 and XP Home WILL work with Hyperthreading, let me explain further: For the purposes of THIS DISCUSSION ONLY, what I am about to impart will be as close to the truth as makes no difference, so, fellow techies, bear that in mind. Hyperthreading technology is Symmetric Multi-Threading, very akin to Symmetric Multi-Processing, the main differences being shared execution stages, shared cache and shared primary bus access. Windows 2000 is SMP capable, and as such is capable of handling Hyperthreading also, just not as efficiently as XP. This is due to the difference in agressiveness with respect to the thread-stop functions within the O/S - XP has a much more aggresive stance in that respect than Windows 2000 - when a thread (process) has reached a stall state (waiting for access to memory etc.) some of the resources allocated to that thread can be used for other threads that are not stalled, XP is more aggresive in forcing the stalled thread to relinquish its allocated resources than Windows 2000 (Windows 2000 waits a lot longer, in CPU terms, before releasing the resources). This is less of an issue in SMP (seperate processors) but can cause a SLIGHT performance DIFFERENTIAL in SMT (Hyperthreading). With the CORRECT set-up, you would find it difficult to NOTICE (the difference can be MEASURED) any performance difference between Windows 2000 and XP due to hyperthreading. XP Home has EXACTLY the same CORE TECHNOLOGY as XP Pro, and will handle Hyperthreading EXACTLY the same as XP Pro. What you are noticing is the APPARANT reduction in time to reach the point where you can interact with the system - this is MOSTLY due to the execution sequence differences between Windows 2000 and XP, XP prioritises the sequence to give you interaction quicker but STILL continues to load non-critical processes in the background - the TOTAL time to a full system load is APPROXIMATELY the same for Windows 2000 and XP. Most of the memory greediness of XP (compared to Windows 2000) can be attributed to the fancy, frilly additions. One of my SMP Windows 2000 workstations will boot to a complete system, ready to go, in just under 21 seconds from Hardware POST - how's that for quick!! Agreed. [bold]smg;[/bold] the Indexing Service exists in ALL Windows versions from Windows 2000 onwards, and is enabled by default in all - easy to switch off though. I think the file corruption problem attributed to Indexing was coincidental, the true culprit may have been elsewhere. Having to disable one or the other of your burners just to get a good burn is indicative that there is something wrong with your system, as ANY NUMBER of burners will co-exist quite happily in a system without having to go through that (subject to something being faulty, of course) - remember this: the problem you PERCEIVE may not be the real problem, beware of treating the symptoms and ignoring the cause. Service Pack 1 for XP is, in general, a Very Good Idea(tm). Don't give up on the TMPGEnc thing, it is a very useful program, especially in preparing files ready for DVD Authoring. Let me know when you have the time to start learning about it and I will gladly help, same for the VHS to DVD thing. [bold]alleng1;[/bold] If you want to avoid all sorts of problems (timing issues, file sizes, stability etc.) then I would STRONGLY suggest Windows 2000 (preferred) or even XP Pro, but you MUST have them up-to-date (Service Packs, patches etc.) Win98SE is not good for what you want to do. One other thing to watch out for: parallel device support in Windows 2000 and Xp, there have been problems with some devices (manufacturers not having 2000/XP drivers available), check support first. [bold] To both smg and alleng1;[/bold] The VHS to DVD question properly belongs in the Video Discussion area, I would suggest [bold]Video capturing from analog sources[/bold]. If you post the question there we would probably get some pointers from those that hang in that area but never wander in this area, furthermore, the problem being tackled there would be of benefit to them also. So, if either of you start a thread there, let me know (Private Message is Ok) and I shall join in and help. Have Fun you guys, and I will happily help you when you want (hopefully in the correct forum). Byeee... _X_X_X_X_X_[small]Life is just more of the same:[/small]
Drchips, Thanks for the heads up. I didn't realise I was posting this on the wrong forum thread. Since I was looking to backup most of the tapes {due to time and lenght} to DVD's I assumed this was the place to post. I will copy my two posts, the one listing my system setup and the second one you just responded to on the Video capturing from analog sources forum. I appreciate all the help you gave me and hopefully they will be able to enlighten me as to the best way possible to accomplish what I'm looking to achieve. I will copy your responce on my first post to keep for remainders in case I ever need it when I get lost. Thanks also for the headsup about Win 2000 vs XP. I will look into purchasing it. Can you answer a question though as to what you think would be better? Getting the full blown version or getting the upgrade version? I was going to try a multiboot system when I put this one together. I did find all the drivers for my hardware under Win 2000, but not under XP. Also would I have too reinstall my 98SE if I ever have to reformat and do a complete install if I get the upgrade or does it ask me to insert my OEM 98SE for verifacation when reinstalling the upgrade version? Thanks again Drchips and look forward to receiving help from you again once I start backing up my DVD's. Alleng1
alleng1, rule-of-thumb: NEVER BUY OR USE an upgrade O/S. ALWAYS use the full jobbie. ALWAYS do a clean install. NEVER mix Operating Systems on the same disk. WHEREVER POSSIBLE, avoid dual-booting. The best bet is a hard drive switching unit, where the system can boot from EITHER one drive OR the other. The benefits are: each O/S is unique. if one O/S gets screwed (virus, faulty power, faulty hardware, silly mistake etc) it does not take out the other one. each O/S can be customised for specific tasks (98 for games, 2000 for serious stuff etc...) The drawbacks are: needs one drive for each O/S. if you want to share data between the different O/S's you need a third drive. the hard drive switching unit costs between 30 and 50 dollars US. When you start a thread in the other forum, give me a call. Byeee....
Right again drchips (was my fault for extending the subject on vhs). By the way I did a factory Restore Backup so as to start from scratch and see if that might solve my music burning problems. I reinstalled XP Service Pack 1 from the disc I bought from Microsoft (although it did fail to install a "Helpsvc.EXE") file. But everything else seemed to install as I got a Install was Successful at the end and restarted windows to finish it. Thank you very much for the offer to help with TMPGEnc. I guess I will redownload it again as your offer to learn how to use it is too tempting too pass up. I always have a small problem though when I go there to get it. I am not sure if I am getting the free version or not (I can't really afford the paid version). But when I downloaded it a few times before I got 2 different versions (one was a zip version and the other one wasn't and they both were of a different file size but the difference was very smal). Might I ask which one is the right (free) version as the sight is rather difficult in getting it to begin with (I know it's me)? I will also want to learn also on how to get my vhs onto dvds. Thank you both very much again. I will go get TMPGEnc now and download both and wait till I hear from drchips which is the free version. I know cheap cheap cheap. lol I have bought DVDXCOPY and DVD Squeeze and DVD2ONE and RecordNowMax and Nero Burning ROM. I have to stop spending money like a drunken sailor if I expect to get a pump installed on my well this spring. smg
alleng1, if you are going to use 98SE (either dual-boot or milti-boot) and you are thinking of a faster CPU at some time, you should also take a read of this thread: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/58316 Byee...
