What would I need to rip VHS to DVD?

[mrlayance]

I am not sure where to start. What hardware and software would I need?

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

This is the same question I have so I will subscribe to the thread and glean appropriately....But I believe if I use a Geforce4ti EVGA or MSI with video in with a DvD burner I SHOULD be in good shape. I believe with the MSI I could use MPEG 2 as well as MPEG 4 which could be cool for storing onto some CD's for reproduction in a laptop etc. Any way I will be looking at what some other fellow geeks may have to say CUZ I gots to know for sure before I start buying stuff.

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

bump

 

[Acts837]

another curious mind would like to know and subscribe

 

[Doh!]

Go here for detail information. Basically, all you need a video card with tv-in and some freeware (or shareware) applications to capture & convert the footages to dvd.

 

[alexruiz]

The vcdhelp guide is very good. You can also check www.doom9.org or even www.virtualdub.org......

I think the most important component would be the capture card. I suggest to stay away from a tv tuner or any device based on the conexant/rockwell/broktree bt848 or bt878....... they are a pain to tweak.

My advice would be a vivo video card , or even better, an ATI all in wonder. Have fun!!

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

Thanks!!! Does anyone out there have anything about how to sync the audio with the video say with an AIW???

 

[meDave]

if the audio is not too far off there's a lil prog called avi info that you can play with the audio in an avi file
here's link AVI Info you can try that

btw i use a ati tv wonder and i find if you want to capture without dropping frames you need not to be running any other progs
while capturing and your audio should be ok when you convert to avi

 

[alexruiz]

Originally posted by: BlindBartimaeus
Thanks!!! Does anyone out there have anything about how to sync the audio with the video say with an AIW???

To get the audio in sync during the capture, just make sure that:

1) The frame rate is set to 29.97, not 30 fps. That will make a difference.
2) Capture the audio as raw PCM. MP3 tends to get out of sync during capture.

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

If I use an AIW DV will it take in the video and the sound through the breakout box and handle all that at once??? The reason I ask because the vhs is not a digital sound or movie and if I could convert both with one device that may be the way to go...what do you think???

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

Come on guys...just a little more help

 

[alexruiz]

Sorry for being lazy.....

Yes, the AIW would be the only thing you need.. the breakout box contains inputs for audio and video. If you have a radeon 8500 AIW (either the 64 Mb or the 128 MB) you are a lucky guy..... That is all you need.

My suggestion is to capture as AVI (not MPEG2) using hufyuv for maximum quality of mjpeg for very good quality. If you have a fast CPU, you can try capturing to DivX on the fly (if your tapes are VHS, do't waste hard drive space by capturing at full size.... 320x240 (352x240) is plenty as this is the resolution used in VHS.

I said don't capture to MPEG2 because MPEG2 is NOT VCD compliant. MPEG1 is VCD compliant....

I forgot that you want to create DVDs.... Now, you need a good MPEG2 encoder (even though MPEG2 is standard, the quality of the encoders is different.... something simlar to MP3, in which LAME is the best). TMPGEnc is my opinion your best best to encode.

Alex

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

Thank you and I am sure that will take me into the NEXT level of questions....THANK YOU

 

[mrlayance]

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/02q3/020928/index.html

TH makes it so easy

 

[SirDante]

ADS Instant USB DVD. It does the job so long as the vhs source is good. If it's bad, why bother with dvd? Go for vcd which it can do as well.

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

It is to reproduce things on DVD so others who have a DVD and no vhs can benefit from them.

 

[Doh!]

VCDs can be watched on a stand-alone dvd players.

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

I don't know what VCD is and if it stands for video cd, can it get 2 hours of video on it?? This is getting more interesting by the moment


Again, as always, thanks in advance.

 

[Doh!]

Yes, the length of the media file can be configured to your preference but the quality will be penalized as you make the file longer. But since you're transferring VHS footages which are crappy to begin with (in comparison to DVD), I think using VCD would make more sense than spending extra $$$ for DVDs.

You really should take a look at the site I've posted above (www.vcdhelp.com). It not only has a wealth of information on authoring VCDs but it also has tons of info. on making DVDs as well (not to mention the links to to other resourceful sites). It gives a step-by-step info. with lots of pictures & notes. Spend sometime there & I'll bet you'll have your VCD (or DVD) in no time (however, be prepared for the encoding process which is heavily dependent on the cpu. I hope you've got a fast cpu or it will take many hours.).

 

[BlindBartimaeus]

I have an XP 1600 running at 1.74 on a 166fsb. I really appreciate all of your help and insight. I will be doing a lot of reading I can see...Thanks.

 

[alexruiz]

Originally posted by: BlindBartimaeus
I have an XP 1600 running at 1.74 on a 166fsb. I really appreciate all of your help and insight. I will be doing a lot of reading I can see...Thanks.

That is plenty......

Keep in mind that video (at least in my opinion) is the only application in which the hardware is still behind..... and I hope that changes with the "hammer".

A P4 would be faster, no question, but your Athlon is no slouch (I have an AXP 1700+) and it would be able to encode the VCD streams faster than realtime....

My suggestion again goes to TMPGEnc, which is free for MPEG1 encoding, pretty fast and has even filter to "retouch" the video...

For capture, I keep suggesting an AIW (maybe that is my unfulfilled dream). I strongly advice against ANY USB device...... raw video runs at 25 MB/second, while the max bandwidht of USB is 1.5 MB/s....... that means, your hardware is already compressing the video. To capture some VHS tapes, that is not an isue, but if in the future you want to record something from your TV (as eventually it will happen) then it is an issue.... If you want to get a dedicated capture card, I suggest one of those firewire ones (Dazzle has a firewire analog video capture bridge).

Alex