VHS Tapes to DVD

Thanks Minion, I learned a lot from your posts. Thank you for your nice job.

 

 ... I've posted this in different threads, but I'll do it for your benefit here, because I think it's the easiest way to preserve old VHS tapes ... Go to Sam's Club and buy a Lite-On LVW-5101 set top DVD recorder ... Sam's has this one for a tick under $140, which I think is a real bargain ... Go to http://www.samsclub.com and search for LVW-5101 ...

 ... and it even has a front firewire port ...
_X_X_X_X_X_[small]                        
  
 . . . Of all the things in my life that I've lost . . . . . I miss my mind the most . . .[/small]

 

Dear catfreak.

So you're suggesting that its ?better/?economical to use a stand-alone DVD Recorder to transfer analogue video onto DVD. I presume the transcoding is done by the DVD Recorder. I presume that I can then use the PC to edit etc. and burn the final DVD product. Am I correct in these assumption? That would definitely be great.

However, can I ask what the quality of the capture is like compared to something like the Canopus ADVC-100 or ADVC-55?

I also read in another forum that these DVD Recorders can be a pain to use and are not too reliable or had poor quality reproductions.

Please advise.

Thanks.

 

 ... I'm not sure if it is more economical or better to use a stand alone DVD recorder to transfer VHS to DVD ... but it the easiest ... I don't really know much about the LVW-5101 machine ... I have a LVW-5005 and I've successfully transferred dozens of VHS tapes to DVD using the machine ... I suggested the LVW-5101 because the Lite-On brand has always done me just fine ... AND the price of the LVW-5101 is almost $100 less than anything else ... As far as editing ... I've been editing the VHS tapes "on the fly" as I transfer them onto DVD ... If you want you can take the DVD from the recorder and load it onto your computer and do with it as you wish ... I use DVD Decrypter to load them on my CPU and have used ArcSoft ShowBiz2 and Windows Movie Maker to play around with (they came with my Windows XP O/S) ... Then burn with DVD Decrypter back to another DVD ... I suppose you could burn the VHS to a DVD+RW then write it to your HD thereby saving a disc ...

 ... As far as the quality of the capture ... You got me there ... I've never used ADVC-100 or 55 so I can't really tell ... I do know that there is no difference between the quality of the VHS tape and the copy I've been making with my LVW-5005 ...

 ... Also one other advantage of the "set top" recorder ... It can be used as a digital VCR ... That's most of the use that I give mine ...

 

Hi all,just stumbled across this great forum so signed up ............i am having problems transfering analogue to dvd since i bought my writer, i have tried heaps of things but always come up against another problem, first i will tell you my setup.
Athlon 2500+
1 gig ddr400
2 x 40ata133hd (for c drive and dedicated capturing)
leadtek a310td (fx5600 vivo)
i don't need perfect quality video, but i do need it to work on a DVD which i am having trouble with.
ok ......i capture using winfast pvr as mpeg2 (tried dv aswell) captures fine then use dvd lab to author it , but it says it has a GOP size problem ? so i try pinnancle studio 8 i add effects etc then then to dvd (using the same captured mpeg2) it fails before actually burning the dvd. i tend to think my mpeg2 capturing is dodgy ? it plays and looks fine but i noticed the bitrate on a 36 minute clip is 6006 not 6000 as it should be ? is that my problem ? ohhh if i do a short clip its fine doing it the way i stated.
i used to capture to mpeg1 and make vcd but now i have a dvd writer i thought .......... nothing is ever easy is it

 

oh my dvd writer is a sony Dru700A but i dont get that far so that can't be my problem ?

 

damn i keep remembering things after i click reply lol ........... i have tried windvr3 as a capture device aswell but the sound is shocking even though the settings seem to be ok? could i capture in WM9 using movie maker then burn to dvd ?

 

Just use the Capture software you were useing before but going into the settings and shorten the GOP length and then you will not get a GOP size error in DVDLab...

In Windvr 3.0 you can adjust the Sound so it isn"t so "Shocking" as you say....

This really is not a very hard thing to do especially if you are captureing to Mpeg2....

You can also author VCD"s to DVD just make sure the audio is at 48000hz and you shouldn"t have any problems and you can fit 6 to 8 hours on a DVD in VCD Format....

 

Again sorry if u guys did not understood me
but iam trying to tranfer a VHS tape tht the format is pal i got it home now and it wont show video picture but i can hear the sound is thr a way to overide tht
thx

 

Firstly can your VCR Properly Play Pal VHS tapes because not all can....

