VHS to DVD

Um...I haven't got Sonic, so I'm not sure, but if you open the program and select NEW project...something should happen...prompting you to load the avi.

 

Hey,I'm back....

 

Hi again,This time I got the vhs to virtual dub and recorded it fine.I then went to sonic my dvd and got the chapters in and ready to put on dvd.Only one problem.I clicked on record DVD,and I do not have enough room to record on the dvd.It says to reduce my file.How do I do this?
teleman@ids.net

 

Get Sonic to write it to the hard drive, instead of burning it, then use DVDShrink to make it fit.
Your other option is to look in Sonic's settings for bitrate/quality, and slide it down a notch or two.

 

mmm,interesting.How many programs do I have to use?Doesn't anyone have one program that'll do all of this??So far,I use virtual dub,to capture video,next I use sonic my DVD,to edit and chapter the scenes,and now I need to use DVD shrink?DVD shrink is good for shrinking VHS also? OK I'll try that.I did try to reduce the quality some on my DVD but it still didn't have enough space to get the whole VHS to DVD. I do have the vhs saved on the hardrive,can I just send it to DVD shrink?? teleman@ids.net

 

And also,I tried to use codec 1 to compress it.Guess that didn't work to well.I believe there's a codec 2.Should I try the other one teleman@ids.net

 

Sonic should have figured out the size and given you a DVD automatically. I don't know why it didn't.
Shrink is just another option, although not a good one. If Sonic has any options for bitrate/quality, try them.
I don't know what "codec 1 and codec 2" means, but you should probably read the manual to find out, as it could make a TON of difference, and could be why Sonic says it won't fit.

 

OK Back to the drawing board as they say. See what I can do.Thanks again..teleman@ids.net

 

One more question,Do the DVD recorders with the VHS attached to them run into problems recording say more than 2 hours worth of video too?? teleman@ids.net

 

You'll have to ask someone that owns one.
I use my computer for it

 

ok,problem,Can't get vhs to either DVD Shrink or DVD decryptor.This is for DVD as far as I understand.
I've tried using the same programs you are using and have gotten to the point where it's ready to put to a DVD.The VHS tape time is:02:16:56:28.
Is the VHS supposed to be compressed during the time you put in your hardrive or after or both.I got so far and except for trying to use the Sonic my DVD,that seems to be the only difference between what I'm doing and what you're doing.It's got to be a simple error I am Making.I couldn't set video time or anything else on the Sonic.Maybe that's where the problem is??How much recording time are you getting down from VHS to DVD?Thanks for the help. teleman@ids.net

 

I get between 4 and 6 hours of VHS to DVD, depending on how much action there is in the video.
If Sonic won't compress it enough, can you get Sonic to simply output the dvd to your hard drive?
If so, it can then be compressed with DVDShrink.
If Sonic outputs an MPG, then it can be authored with any mumber of programs.
I know this sounds frustrating, having to use one program for this, another for that, but it's RARE that there is a program of any sort that can do it all, without any problems.
These DVD creator types, don't do well with anything over 2 hours (as you're finding out).

 

Then how are you able to get 4-6 hours?? teleman@ids.net Are you using a dual DVD r?

 

Time=bitrate.
Encode the video to a lower bitrate, get more on the disk.
This requires severe adjustments in your encoder, which ever you use.

 

I have everything I need to back up a VHS tape to my computer.. Only problem is this. After I start to record the tape and stop to playback a section of it so I can see if it worked. I get a perfect picture and then a large grey rectangle appears in the center of the screen.. Is this macrovision? Can it be bypassed with software? I tried lots of different programs with the same result. I assume it's the tape because TV records just fine.. Any ideas besides buy some more hardware? Thanks

Matt

 

Well,if bitrate is the secret to longest amount of recording time on a DVD then,I think thats a problem if it has to do with,good,better and best then the video is terrible and worse than the video itself.Is it worth it?Why doesn't DVD to DVD cause these kind of problems?I would have though analog would have at least be as good as the vhs,but I'm not getting near that at all. teleman@ids.net

 

