Re: VHS to DVD
Hi Warhorse<br />I had hoped you wanted quality. . .
<br /><br />1. You need an analog to digital converter. I'm hoping that your camcorder has that feature.(I'd bet it does since its newer) There are stand alone units out there, but the one in your camcorder is better. Don't even consider a capture card for the PC. The output from your VCR will connect to the input of the camcorder. Use s-video if your VCR supports it.<br /><br />2. You'll need a firewire card for the PC. They run about $30 in Canada. The output of your camcorder will connect to the firewire card via a firewire cable (supplied with the card).<br /><br />3. You'll need a big hard drive (in addition to your system drive). One hour of mildly compressed video will take up approx. 30 gig. I'd recommend a 160 gig WD. about $100 Canadian (on sale). I have 4 of them in my PC, but I work on more than one file at a time.<br /><br />4. You'll need a DvD burner. I'd recommend an LG GSA-4040b ($110 Canadian on sale) Its important to get one that burns -r and +r formats. LG burns all three formats (ram as well).<br /><br />5.You'll need a decent editing software. Ulead Media Studio, Ulead Video Studio, or Adobe Premiere Pro. (pending on your needs and budget)<br /><br />6. You'll need a DvD authoring software. I use Ulead DvD Workshop, but its overpriced. If you want bang for buck, try TMPGEnc DvD author. Poor menu system but works.<br /><br />7. You'll need a "capture software" to interface the PC with the camcorder. There are plenty of free-ware ones around, but you
need one that can use a Huffyuv codec for lossless compression. You must use huffyuv or PIC lossless codec or you will lose quality in the transfer. I don't care who makes it, if its not lossless, its useless. I use iuVCR. It works with Huffyuv. Its a little unstable, but if you decide with it, I'll help with the bugs.<br /><br />8.You'll need a compression software. This is funny cause the best one is the cheapest. TMPGEnc is what you want. When you compress your video to DvD format, you
must use a "constant bitrate of 8000" Anything less, and you'll degrade.<br /><br />9.you'll need a fast computer (faster the better) with winXP. 512 ram minimum. <br /><br />*capture using huffyuv codec<br />*edit the file before compression (avi format)<br />*export the file using huffuv or uncompressed<br />*if scenes are dark, use the noise filter in TMPEnc<br />*compress with 8000 bitrate (don't bother with variable bit rate)<br />*use only brand name DvD disks for maximum<br /> compatibility. TDK, Maxell are good choices.<br />*One hour of video to a DvD (if you get more on than that, you're doing it wrong)<br /><br />Thats a start. You will hear many opinions about capture cards. Most people who comment on them have nothing of quality to compare to. I'm fussy. My video DvD's are as good or better in some cases than the original. Strive for duplication. There is ALWAYS some degradation when converting from analog to digital. If you play smart, you can compensate for this and atleast equal the original. Remember, DvD format is moderately compressed. Don't count on editing the video once it has been converted to DvD format (MPEG2). Don't consider VCD or SVCD either (waste of time). Home movies are priceless, and eventually your finished product will be all that is left in existence. Leave behind the highest quality possible for future generations.<br />*remember, the clock is ticking. The longer you wait, the worse the VHS quality gets (VHS was poor to begin with). And as the old saying goes......garbage in, garbage out<br /><br />Good luck
