Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 2 Location: lansdale, pa
Posted: Fri 7 Jul 2006, 18:42 Post subject: First post - I'm pretty new to this stuff (VHS to DVD)
Hello. I'm so glad to be a part of this community. I hope to offer assistance and advice after I learn a few things. I need some help. Here is my situation:
I want to convert VHS to DVD and it's very important to me to create chapter menus, titles, and adding background pictures and songs. I currently use Roxio to do my authoring and burning.
I've already made one attempt to do my converting by purchasing a Dazzle DVC 80. I was displeased to say the least. I don't believe that USB is the way to go when converting video.
So, the next thing I was looking for was an external device that would do the same thing. However, those all go for around $150.00 on ebay! Money is definitely an issue for me.
Now, I've discovered that it may be cheaper to go internal (via a PCI card) without sacrificing any quality. I have no problem with installing something like this on my PC. Now, what I see in my head is a card that has the three holes to plug in the analog plugs (red, yellow, white). However, I can't find anything like this. I only find ones with the yellow video plug and maybe an audio in, but it's not the red and white audios. Excuse me for not knowing all the proper "lingo". Again, I am new at all of this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm currently looking at a LIKE NEW - HAUPPAUGE WinTV PVR-250 on ebay, but again, it doesn't look like it would have all the necessary plugs that I'd need to plug in the red, white, and yellow plugs.
Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 587 Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Posted: Sat 8 Jul 2006, 17:36 Post subject:
The white and red RCA connectors are indeed for audio (the left and right channels, respectively). Separate connectors are standard in most audio and video equipment, but small portable gadgets usually replace them with a single stereo mini-jack. You should be able to get converters at any electronics shop (it's really just a simple Y-split cable).
Also, you'd probably get better video quality if you used S-Video instead of a composite video input, but since your source is VHS, the quality isn't going to be that brilliant to begin with, so no sense is paying for a high-end analog capture card.
The main issue is going to be how the video is actually digitised.
If your system has a DV (Firewire / iLINK / IEEE-1394) port, a good solution is to get an external analog-to-DV converter, and then capture in DV. This ensures that you're using a decent codec (DV), that won't degrade the image quality noticeably during capture.
Also, if you have a DV or MiniDV camera that can record from an external source, you can use it to convert the VHS signal to DV tapes, and then capture from those tapes via Firewire (no need for a converter).
Most "TV capture" cards (and external boxes) use very high compression, and are not very good if you want to further edit the video (because that's going to involve another de/compression cycle). If your capture card / box has variable compression, set it to the minimum (highest quality), so that you can still edit the video without any major image degradation. After you've finished editing, convert the result to MPEG-2, using a DVD-compliant bitrate.
Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 2 Location: lansdale, pa
Posted: Sun 9 Jul 2006, 0:21 Post subject:
First of all, thank you for the time you took to read all of that. I really do appreciate it. Secondly, thanks for responding!
According to your advice, it looks like the external converter is the way to go. I say this because I have a firwire port on my computer that I use with my miniDV. I don't think my DV camcorder can import external video. It's a Panasonic PV-GS31.
The only reason I was talking about going internal (PCI) was for price. It seems that the external devices are expensive. Is there a device you suggest?
Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 587 Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Posted: Sun 9 Jul 2006, 5:41 Post subject:
Yes, from the specifications on the net, it looks like that model has no analog video input.
I suppose your cheapest options would be Snazzi's DV.AVIO, Pyro's A/V Link or Canopus' ADVC55. Prices are typically between $150 and $200, new (that does include some software, which you may or may not have some use for). You might be able to find cheaper converters on eBay. Just search for "analog to DV converter".
Note that some (ex., ADVC55) are powered through the Firewire cable, so they need a 6-pin connector on the PC side. If your PC has a 4-pin connector, you'll also need a power adapter (sold separately, in the case of the ADVC55).
Of those, the Canopus probably has the best image quality (not a big difference, though), the Pyro is the cheapest, and the Snazzi is the best value for money, overall.
If you have a free PCI slot, there's Turtle Beach's Video Advantage AVX, for example, which you can probably get for a little over $100. Not as practical as an external converter (that you can connect to a laptop, etc.), but you do save some $$$.
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