VHS to DVD

[oilop]

I am a newbie with respect to converting VHS or Hi8 video to DVD.
I have an ATI All in Wonder Pro Video Capture Card which records VHS to AVI format. I would like to convert these movies to be layable on
DVD-R media. What Software and what file format would I use to convert these AVI's? Would I need to convert to VOB's?...etc.

Thanks

oilop

[Gant]

I'll start by saying that you should read the guides since all the info you are looking for is there.

Regarding your issue... what i usually do is capture to either huffyuv if its small clips or to mjpeg @19 if its a long movie, like a weading , etc...

Thne i work the avi captured in avisynth... there are a few bugs i always need to solve.

After i'm happy with the result, use either cce basic or tmpeg enc to create an m2v (m2v is an mpeg2 file compatible with DVD standart)

Usually i do not do much to the audio since i do not know much about audio editing... when capturing i set the sudio to wav pcm stereo @ 44100 and then work it in besweet to updample to 48000 and encode to ac3.
Regarding the upsampling in besweet... honestly i do not know if i should capture directly in 48000, but everytime i did i always got sync issues. :(


Continuing... i use reeldvd to make the dvd.. i inport both the m2v and the ac3... and in case you want you cna even make a menu. :)

ANd thats it... read the guides for more detailled info about every step. :)

Take care,
Gant

[ammck55]

Gant has given you some good advice. I've never done this myself, but since you have established that you can send your VHS to AVI via the capture card, if you enter "AVI2DVD" in a search, you'll get 16 returns with some excellent help provided therein. In jggimi's post to this thread, I think you'll find the avi2dvd guide, if you haven't found it already. Good luck.....

ammck55

[oilop]

The ATI All-in-Wonder Pro has an option to encode at 640x480 in AVI or MP2 format. I've tried 720x480, but the result is a garbled picture. I can use the MP2 format directly in DVDit and make DVD's that way. Does this seem ok, or it the above stated suggestions better?

oilop

[killingspree]

hi
well you can do it your way of course but if done correctly the above described way will definitely yield significantly better quality, but will always require more time and effort too. so it is up to you how much time and energy you want to invest.
another point: using huffyuv or mjpeg will require you to use large quantities of space. if you do not have 40Gig+ free on your hard drive it is not really an option for capturing full movies. only short clips will be possible, depending on how much space you have!

for details look at this guide: www.doom9.org/capture/start.htm it's full of information on exactly what you are trying to do!

steVe

[warrensomebody]

I'm interested in this topic too -- capturing VCR and live TV shows. I've read through a lot of the FAQs and guides, but although they tell you what to do, they don't always tell you what you're doing, and why. So maybe you guys can help me with these questions:

- Do I want to create VCDs, SVCDs or DVDs? What's the trade-offs in cost, time to create, and compatibility with stand-alone players?

- What format do I want to encode them to? I've captured the source as huffyvu compressed AVIs using virtualdub, but I'm not even sure I did that right. E.g. if I'm watching a movie coming off directv, do I want to encode at 29.97fps, 25fps -- do I want movie from video source, movie from film source -- how can I find out what's correct?

- What encoding should I use for the best quality, and/or best compatibility if I want to give the disc to a friend later?

Thanks,

Warren

[killingspree]

Originally posted by warrensomebody
- Do I want to create VCDs, SVCDs or DVDs? What's the trade-offs in cost, time to create, and compatibility with stand-alone players?
if you want best quality possible, go for DVD... if you do not have a DVD burner or do not want to 'waste' your money on a DVD-R go for SVCD if your standalone can play it. if your standalone doesn't support SVCD go for VCD. i think there's almost no standalone today that cannot play VCD!
cost: dvd slightly more expensive as (S)VCD, which are burnt to normal cd-rs. anyway the difference will only be about 1 or 2 dollars or euros! - if you have to buy an encoder (CCE, TmpegEnc) DVD and SVCD will be more expensive
time: VCD and SVCD are equal , DVD will take a bit (to a lot - depending on how you want to author it) more time
if you do not need standalone compatibility go for divx/xvid for best quality/time/cost ratio!

- What format do I want to encode them to? I've captured the source as huffyvu compressed AVIs using virtualdub, but I'm not even sure I did that right. E.g. if I'm watching a movie coming off directv, do I want to encode at 29.97fps, 25fps -- do I want movie from video source, movie from film source -- how can I find out what's correct?
you've said you've read the guides? well i suggest it might be a good idea to reread at least parts of it. most answers are already there. if you want best quality from your captures capture to uncompressed huffyuv, then do the post processing with avisynth and then go for a high bitrate divx/xvid or dvd. for the fps. you'll always want to capture it in the format/fps that it is broadcasted. so if you live in europe you'll most likely want to capture at 25 fps. in north america you'll go for 29.97. you'll need to deinterlace for PAL most likely and will need to do the equal steps for NTSC. you'll find out what's correct - if there ever is a right or wrong - by trial and error!

- What encoding should I use for the best quality, and/or best compatibility if I want to give the disc to a friend later?
you've asked that befor! if you want to make sure you can play it on your friends standalone, go for VCD. if you just want to play it on his computer, go for divx/xvid...

for details on what standalone can play which formats see www.vcdhelp.com

steVe

[jggimi]

One additional comment. Not all DVD players can read CD-R or CD-RW media, even if they read VCD or SVCD format. (DVD+/-R media issues are different, but also exist.) You can search thousands of players by clicking on www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers.