VHS Tapes to DVD

Minion,

I've been reading through this post and your comments have been very educational, though I must admit my head is swimming with all the information. I am hoping you can help me with my situation.

GOAL: Creating a digital sign language "dictionary/linguistic reference guide" using clips (generally 1 min or less in length) from various VHS videos to DVD. Also need to be able to preserve all clips to viewed on a computer (plan to store them on an external hard drive). This project consists of 7,000+ clips and the number increases daily as new source material becomes available. There is no need for audio on this project though I also eventually will want to use my knowledge to backup my VHS home videos as well.

MY PITIFUL ATTEMPTS SO FAR: I purchased a Dazzle Hollywood DV Bridge and used composite cables to capture the video clips (captured as AVI files then compressed as MPEG-1 to store on computer after clipping the AVI file) using MGI Videowave 4. My system is a Sony VAIO PCV-RX470DS. Pentium 4 1.5Ghz 400 MHz Front Side Bus 128 MB PC-800 RDRAM(expandable to 512) 60GB Ultra ATA/100 4xAGP nVidia GeForce2MX w DVI interface. CDRW drive (no DVD burner yet) running Windows ME

MY PREVIOUS PLAN: To buy the new VAIO 430G w/ GigaPocket and DVD Burner. After stumbling across this website, I think I would be better off taking the $1500 and trying to upgrade what I have or consider a custom built computer. (my preference is to upgrade what I have if cost-effective).

MY DILEMMA: I don't know where to start. From what I've read so far, I obviously will need to invest in a DVD burner (I prefer multi-format but have no preference other than that), better capturing hardware (it seems Canopus ADVC-100 is the favorite), (wondering if I should invest in a VCR w/ S-video output), capturing software (posts seem to suggest Virtual-Dub), an MPEG encoder, and ??????
I am a definite newbie and would like some very high quality solutions that could be explained simply enough with my limited expertise. If any more info is needed, let me know. I hope you can help me out.
Thanks!

 

Well If you have $1500 to spend and your Goal is to get a Good Capture device with software and to upgrade your PC to a system more suited to Video Editng/Capture then you can get yourself a pretty Nice Setup...
You could Upgrade to a P-4 3.06ghz 800mhz FSB CPU and Motherboard for about $400 Plus another about $75 for 512mb of DDR ram and a Good heatsink for another $30, Then it would be good to get a second Large Harddrive because Video files have Use a Lot Of Space (External drives are More expensive and are not ideal for Video capture because the Bandwidth of ATA/133 or SATA is Much Greater than a USB2.0 or Firewire port),
You can get a 200gb Seagate 8mb Cache 7200rpm drive on Tiger Direct for $99 right now and they also have Dual Format 4X DVD Burners for $79 but a New 8x times Burner might be good also which are about $125...
You will be able to recoup some of the Money from the PC by selling your Current P-4 1.5ghz CPU and Motherboard...
After getting something like this you would Have One of the Fastest PC"s on your Block and still have about $800 Left over for a Good Capture Device...
The ADVC-100 Is a Good device but not the Best Quality device that Canopus Has in this Class of Analogue/Digital converter, They Have a ADVC-1000 and it Produces Broadcast Quality Video But also Costs about $2500...
The Best Device in your Price Range would be Either the ADVC-300 or the ACEDVio, the way the ADVC-300 differs from the ADVC-100 is it uses Digital 3D Noise Removal and Digital Line Filtering and Image Stabilization which really improoves the Quality when useing Old VHS Tapes..
These sell for about $500 were the ADVC-100 is about $250..You can read up on all of Canopuses High Quality capture devices Here :
http://www.canopus.us/US/products/ADVC300/pt_advc300.asp
There are also Other Devices that will Do simular Things as the ADVC-100 ,As the ADVC-100 is an external Firewire device there are also Internal Devices that do the same thing and some are even a little cheaper than the ADVC-100 Like the ADVC-50 or the ADVC-55 or what I am thinking about getting next which is the Canopus ACEDVio, which does basicly the same thing as the ADVC-100 but it is internal but is also a Video editing Card so you can Use a TV set to Preview the Video Before Rendering so you Know how it will look on TV because Monitors do not display Video Correctly or Not the way TV sets do..You can get a Package with the Canopus ACEDVio and either Adobe Premier Pro 7 with Adobe EncoreDVD and Adobe Audition or with Vegas Video 4/DVD architect for about $550, These Software Packages alone Cost More than that without the Hardware so it is a Fairly good deal and it is Profecinal Quality Editing and DVD authoring and Mpeg and Dolby digital encodeing Software which will do everything you need Because you can not use these Devices with Virtual-Dub..I would recomend the Vegas Video Package over the Adobe Premier Pro Package but that is Just me some Poeple Like Premier More But It doesn"t come with Dolby digital Encodeing Like Vegas does but then again Encore DVD is a better DVD authoring program so it is Just a Matter of Choice..You can check out the ACEDVio Card Here :
http://www.canopus.us/US/products/ACEDVio/pt_ACEDVio.asp
Most of the Prices I Quoted were from selling prices that I have seen on ebay Recently, You could same some money and not go for a P-4 3.06ghz because they are still pretty expensive compared to some other systems ,Like I just Picked up to upgrade my Mothers PC a Intel 2.7ghz CPU with a Motherboard for $150, or you can get a Athlon XP 2800+ and Motherboard for about $175-$200 ,But the 3.06ghz HT CPU would be a Good one...
Well This is what I have to say about what I would do if I were in your Boat,if you have any more Questions Feel Free to ask...Cheers

