VHS to DVD

Is it true I can only record up to an hour and a half?Can you record to a DVD+ instead of a DVD- format??What do you do if you have say two or more hours of VHS you want to record to a DVD?I appreciate all the help you can give me.Just got a video capture card to do this and am not getting very good results.Am I going to get at least the same quality video on DVD as the VHS?Thank you,Hope to hear from you soon,teleman@ids.net (Ray)

 

Capture in mpeg-2 format. Capture at the same resolution as your DVD (720x480 NTSC).
Capture at a comparative bitrate, that is, higher is better, but VHS source isn't great to begin with, so about 2500kbps is usually good enough.
Fit about 4 hours on one DVDR at that bitrate.

 

I am not using a dual layer DVD.It's only a single layer at 4X.Are you using a dual layer? I am using mpeg 2,but in order to put an hour and a half onto the DVD,I have to use the lowest resolution,and that's not even as good as the VHS.It's terible.It shows me an icon that shows whether or not you can fit everything you want on the DVD.Anything over an hour and a half tells me I can't put anymore info on it??How do you possibly get 4 hours?I need to do that so badly.
Are you talking a plus or a minus format? teleman@ids.net
Thank you Ray

 

What program are you using to burn the mpeg files? I capture my VHS tapes as mpeg2 and then load the movie into Nero Vision Express and split the movie into chapters and make a menu then let nero vision do its work. It ends up fitting on a DVD5 disc.

 

teleman,
I bought a cheap analog card for about $35.00.It's called AVerMedia DVD EZMaker PCI.I don't even know if I can put the VHS into chapters on it.It takes the length of the video,say an hour and a half to get it onto the hardrive and then another long time to get it from the hardrive to the blank DVD.Ray

 

OK Now I'm a bit confused.I clicked on the highlighted Nero Vision you sent me and came up with CD software??Are you compressing the video and sending it to a CD??Maybe that's where I'm having the problem,by not compressing it?? Help!! Thank you,teleman@ids.net

 

Bitrate is directly related to file size.
Higher bitrate = bigger files.
When you capture your VHS, what are you saving on your hard drive?
Is it avi with a compression codec, or mpeg. Is it mpeg-1 or mpeg-2? What bitrate are you saving it? What aspect ratio? These are all settings in your capture program.
Nerovision Express 3 will take your capture, and allow you to encode, add chapters, menu's, and then author and burn it to dvd. Not the best software for the job, but it's ok.
If you use the right bitrate, at the right aspect/resolution, you can fit between 1 hour and 16 hours per DVDR.
Some applications only allow 1, 1.5 or 2 hours per dvdr, and don't give you much flexibility.

 

OK,If bitrate is file size,I have good,better and best.There's a dvd icon that comes up and shows if I can record the whole VHS on it or not.So anything over an hour and a half needs to be on good(which is really bad).I am using mpeg 2.It also tells me I can record an hour and a half on a DVD.It ask me for a -DVD.Or I can use DVDvr?I don't know what VR is? teleman

 

I have no idea what capture software you're using, but it sounds WAY too limited.
Get a different capture program.
Virtualdub works as good as any, really!
There are at least 50 other capture programs around, some are even free (like virtualdub).
Capture in at LEAST 640x480 for VHS, anything smaller and video get's jerky.
Use Picvideo mjpeg codec (very good for captures), there are others you might want to try.
Frameserve the captured video to your encoder.
If you use tmpgenc, with a KDVD template, you'll get between 8 and 16 hours per dvdr.

 

OK Thanks,
Just go to bestbuy and ask for capture software?Thank you for your time.I also printed 54 pages of the manual,to try to get this thing working.teleman

 

NO! Don't BUY more software.
There's a ton of free stuff on the web, as well as plenty of 30 day demo's.
Download them all and try them out.
Here's a nice long list, with download links for you to try.
http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool...atures=&listuser=&Submit=Search+or+List+tools

Personally, I use virtualdub to capture avi, and Intervideo WinDVR 3 for mpeg-2 captures.
Showshifter is decent, with a unique interface.
DScaler is free, as is AmCap, FreeVCR, and more.

 

I seem to have similar problems. I have a sony viao computer with video capture software but I can only capture two hours at a time. I also cannot get by the copyright protection on my old vhs movies that I would like to preserve on dvd. Sorry if this question is redundant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

poplou, do some research on "Macrovision" removal. That's the type of copy protection VHS uses.
What capture software are you using that only allows 2 hours? Check the big long link I posted above. There's at least 50 more programs you can try.

 

Hi again,
Ok I had more success this time but whew,It took me 6 hours!!! 2 hours to record the vhs to the hardrive,2 hours after I created the video,and 2 hours to get it on the DVD.What is wrong here?? Also,no macrovision on this vhs,and can get just a little over 2 hours on DVD.And out of 3 choices(good,better and best),I had to record it on better.The program showed an icon showing,it couldn't record on best.I would have run out of space on the DVD using Best.Although,I am interested in looking at the macrovision software for VHS.Where do I look for this? Thank you again,Getting there a little at a time. teleman@ids.net (Ray)

 

Nothing is wrong here. That's about the length of time it takes. You might get it down to 4 hours or maybe even 3, but that all depends on how you capture.
With different software, you can capture at any bitrate you want. Lower bitrate gives a smaller filesize, at a cost in quality.
If you want to fit 12 hours on one dvdr, capture to avi, using Huffyuv or Canopus DV, or even picvideo mjpeg codec. Encode in tmpgenc using KDVD templates.
If you capture mpeg-2, you can burn directly to dvdr, and save at least 2 hours encoding time.
Google for Macrovision. You'll get lots of reading.

 

it takes me the time to play the VHS movie which is average time is 1 hour and 45 minutes then close to 3 hours for nero vision express to recode it to DVD. so it takes about 5 hours in total to back up a VHS tape.

 

OK,then,I guess I'm in the right direction but:
The picture is somewhat eratic in movement and the sound,although set at 50% is a little raspy.The color is not that good either.Just wondering if the more expensive software or card would make a difference?? teleman

 

Jerky pictures are usually the result of dropped frames. If your software allows it, see if you can find how many drops it made during the capture. Some show you in real time, others don't.
Definitely try all sorts of other software. Also try different resolutions/aspects, as well as formats and codecs. If you play enough, you'll find the right combination that works best on your computer.
Unfortunately, if you're getting drops, there's two ways to correct it.
One is to change the aspect ratio and/or the format in which you capture. Some people have GREAT results capturing to avi (with a "lossless" codec) and then encoding in a good encoder later.
Two is to purchase a card that has a built in mpeg-2 encoder, such as the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 250.
Another option is to get a standalone mpeg-2 encoder, such as the Canopus ADVC-100.

 

ON THAT LINE ABOUT MAVROVISION IAM TRYING TO BACKUP SOME OLDER MOVIES I LIKE BUT CANT GET AROUND MACROVISION CAN SOMEONE GUIDE ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THANKS.

 

Thanks rebotjim. I am useing sony click to dvd that came with the machine. It's supposed to be easy to use
but I have trouble with it. I will take your advice and try other software.