VHS to DVD --software & hardware advice?

***horge*** · 06-28-2009, 22:46

What the thread title says.

I have too many VHS, video8 and miniDV recordings that need to be
transferred to DVD to save on storage space, and I have zero experience
in doing so. Well, almost. A friend suggested I try one of those small USB
and S-video/RCA jacked widgets (Chronos brand), but the resulting
DVD resolution was really coarse, with no apparent option to increase it.

Any suggestions on how to go about doing this would be appreciated,
preferrably without having to buy one of those $$$$$ Sony DVDirect
machines, lol.

Thanks,
h.

StayinTriggerHappy · 06-28-2009, 23:41

if you don't want to buy a physical dvd/vhs combo recorder/converter, the easiest way (maybe the only other way) is to use your computer...just plug your vcr's output into your computer and get a software converter like one of these...

this one converts pretty much anything to anything and comes with all the wires you'd need...
http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/ea...FRAMDQodZRjqRg

***horge*** · 06-29-2009, 04:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by StayinTriggerHappy

if you don't want to buy a physical dvd/vhs combo recorder/converter, the easiest way (maybe the only other way) is to use your computer...just plug your vcr's output into your computer and get a software converter like one of these...

this one converts pretty much anything to anything and comes with all the wires you'd need...
http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/ea...FRAMDQodZRjqRg

Hi, thanks for the suggesion!
Unfortunately that's seems like pretty much what I'd already tried,
(similar device, different brand-name) and I was disappointed with
how coarse the end-product's (DVD) video resolution was.

h.

MERCMADE · 06-29-2009, 04:38

why not just pay someone to do it?

***horge*** · 06-29-2009, 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by MERCMADE

why not just pay someone to do it?

The material is
a. occasionally too personal
b. voluminous (we're talking maybe 150 DVD's)

mc_oliver · 06-29-2009, 08:25

Unfortunately, for regular video RCA connections such as those that you can find in the old players, you can never get DVD-quality. :(

Your mini-DV, however, has hope. But you'll need a firewire port for it and a cam that has the same firewire port, a fast hardrive (not one plugged in your regular USB) that has plenty of space. Rip to AVI then encode to DVD (I suggest 720P or higher and avoid DVD-NSTC, para walang interlacing). Can't recommend a specific software because it's been years since I toyed with mini-DV's but google should be able to help.

zorkd · 06-29-2009, 09:23

i think we did this with a pinnacle card and accompanying software a while back, it was to VCD but the principle is the same.

basically the yellow RCA from the VHS goes in to the pinnacle card, save that stream to mpeg and then compress and burn to media of choice.

could use up a few weekends, unless the kids are willing to do it for ice cream money.

***horge*** · 06-29-2009, 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by mc_oliver

Unfortunately, for regular video RCA connections such as those that you can find in the old players, you can never get DVD-quality. :(

Well, all I'm looking for is to preserve the existing resolution on tape.
Stands to reason, if I can get a certain resolution on the monitor via
RCA cable, I should be able to match that when burning it to DVD.
The USB widget I tried degraded the reslution so much (the output
resolution was fixed/preset) that it was unbearable.

h.

mc_oliver · 06-29-2009, 12:43

VHS resolution is actually pretty good. It's the hardware where the cuts are made. Check out players with 4 heads (I think they're marked for mktg purposes). They tend to generate better resolution than the regular 2-head setup.

But, man, VHS...really old (the tech and me

) and I could be confusing them with betamax hi-fi.

Assuming the player is up to snuff (it's ok in your large screen tv), take a look next at your capture hardware. If you can, avoid anything that only captures directly to a compressed format like mpg. Capture in uncompressed AVI so you can re-sample with your favorite compressor.

HTH.

StayinTriggerHappy · 06-29-2009, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by horge

Hi, thanks for the suggesion!
Unfortunately that's seems like pretty much what I'd already tried,
(similar device, different brand-name) and I was disappointed with
how coarse the end-product's (DVD) video resolution was.

h.

oh, my bad. didn't know you'd tried those programs. i have yet to try one of them so i had no idea their quality was that poor, i've always just used the combo recorders...but anyways, good luck

darwin25 · 06-29-2009, 22:11

get TV tuner for PC. Usually USB lang yun. around P2,000 for USB type na tuners. You just play the VHS tape while the your PC records the video. Then burn mo na lang into any format you like.

this is what I use
http://www.pctrends.com.ph/products/view/id/149

Blitzer · 06-30-2009, 01:06

How do I copy VHS tapes to my computer or DVD?

A review of the available technologies:
<big><big>Best external USB 2 analog to digital converter?</big></big>

Single Stacker · 06-30-2009, 02:49

I need this too for my volumes of VHS home movies that I need to transfer to DVD. I asked a friend who is going to Las Vegas/California this week to buy me one and hopefully have this within 2 weeks time.

Let me know if this is the best option for me. Similar to Horge I want a simple gadget (plug and play preferably) with decent quality (If I can maintain the original VHS quality that would work best for me).

SS

liveandletlive · 07-01-2009, 06:53

Horge, I use the Pinnacle software that came with my add-on PCI card. But I do not use the Pinnacle Card anymore. I have a Panasonic miniDV Camcorder that has the mini plug for video/audio output that can be configured to be an input port. What I do is use a mini-jack to RCA (Red, White, Yellow) wire to connect the VHS RCA output jacks to the miniDV mini plug input. I then connect the Panasonic miniDV Cam to my PC via a firewire. The Pinnacle software sees the VHS output as the miniDV's. Practically no droped frames and the converted digital file (avi or MPG) is pretty good. Get a big hard drive. Mine is just the regular 250GB SATA 7200rpm HD but it's good enough. I built an Athlon-based machine for my Pinnacle back when AMD first introduced it (the Intel chip it was competing against was too expensive for me during those times), it's now too slow for video editing but you can do editing with the Pinnacle on a fast machine. Goodluck.

mc_oliver · 07-01-2009, 07:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by liveandletlive

Horge, I use the Pinnacle software that came with my add-on PCI card. But I do not use the Pinnacle Card anymore. I have a Panasonic miniDV Camcorder that has the mini plug for video/audio output that can be configured to be an input port. What I do is use a mini-jack to RCA (Red, White, Yellow) wire to connect the VHS RCA output jacks to the miniDV mini plug input. I then connect the Panasonic miniDV Cam to my PC via a firewire. The Pinnacle software sees the VHS output as the miniDV's. Practically no droped frames and the converted digital file (avi or MPG) is pretty good. Get a big hard drive. Mine is just the regular 250GB SATA 7200rpm HD but it's good enough. I built an Athlon-based machine for my Pinnacle back when AMD first introduced it (the Intel chip it was competing against was too expensive for me during those times), it's now too slow for video editing but you can do editing with the Pinnacle on a fast machine. Goodluck.

Oh yeah, pass-thru firewire, you can do that, too.

***horge*** · 07-01-2009, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by liveandletlive

Horge, I use the Pinnacle software that came with my add-on PCI card. But I do not use the Pinnacle Card anymore. I have a Panasonic miniDV Camcorder that has the mini plug for video/audio output that can be configured to be an input port. What I do is use a mini-jack to RCA (Red, White, Yellow) wire to connect the VHS RCA output jacks to the miniDV mini plug input. I then connect the Panasonic miniDV Cam to my PC via a firewire. The Pinnacle software sees the VHS output as the miniDV's. Practically no droped frames and the converted digital file (avi or MPG) is pretty good. Get a big hard drive. Mine is just the regular 250GB SATA 7200rpm HD but it's good enough. I built an Athlon-based machine for my Pinnacle back when AMD first introduced it (the Intel chip it was competing against was too expensive for me during those times), it's now too slow for video editing but you can do editing with the Pinnacle on a fast machine. Goodluck.

Holy crap... that makes sense, using the miniDV camcorder that way.
I can try a few things based on that.
Thanks!!

mc_oliver · 07-02-2009, 03:14

horge, when capturing from firewire, try googling 'frameserving' and see if there's anything that you can use to keep your hd from filling-up.

***horge*** · 07-02-2009, 07:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by mc_oliver

horge, when capturing from firewire, try googling 'frameserving' and see if there's anything that you can use to keep your hd from filling-up.

Thanks, Bossman Oliver.