 

I am new to the video capture scenario, & I have been capturing video using ATI AIW 9000 Pro & saving to HD in Mpeg2 format & then importing the file into Roxio DVD Creator to encode & burn to dvd. This method is ok for home movies & some vhs movie backups. However, when the movie is more than 110 minutes in length, Creator doesn't compress it enough to fit onto a dvd. Same problem with Pinnacle Studio 8. My research into DVD X Maker indicates that it can't accomodate longer length movies either. I have adjusted the capture quality in an effort to reduce the file size, but it still isn't enough. My question is, what is the advantage in saving in AVI & then converting to MPEG instead of saving in MPEG format in the first place? If I am already saving in mpeg format, can I just use Shrink & Decrypter to burn to DVD?

 

Well Your First problem is you are Useing Roxio..And after you capture to Mpeg2 you do not need to Compress it because Mpeg2 is the Format On DVD"s...And so that the Movie fit"s on a DVD you have to Use the Correct Bitrate...All you need to do is Get a Simple DVD authoring Program that does NOT compress, and then Capture your Mpeg2 files useing a Low enough Bitrate so that the Captured file is Under 4.3gb after captureing and all you have to do is Load that captured file into the DVD authoring Program and author it to DVD without Re-encodeing because this just serves to Lower the Final Quality of the DVD....

 

I believe that the last movie I attempted to copy was @ a bit rate of 8 mbs (video) & 192 kbs (audio) & I ended up with a 5+ Gb file. It was a 2+ hour movie. Do you have any suggestions for an authoring program? Thanks for your help.

 

The authoring Program I use for most Basic DVD"s is Called "DVD Lab", It is easy to use and Has Lots of good features...You should also get a Bitrate calculator so you can Calculate the Bitrate needed to get X Number of Minutes on a DVD-R...A 2 Hour Movie will Need a Bitrate of about 4875kbs with 192kbs Audio which will Give you a File of about 4.3gb which will fit on a Regular 4.38gb DVD-R....Cheers

 

Minion,

Thanks! Awesome advice. As a newbie, of course there are more questions.

Assuming I create the suggested system, (w/ 3.0gHz processor, 512mb DDR RAM, heatsink, 200gb drive, dual-format 8x DVD burner, Canopus ACEDvideo w/ Vegas Video4) my questions are:

1. Are there any problems in trying to upgrade a VAIO? I tried to find info about adding USB2 and there was something on the Sony website that seemed to suggest it wasn't possible with my model.

2. What software would I be using to capture?

3. What exactly is the Vegas software used for?

4. What do I use as a MPEG encoder? I read things online about TMPGEnc and Main Concept, but am unsure if Vegas can carry out this function.