There are so many variables...sigh...
Take original quality, 2 hours, and try to make it fit on a dvdr. It must be firstly encoded to mpeg-2.
If you do it at 1:1, the file will fill TWO dvdr5's, or ONE Dual Layer.
Now we realize we must encode at 1:2 so it fits on the dvdr5. There goes (theoretically) half your quality.
There are ways to preserve the majority of quality, while still getting 2 full hours (or even more) onto one dvdr5. This is ALL done by the encoder. (Here's where a hardware mpeg-2 encoder capture card is miles better than most).
A standard 2 hour dvd, has a movie bitrate of about 9000kbps (peak), to maintain it's quality. Remember, it's twice the size of your dvdr5 you're trying to burn. To get the same 2 hours onto dvdr5, you must cut the bitrate in half. Knock off the starting and ending credits, and we get a bit more than half
There's a couple of ways to maintain more quality, yet still fit 2 hours on one dvdr5.
1.) Encode the video to half D1 resoltion/aspect. This requires approximately half the bitrate, to maintain the same quality. Encode to 1/4 D1, and this requires 1/4 the bitrate to maintain about the same quality. Your mileage may vary.
Now, let's say we want an extremely good quality video, but we still need 2 hours on the disk.
Use an encoder that will accurately determine average bitrate on a VBR encode. This produces higher quality, because it only uses the max bitrate on scenes that need it (high motion), and uses far less bitrate on scenes that don't. Consider all the bitrate wasted on credits. If they were static, it would be minimal, but because they scroll most of the time, bitrate is needed to keep the scrolling smooth, and be readable. That's how little the difference can be in a motion scene, or a static scene in the movie itself. Better encoders detect the motion better, and produce better results on high motion stuff.
Tmpgenc works, although not great, nor fast. It just happens to be the most MARKETED encoder. The "Motion search precision" setting in tmpgenc is where you choose how good it is at determining motion scenes, and how much bitrate is needed to maintain quality during those scenes. It's far from the best, and I would rate it about 4th on the list of standalone encoders. I would consider it a "hobby" encoder.
All-in-one packages usually have an encoder engine built by someone else. There's only 4 or 5 companies that do serious research on encoding methods (for DVD/mpeg), and they sell their encoder technology to anyone with the money to buy it.

Now to address some specific issues.
Everyone needs a good bitrate calculator.
You need to know 2 things to use one. The running time of your video, and the audio bitrate you want to use.
DVD audio is between 192kbps and 448kbps, with 384kbps being somewhat standard, yet 224kbps yeilds about the same quality (unless it's DTS or DD5.1). Most home dvd's are produced with 224kbps audio.
DVD video bitrate is determined by the length of the video. If it's truly exactly 2 hours, then using audio AC3 (which is DVD spec, not .mp2!!!) at 224kbps, we find that the video cannot be encoded at a bitrate any higher than 4850kbps. Most encoders will do this fairly accurately if you set that as the AVERAGE bitrate for a VBR encode. 4850 you realize, is only slightly more than HALF a commercial DVD.
If you don't KNOW the audio bitrate, you cannot accurately get video bitrate, and the movie may encode to large.
Your options then, are to encode anyhow, author, and then use DVDShrink to make it all fit, thus doubling the time involved, or re-encode the VIDEO and AUDIO to the correct bitrates. Fortunately, encoding audio only takes about 4 minutes for a 2 hour movie. Encoding video can take anywhere from 1 hour to 40 hours, depending on your computer speed, and the encoder you use.
I hope this sheds a bit more light on how it all comes together

 

motomat if you find software for macrovision,quote"Is this macrovision? Can it be bypassed with software".let me know if there is software for this,I would appreciate it thanks.

 

I sure would like to know myself.. I have only one VHS tape to back up! Then I'm done with it! A friend asked me to back up a VHS movie that he was in way back in high school. Other wise, I wouldn't be wasting my time with this.. I still cant beleive there are no drivers to disable macrovision in a NVIDIA card.. or some way around this. It's ancient technology? right?

 

A few thoughts on macrovision:

Use a TV with TV output. Run VHS to TV, TV to capture card.

Use an ancient VCR. Vintage 1980's and before simply ignore macrovision. Old VCRs (1980's) may not have AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuits (which is actually the source of the Macrovision distortions), and that's why they work. There is no good way to identify which VCR works and which doesn't.

Another method to get vhs onto dvd, or through your vcr, onto tv, macrovision free. It's a freeware dvd "player" called VideoLAN Client. It's an app developed by some college students in France to be able to play dvd's and vcd's over a network, (hence the name VideoLAN). But, it has one particuliarly neat feature, intended or not, it's macrovision free.
Not sure if you can save the video this way though.

The 1.0.28 (original or modified) version of the soft-Cinemaster decoders is macrovision-free. Specifically designed for use with the ATI DVD Player. You can download the needed player and decoder files from the soft-Cinemaster Download Center. http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/cinemaster.html
Those with ATI cards should also search for a file called atitvo.dll or ATITVO32.DLL in your Windows directory and rename it to (or move/delete it) something (or somewhere) else.

PowerDVD and WinDVD
You can use the latest version of Remote Selector or DVDIdle to disable Macrovision for PowerDVD and WinDVD. For Remote Selector, choose "None, Player only" as your decoder and choose "PowerDVD" or "WinDVD" as the decoder. Select the "Disable Macrovision" option, and viola - Macrovision is gone!!
Again, not sure if you can save this way though.

READ: http://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/LINK/F_MacroVision.html