Anyone here convert VHS -> DVD?

Entity

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
10,090
0
0
I was considering doing this service and offering it for friends, family, and others that I know for a small charge to recoup the hardware costs. Anyone have a good idea on what it will take?

I've heard the Canopus ADVC100 is the best out there for the money (can be found for $200), but I'm not sure if that's the direction I want to go -- just trying to see who else does this, if anyone.

Rob
 

zimu

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2001
6,210
0
0
thats a great idea;

what i'm confused about is whats the difference between the canopus thingy and a regular video capture card?

like for e.g. if i get a regular tv capture card, say a really high quality 100 buck or so one. its exactly the same process- just plug in the cables from your VCR, open your video program on the computer and hit capture.

 

Entity

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
10,090
0
0
Originally posted by: zimu
thats a great idea;

what i'm confused about is whats the difference between the canopus thingy and a regular video capture card?

like for e.g. if i get a regular tv capture card, say a really high quality 100 buck or so one. its exactly the same process- just plug in the cables from your VCR, open your video program on the computer and hit capture.

From what I've heard, the canopus one never drops frames or loses sync on audio. If I can make my money back after 10-15 tapes, it'd be a nice device to have around.

Rob
 

zimu

Diamond Member
Jun 15, 2001
6,210
0
0
Originally posted by: Entity
Originally posted by: zimu
thats a great idea;

what i'm confused about is whats the difference between the canopus thingy and a regular video capture card?

like for e.g. if i get a regular tv capture card, say a really high quality 100 buck or so one. its exactly the same process- just plug in the cables from your VCR, open your video program on the computer and hit capture.

From what I've heard, the canopus one never drops frames or loses sync on audio. If I can make my money back after 10-15 tapes, it'd be a nice device to have around.

Rob

i still don't completely get it though. i mean if you're importing it into the computer anyway, although your device may not drop frames, what if the computer does? i mean you are capturing a video, and to capture a video ont he computer don't you need to use some video codec?

i don't really understnad how it works...
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,606
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
cool idea... I don't know why I never thought of it...
My son wants to make some money on the side, and does/has done tons of video editting at his school. I asked him how hard it would be and he instantly spouted off all the things he'd need and how easy it is. So, I think I may get those things for him, and tell him to make some posters, hang them up (store bulletin boards, etc.) offer satisfaction guaranteed, and charge 10 bucks or so per dvd.
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
I have a Dazzle DVC II which is without a doubt the most tempermental piece of hardware I have owned. The end result though is a very nice DVD quality cap which is way overkill for VHS but the way it does VCD encoding sucks.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,853
1,048
126
I looked into doing this... (started a thread here) but didn't think it was worth the trouble for myself. I leave it in MPEG-1 format instead. But for a profit, not bad.
 

RaynorWolfcastle

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2001
8,968
16
81
Originally posted by: DrPizza
cool idea... I don't know why I never thought of it...
My son wants to make some money on the side, and does/has done tons of video editting at his school. I asked him how hard it would be and he instantly spouted off all the things he'd need and how easy it is. So, I think I may get those things for him, and tell him to make some posters, hang them up (store bulletin boards, etc.) offer satisfaction guaranteed, and charge 10 bucks or so per dvd.

ATI All-in-Wonders pwn you! :D
 

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
I to am looking into doing this as a side business for VHS of weddings, birthdays etc. THE best website I have found islordsmurf.com this guy knows his stuff.

He suggests a high end VCR...S-VHS to be exact, about $200-$300, a TBC (Time Base Corrector)($300) which keeps the signal clean and a good capture card...he prefers AIW

You can also check out dvdrhelp.com go to thier forums and you can get a lot of info there.

Most places charge $25-$30 for the first 2 hours, then a flat fee per hour after that. Other things you need to take into considerations are:

1- How is the customer getting the tape(s) to you? I personally would have them mail them because of liabilty issues once they are on your property. Someone trips comming to your front door and breaks and ankle you are liable...not good

2- Have a release form made up that releases you of any actions if your VCR should decide to eat their tape. No one will be happy if their wedding day tape is ruined. If you spend the $$ on a quality vcr you should be ok...most tape eating incidents are a result of the carriage system when you load in the tape...a good vcr will help to significantly reduce that risk.
 

TerryMathews

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,473
2
0
The Canopus is overpriced unless your PC is a POS that can't handle higher data rates.

The best setup is to use a capture card based on the BT878 or CX23881 and capture in HuffyYUV. That's a lossless AVI codec. I've done several DVDs using that setup, no dropped frames or lost audio on a 2GHz AthlonXP with an Audigy sound card and BT878 video capture card.