5. Does the Canopus ACEDvideo have the same ability as the ADVC-100 to disable Macrovision Protection?

6. Will I need/benefit from a VCR w/ S video output?

7. Do I need Windows XP?

8. After creating my "perfect capturing machine", could you explain the step by step process I would use? I will write what I understand so far and you can fill in any blanks or correct any misunderstandings I have so far. This may end up answering questions 2-4.

A. Connect my VCR to computer via the ACEDvideo capture card using ??(Svideo or composite cable)?

B. Capture using ??? software (From what I read it seems I should capture to full resolution AVI using Huffy UV codec)

C. Do minor editing(mostly beginning and end clipping) in Vegas Video 4.

D. At some point I need to save a backup file of each edited clip for optimum flexibility in my project. (I will be burning and reburning DVDs as the clips in my DVD will be continually changing and updated)

(this is where the process gets really fuzzy as I have never created a DVD before)

E. Encode the edited AVI clip to MPEG-2 format.

F. Create my menu and titles for DVD (is that what authoring is?)

G. Burn to DVD.

Thanks again for your great advice so far, if you could continue to clarify this process, it would be great!!

 

Well I don"t See why it wouldn"t be Possible to Upgrade your Vio, well after you upgrade it it will not be a Vio anymore...You basicly have to make sure that the Motherboard you get Fits in your Vio Case, I don"t Know what Size cases a Vio uses But if it has 5 or more PCI Ports then it is Probably your Basic ATX case which Most if not all Motherboards will Fit in...
I don"t think The ACEDVio has a Method for removeing Macrovision but a $30 Video stabilizer will Cover that..If you end up getting a Video stabilizer then I do not think that they have S-Video Inputs(Some might but the Ones I have Tried didn"t) so you getting a VCR with S-Video might not be as usefull...The ACEDVio is an Analogue Digital converter than Compresses the Video signal On the Card useing a Hardware DV Encoder Chip so the Video will be Transfered to your PC in DV AVI format so there is no need to Use any Codecs for Capture, The DV AVI Format is the Format used in Digital Camcorders and is one of the Highest Quality formats there is, Starwars Attack of the Clones was shot Entirely in DV Format so the Quality can theoreticly produce Quality close to Film, You won"t get that Type of Quality from VHS Tapes But the Quality will be about as good as it can get captureing from VHS...The Software Package that comes with ACEDVio which is Vegas Video 4/DVD Architect is probably the Only software you will really need..Vegas Video 4 with Capture the Video in DV Format and then you can use it to edit your Footage and add Transitions and effects and Titles and then it can encode your Project to Mpeg2/DVD and encode the Audio to Dolby Digital AC3 and Once you have your project rendered to a Mpeg2 Video File and a Dolby digital Audio file you Load the Files into DVD Architect to add Chapters and Menu"s and author the DVD..So the Software Package will Do Pretty Much everything that you will need from Captureing to Editing and encodeing and Finally Createing the DVD...
So the Work Flow is sort of Like this, You Hook your VCR up to the ACEDVio Card or to the Video Stabilizer then to the Capture Card, Then you Run Vegas Video and go to the Capture Module and start Recording, The Files will be stored on your Hard drive somewere, after captureing the Footage you Close the Capture Module and then Open the Captured DV-AVI files into Vegas Video and do your editing and Transitions ECT, after you have everything the Way you Like it on the Timeline, Meaning you have everything arranged the way you like it then you Render your Project to Mpeg2/DVD, after doing that you will Have to render the project again But this time to Dolby digital AC3(It is stupid but they can not be done at the same time) The Dolby Encodeing will Only take a Few Minutes But the Mpeg2 encodeing will take a few Hours depending on the Length of the Project..Vegas Video 4 uses a Built in version of the Mainconcept encoder so the Quality is Pretty Good..After you have your Mpeg2 and AC3 Files then you Load them both into DVD architect and set up your Menu"s and Chapters and Finally Create(Author)the DVD....You also gotta realize this could take you quite a while to learn how to do ,There are a Lot of Complex Concepts with Digital video to understand before you really know what you are doing so it is good if you enjoy this type of stuff cuz there will be times were you are Scratching your head wondering what to do or what went wrong so it can at times be Frustrateing but once you understand how the Software and Hardware works together then it should be Smooth sailing...well I hope this Info helps, if you need anymore help let me know...Cheers

 

Great! My brother builds custom computers so he said he could build me a new one based on the specifications you gave me. Is there any preference for video card and/or sound card? Thanks again. Can't wait to get it and start!

