Good old laserdisc

[deathtical]

That's right... I said it... Laserdisc! :p

Ok... here's my question. I have an old laser disc player and some old laser discs. I would like to hook it up to my PC to capture the video an make some good video files so I can watch them again without having to go through the hassle of hooking up the LD player every time and of course flipping the discs.

I am very new to this whole video capture thing and was hoping you guys could make some recommendations on hardware, software, bit rates, etc so I can get the best quality possible.

The only "downside" is that the only video and audio output on the LD player is the old YRW (Composite, Right, Left) cable. Also, my PC does not have a native firewire port. So if you guys could recommend a good USB capture device (I guess I could always install a firewire card if need be) that would be great. Next of course would be the software. I am currently running Win7 64bit (RC for now but full licensed version will be here within 2 weeks). And lastly, the bit rates you would suggest to get the best picture and sound quality. I don't really plan to make these into DVDs but I guess having that option would be nice.

As for licensing issues with the videos, most of it is old anime that has not been re-licensed here in the US so I'm not too concerned with any legal issues.

I look forward to everyone's input. :thanks:

[Blue_MiSfit]

Don't worry about the lack of an S/Video port. The comb filters on all but the very best LaserDiscs are crap compared to what's available today. Just use a half decent set of RCA cables to link the LD to your capture card.

I'd suggest capturing to a lossless codec first (in YUY2 ideally) then filtering in AviSynth (you'll need it) before finally encoding to whatever format you want to eventually store the footage in. I'd suggest MKV with H.264 and AAC audio, but that's just me :) DVD is perfectly fine as well!

Here's a great thread on capture cards with good comb filters:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1357022

~MiSfit

[binba]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=13552&N=4294545757&Ns=p_PRICE_2|0
Also check eBay for even lower prices, that's the sort of stuff I wouldn't mind buying used.

USB devices will be limited to capturing in specific compressed codecs, because of the slower bus speed (this may change in a year or so when USB 3.0 gets into the market). If you want more control and the option to capture raw uncompressed video, get a PCI board.

Pinnacle makes good stuff, like the Studio MovieBox Plus for $80. And for a mere $200 you can get a full-blown HD capture board - Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro captures your Composite SD video AND a dozen other SD & HD formats.

[juhok]

And for a mere $200 you can get a full-blown HD capture board - Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro captures your Composite SD video AND a dozen other SD & HD formats.I don't know anything about laserdisc, but for unstable sources like VHS, TBC/Framesynchronizer is needed in case of Intensity Pro (and most other professional cards too).

[deathtical]

Has anyone used one of these? Would they fit my needs? Thanks.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380047%2050001745&name=Canopus

[dannotto]

For novice users and trouble-free will be fine. If want more (quality) read the thread recommended in the second post.

[lordsmurf]

If all you want is DV, skip the Canopus route, and just buy a $50 DV cam off eBay that has pass-through.
Before compressing your whole collection via a DV method, you should read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/showthread.php/video-conversion-service-2020.html?p=10653#post10653

[laserfan]

If all you want is DV, skip the Canopus route, and just buy a $50 DV cam off eBay that has pass-through.
Before compressing your whole collection via a DV method, you should read this: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/showthread.php/video-conversion-service-2020.html?p=10653#post10653Hmm, I'm surprised you mentioned the pass-thru route, but then referred to that link:
With 5:1 DV compression, you can still get blocks and digital artifacts during motion. It doesn't really happen when DV is used for shooting video, but it does when used as a conversion format. DV was never really meant as a capturing/tape-conversion format...

I have a Canopus direct-to-MPEG2 conversion card (ancient MVR1000 circa 2002), and a pass-thru (Digital-8, not DV) camcorder, and I was disappointed with the results of my laserdisc conversion attempts with both of these. I should qualify tho that I didn't work very hard at it before giving-up for a few rainy days which have never come... ;)