I use TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author to create the DVDs, Nero to burn them. Great setup.
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,466
3
76
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
The Canopus is overpriced unless your PC is a POS that can't handle higher data rates.

The best setup is to use a capture card based on the BT878 or CX23881 and capture in HuffyYUV. That's a lossless AVI codec. I've done several DVDs using that setup, no dropped frames or lost audio on a 2GHz AthlonXP with an Audigy sound card and BT878 video capture card.

I use TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author to create the DVDs, Nero to burn them. Great setup.

What he said but replace the Audigy sound card with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and that's what I do
 

Entity

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
10,090
0
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
The Canopus is overpriced unless your PC is a POS that can't handle higher data rates.

The best setup is to use a capture card based on the BT878 or CX23881 and capture in HuffyYUV. That's a lossless AVI codec. I've done several DVDs using that setup, no dropped frames or lost audio on a 2GHz AthlonXP with an Audigy sound card and BT878 video capture card.

I use TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author to create the DVDs, Nero to burn them. Great setup.

What he said but replace the Audigy sound card with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and that's what I do

Hmm. So I'd need to upgrade my sound (just using sound off the motherboard right now, but I have an SB Live! around here somewhere), add a capture card, and I'd be set. What's the cheapest capture card based on those chipsets?

Doing this on a P4/3.06/1gb.

Rob
 

TerryMathews

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,473
2
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
What he said but replace the Audigy sound card with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and that's what I do

It doesn't really matter; most integrated audio these days have better sound recording fidelity than your mid to upper end VHS deck.

Originally posted by: Entity
Hmm. So I'd need to upgrade my sound (just using sound off the motherboard right now, but I have an SB Live! around here somewhere), add a capture card, and I'd be set. What's the cheapest capture card based on those chipsets?

Doing this on a P4/3.06/1gb.

Rob

Get this card.

It doesn't have an audio pass-through or a tuner. Both pluses unless you really want to watch TV on it, as the TV tuner usually adds interference to your video signal, even if you're capturing via S-Video or composite.

Your system is almost an exact clone of mine now. I've got a 2.4C @ 3GHz with 1GB RAM. Just make sure you've got plenty of fast HD space and you'll be fine. I've got a 400GB RAID5 partition that I capture to and store stuff on. It's on a SuperTrak SX6000 with 256MB of cache RAM, so I never, ever drop a frame. :)
 

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
85
91
Originally posted by: Entity
Originally posted by: zimu
thats a great idea;

what i'm confused about is whats the difference between the canopus thingy and a regular video capture card?

like for e.g. if i get a regular tv capture card, say a really high quality 100 buck or so one. its exactly the same process- just plug in the cables from your VCR, open your video program on the computer and hit capture.

From what I've heard, the canopus one never drops frames or loses sync on audio. If I can make my money back after 10-15 tapes, it'd be a nice device to have around.

Rob

or you could just use a digital video camera. I've got a sony tvr350 and it has a pass through feature. i can plug the vhs and send it through camera to the PC. It will work better than most capture cards. I've also considered doing this on the side to make a little $$$. I already told my mom if she would by me dvd burner I would convert all of her VHS tapes which some are getting pretty old. She went for it so I am happy.
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,466
3
76
Originally posted by: TerryMathews
Originally posted by: Nitemare
What he said but replace the Audigy sound card with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, and that's what I do

It doesn't really matter; most integrated audio these days have better sound recording fidelity than your mid to upper end VHS deck.

Originally posted by: Entity
Hmm. So I'd need to upgrade my sound (just using sound off the motherboard right now, but I have an SB Live! around here somewhere), add a capture card, and I'd be set. What's the cheapest capture card based on those chipsets?

Doing this on a P4/3.06/1gb.

Rob

Get this card.

It doesn't have an audio pass-through or a tuner. Both pluses unless you really want to watch TV on it, as the TV tuner usually adds interference to your video signal, even if you're capturing via S-Video or composite.

Your system is almost an exact clone of mine now. I've got a 2.4C @ 3GHz with 1GB RAM. Just make sure you've got plenty of fast HD space and you'll be fine. I've got a 400GB RAID5 partition that I capture to and store stuff on. It's on a SuperTrak SX6000 with 256MB of cache RAM, so I never, ever drop a frame. :)

I'm using this to capture my video
Plus, I watch TV on it

I have not noticed any dropped frames, but like he said make sure you have plenty of hard drive space especially if you do lossless ripping