 

No there are no Special considerations when Picking out a Sound Card and Video Card accept get at least a 64mb Video card and a Sound Card that is Not integrated on the Motherboard But this should not affect the Quality of the Video you Produce as the Audio Will be captured through the Capture device instead of through the Sound Card like most Analogue Capture devices do, Which is good because useing something like the ACEDVio will Lock the audio and Video together at the Time of Compression so there is no chance of Sync problems Like you get with Most Analogue Capture cards...I would suggest you Get most of your stuff off of Ebay from Reputible Sellers because you will Save a LOT of Money, and Most Of the Prices I quoted you were Prices I found on Ebay...If you need any Help at any time you can allways PM me with your e-mail address and I can get back to you which might be quicker than Posting messages Here.....Cheers

 

Minion,

Tried sending a PM and didn't work.. the To: box wasn't working...

Anyways, I am almost ready to start. I ended up purchasing a VAIO rs420 as a base model:
2.8GHz Pentium 4, 800 FSB, 512 RAM, 120GB HD, DVD+/- Recorder, Windows XP. I will be adding an additional 200GB HD, and the ACEDvio card(which I purchased with the Vegas software).

My questions now are:
Where can I get a good bitrate calculator?

What is the best burning software? (I own Roxio but have read many negative reports on it). I was thinking of getting Exact Audio Copy for my Audio files, but am unsure which software to use for burning DVDs. Is DVD Decrypter a good option? Or should I look for a single software that can give me good quality for MP3encoding and DVD burning? Any opinions?

If I later decide to get a video stabilizer, what do I look for to choose a good one and where is the best place to get one?

Thanks again.

 

Hi, Well it looks like you got a Good System ,But there was no need to spend all that money for a Sony Name as you Can build the Same PC for about 60% of the Price of a VAIO..If you got the Vegas Video/DVD Architect Package then you will not need anything for Burning your Authored Files to DVD because "DVD architect" is used for that, Cuz after encodeing to Mpeg2 you Don"t Just Burn the File to DVD it has to Be authored with Menu"s and Chapters and Formated into a Video_TS folder then gets Burned to DVD and that is What DVD architect Does..I personally do not use it as I found it Far to complex to use but need it isntalled because it adds Mpeg2 encodeing a Dolby Digital Encodeing to Vegas Video 4, I usually author most of my Basic DVD"s useing "DVD-Lab" and something like "Sonic DVD producer or Sonic ReelDVD" for the More Complex Stuff...For a Bitrate Calculator you can download a Free one on this Page :
http://www.gallen.de/dvd/powerbit_en.html
As for a basic Video Stabilizer you can find them for about $20-$30 on Ebay...Well You have a Long road of Learning ahead of you because these aspects of Digital video and editing are Quite complex, I went to school for 2 years to learn Digital Video editing but that was in a Profecinal Studio Enviroment...well good Luck...Cheers

 

Still trying to back up my VHS movie collection to DVD via my computer TV card. Need advice/recommendations on video stabilizers that will eliminate copy protection/macrovision. I have seen many different ones advertised on the web and on Ebay. Are there some to stay away from? Here are the 3 that I have narrowed my choices down to: Sima "Copy This" Model SED-CM2, the Clarifier by FacetVideo, and Video Digital Stabilizer RXII. Any recomendations, preferences or comments would be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

 

Thanks Minion (yet again)

I spent only $800 for the VAIO, it eliminated the need for so much custom work (which would of taken time to get from my bro and I'm impatient to start) and it has the new USB 2.0 (8 of them) which I wanted as well as the DVD burner included. My brother hooked me up w/ the Western Digital 200GB HD. And I purchased the ACEDVio w/ Vegas 4.0 bundled. I'm pretty satisfied so far. My only concern is that I don't know if DVD Architect is included in the software or not. I am hoping it is but am afraid it might not be. Somewhere someone told me you could upgrade Vegas 4.0 to the Vegas+DVD version which includes Architect (apparently not sold alone)for $299. That seems ridiculous since Amazon sells the whole software (Vegas+DVD) for a little over $300. I would like to PM you when I recieve the ACEDVio, but have been unable to do it on the website. Could you send me a PM and I can reply sending you my email address? Thanks again... After reading the forums and seeing how much money has been wasted on attempts for a good quality production of VHS to DVD, I'm happy to have found your comments on the board.

 

Success! Thanks Minion for your suggestions & direction. I adjusted the bitrate in my ATI All In Wonder settings to accomodate the 180 minute movies & used TMPGEnc DVD Author to author & burn the mpeg files & finally was able to burn a movie to dvd. Next problem is that I also have some movies that have poor video quality & believe it may be caused by Macrovision. The video is good VCR to TV, but poor VCR to computer. The picture has a white, unstable line at the top of the screen, & the picture jumps intermittently. Would this be caused by Macrovision? I am using the ATI TV application, composite connection to view it. Regarding the recent posts requesting info about video stabilizers, Sima Corp. is replacing the Sima CM-2 with the CT-1 this month. Retailer on Ebay says it is the same product, just renamed by Sima.

 

Yes it sounds Like you are dealing with a Macrovision Issue..There will allmost allways be a Line at the Very Top or Bottom of the Captured File even when there is No Copy Protection this is Normal and is caise From the Head on the VCR, You usually will Not see it on your TV because of your TV"s Overscan..Macrovision Looks Like the Image goes Dark and Bright and sometimes Might go into Black and White and you can get Squigilly Horizontal Lines through the Picture...If you have an ATI ALL In Wonder Card or a ATI Radeon VIVO Like the One I got there is a Patch on the Net that is supposed to disable the Macrovision Detection on these Cards but I have only had Limited Success with it and it didn"t seem to work all the Time....well good Luck

 

I was able to find an ATI patch for the Macrovision but didn't have any luck with it. I'd like to try one of the hardware versions, but my budget is limited.
I also found some helpful information, particularly with the ATI, at lordsmurf.com. He covers the capture to burn process in simple, step-by-step instructions & screen-shots. Thanks Minion.

 

Thank you all very much for all your educational postings. I wish I could help with some of the issues, but you guys are light years ahead of me.

I have a problem that I would appreciate any suggestions. I have a VHS camera, and have put maybe 120 tapes' worth of home movies on CD. I use an ATI AIW Rage 128 AGP, and play back on a PC using RealMagic Hollywood Plus. It's worked fine for years. But now, due to my stupidity, the recipe's gone, and I can't seem to get a working setup anymore. My output files flicker on fast motion when I play back with the Hollywood Plus, but are perfect on the PC monitor when playing with Mplayer.

I lost my configuration by pressing a "delete" button by mistake instead of an "edit" button. Oh well.

I know I used MPEG1, I frames only to capture, because using any P frames caused significant frame-drop. That much I remember.

Looking at my old CDs that still play flawlessly, I used around 4mbit capture. I can't tell anything else about them, because I don't have any tool to look at the MPEG header except "List", an old file bit-editor (I'm not a hacker!), and I can't find the MPEG spec that has header info.

I've tried Deinterlacing and Visual masking on-off. I've tried adjusting the motion estimation quality (which shouldn't have an effect for I frames only but does improve the flicker as I move the slider up to 100.

I have not tried Variable bit rate, but seem to remember I used constant bit rate before.

It's on a Win98 machine. I did upgrade the OS because I had to, people were sending me malformed email messages and Outlook Express complained. I checked the ATI drivers, and the old image shows same driver date.

Any suggestions? Could it be an upgraded DirectX issue?

Thanks in advance!

Jim

 

I am a novice at this stuff, and my first attempt was just so so. The images were rather fuzzy. I am using Plextor ConvertX M401U and burning with the Plextor 708A. The editing software is Intervideo WinDVD. It seems I remember reading something about the software causing this problem. Any suggestions?

 

Poeple have written in on this Forum with problems with the Plextor ConvertX USB Capture device and as it turns out which isn"t surpriseing is that it is a Pretty Crappy Capture device as are Most of the Consumer Level USB Capture devices...If you still can, see if you can return it and maybe get a Internal PCI Device or maybe if you have the Money like $300-$400 a High Quality USB Device Like the Canopus MpegPro....