Also can your Capture Card Capture from a Pal Signal??

 

Thanks for that minion, but in the settings for winfast pvr there is no GOP setting ? is it the video quality i need to turn down ? i capture it as a preset DVD PAL format - mpeg2 720x576, video quality 333 and target data rate 6000kbps.i live in a PAL area (new zealand)so everything i have is PAL.

 

No it is not a Quality setting...Well if it doesn"t have a GOP setting and the Captured files have too long of a GOP then it makes the Program pretty Damn Useless....

In My experience InterVideo WinDVR 3.0captures some of the best Quality mpeg2 Files.. and if you can capture with it then you should because it has setting for the GOP which you can adjust if you get an error authoring the Captured file to DVD....

If the Volume is too loud when you capture with WinDVR then first adjust the "Line In" volume in the Windows Audio settings ,and then if it is still too loud then turn the audio way down in the WinDVR Device settings...You can also enhance and normalize the audio after Captureing by useing a audio editor like GoldWave or Sound Forge.....

The MainConcept Encoder also has a very good Mpeg and AVI Capture module built into it that produces very good quality and there are a few others that are good and have GOP controlls but not many....


Cheers

 

yes i guess the capture software that Leadtek give you wouldn't be the best , i will give win dvr3 another go as your tips on the sound are good , it does sound like it is capturing the volume way to high so distorting it and sort of sounds like it is playing to loud through crap speakers ........ i will lower the line in volume etc. Thanks heaps, i will tell you how i get on with the sound and then a decent length capture (GOP size problem)

 

I am attempting to convert VHS tapes to DVD, as it appears most are in this thread. I can get my video onto the hard drive in MPEG or Video_TS formats. I can make a DVD and play the MPEG on the computer, not on a DVD player. I can play the Video_TS on the computer but the audio is all screwed up. Any suggestions on how I can get the video from the hard drive to a playable DVD would be appreciated. By the way, the computer is a DEll Dimension APS with 2 megs of ram. The capture program I am using is AVerMedia DVD EZMaker. I have tried using the DVD create program that came with this program and Roxio Easy DVD Creator 6.0. Same results.

 

Hi all,

I have several home made movies on VHS cassettes, which I wish to copy to DVD. I also have a video card that
allows me to record straight from the Video player into an mpeg file. So far so good. However, the mpeg file
generated is too big (the source cassette is 3hrs long) and wont fit on a DVD (i dont have a DL burner).
This clearly is too long. I could split it into 2 dvd
disks, but would like to avoid it if possible.
I had a look at nero recode/vision express, but it tells me the quality would be too low.
Surely there's a way as I can see many DivX, Mpeg and SVCD movies which are full length but do not occupy a complete DVD space. Sure the quality is lower than the
original, but still good enough to watch, and the
source, in my case comes from a VHS movie - the quality
there cannot be too good in the first place.

Also, if possible, I would like to minimise the number
of steps required to accomplish this. I realise this is
not going to be a one step thing, but the less the better.

Any help and ideas would be very w

 

 ... You can try using DVD Shrink .. it should easily compress a 3hr movie to fit a 2hr disc .. and if you use the 'deep analysis' option, you shouldn't lose much quality-wise ... Good Luck to you ...

 

You can put 3 Hours on a DVD no problem you just have to capture at a Lower DVD resolution and Bitrate....

If you capture at 352+480 and at 3100kbs for Video and 192kbs for audio then the Captured Mpeg file will fit on a DVD No problem and the quality will be about SVCD Quality......

Cheers

 

Thanks for your help minion , the sound is now good capturing using windvr3 so i captured a 30 minute clip at the preset dvd pal (7200 bitrate i think it was)and the picture and sound are great, but now when i use DVD lab it won't open the file if i demultiplex, it will do its thing in quick mode without demultiplexing but something must be wrong ? Its not as easy as the programs say to transfer a vhs or hi8 to DVD ........it will be worth it if i ever get it working

 

I am still having trouble with my Leadtek winfast xp/2000 deluxe tv/tuner card. I can't get any audio. I played with the settings in Winfast and nothing worked. I followed the directions in hooking up the tuner to sound card still to no avail. I have an Creative SB audigy Platinum Pro soundcard I have an I/O Hub I dunno what else to try. Thanks

 

You have to go into your Windows Audio device settings and enable the Audio port you are trying to Capture from (Line-In or Mic) and adjust the volume for that Port.....