Settings to backup VHS

[kitanai]

Hi there,

I know, probably none of us really wants to encode stuff from tapes :devil:, but I have some older material that is worth it.
I figured out some nice filterings in Avisynth to clear the source material. Since I own a DVD recorder, I thought I could spare ca. 1400MB/h. That gives sufficient bitrate for a high resolution.

My question is: what XviD setting are recommended to compress that kind of material with the least loss of quality?
My first idea was the hvs-best matrix...

Does anyone have experience in tape backup with Xvid? I would appreciate some hints ;)

[Blue_MiSfit]

well, as you surely know there are no settings that will give you the "best" results always. However, 1400mb / hr is undoubtedly excessive. Do a q2 encode with different settings to see how the filesize comes out. Since you are going for an absurdly high bitrate here are my suggestions:

1) try with and without bframes
2) use a crazy matrix like Fox Home Entertainment
3) play with avisynth filters
4) test with qpel, gmc, and other ASP features AND without them.
5) dont go much above DVD resolution - you're just wasting space

Finally, I would reccommend capping to huffy or another lossless codec first (or really realy high bitrate MPEG2), and then doing a nice 2 pass encode to hit your final target filesize. If you have a good sound card, consider encoding the audio (assuming you have a hi-fi vcr that is) into AC3 or other high quality audio format. Lossless formats may be overkill for VHS analog audio sources. Consider filtering the audio as well.

A last suggestion, play with avisynth a lot. You want a very clean picture, but dont use too much denoising. Your enormous bitrate warrants keeping the noise. PeachSmoother is a favorite of mine, but may be a little too powerful for this application.

Good luck, let us know how it goes
-misfit

[kitanai]

Ok, the first encoding resultet in 1.41 GB, a little oversized, but still in the expected range.
I used H.263 for first pass, hvs-best-pic for second pass.

However, to clean the source material is a real pain!
Saturation does not fit the TV picture, it is too dark. Finally, only Convolution3D could clear the noise:
FieldDeinterlace(blend=false)
Tweak(hue=0.0, sat=0.85, bright=5.0, cont=1.0)
Convolution3d(0, 32, 128, 16, 64, 10, 0)
Undot()Anything I forgot? ;)

[sysKin]

Originally posted by kitanai
Ok, the first encoding resultet in 1.41 GB, a little oversized, but still in the expected range.
I used H.263 for first pass, hvs-best-pic for second pass. Why's that?? This is the reason for oversize of course, and it's also the reson for lower quality.

What's with the idea of changing matrices between passes?

[Sharktooth]

Originally posted by kitanai
I used H.263 for first pass, hvs-best-pic for second pass.AAAARGGGHHHHHH!!!
Never, never change matrices between passes!!!

[kitanai]

Wow, please forgive my ignorance :( , but believe it or not, I actually read that somewhere out there!

I will try to find it, so you don't believe I am a complete idiot :eek:

[Sharktooth]

Maybe you read about the old and not-mpeg4-compliat Modulated-HQ...

[kitanai]

Hm, very possible...

The thing is: I started using XviD shortly after version 1 was released. Therefore, many tutorials and faqs had not been updated at that point.
Even Doom9 still has some outdated learning material. I would like to offer some help to update, but as you can see, I still have a long way to go... :p