gareth Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 As per the title ..... Got a load of VHS cassettes that I want to get onto DVD, looking for a cheap(ish) but reasonable quality method of achieving this. Can anyone recommend any particular products (hardware and software)? Ideally, I'd like something PC-based, so that I can record the raw material to MPEG2, make a few small edits (chopping out ads, tidying up, etc.) then burn to DVD. Options are a desktop machine with a spare PCI slot, or a laptop with USB2 and Firewire ports. I've had a look at the Dazzle DVC90 that Ebuyer sell, but there seem to be a lot of bad reports about it dropping frames and having trouble getting audio to sync to video, so that's putting me off that one ...... All suggestions appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Also avoid Pinnacle Studio with the external USB Moviebox. I had so much trouble and so liitle tech support from Pinnacle that I sent it back to Amazon for a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 For what it's worth Gareth, I've not yet found a simple and trouble free way of doing this on a pc. The hassle of having to check the length of the programme you want on the video, selecting appropriate compressiin ratio's - and then having to digitise it THEN, compress it, THEN burn the DVD is a major pain in the rear end! I tried 3 different pc's here before finding one that had enough memory and processor speed to do the job quickly. On a long programme at highish quality, contiguous disc space is important. The one I do most of the dvd burning on, oddly, is not the quickest in proc speed. When I first bought the pc burner, I stupidly assumed it would be a real time process. When I want one quick, I do it at my elderly mums house - she's got a currys unbranded dvd+ home machine she bought for £169 that I just plug in and do it in real time. Best I can do on my clever-ish pc kit is around 3 times programme length. paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 First off don't compress it to MPEG, as this makes editing very hard, due to the way MPEG footage is created of Master frames, then several frames that detail changes to the master. I'd suggest getting/borrowing a MiniDV cam with a thru function that allows you to pass the analog signal into it, then out in a DV signal via the firewire port. Use some software, such as Windows Movie Maker (free with all XP windows machines, but reputed to be a bit dodgy,) or a demo of Adobe premiere or something simillar to edit and tidy it up. Then burn it to DVD. That said, MiniDV is 13GB for an hour of footage, so quite a big file size. For further options have a look at the Simply DV Website which is a veritable gold mine of information on video editing and related topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagardner1984 Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Agree with Brian's post - the external USB thing that Pinnacle do is useless - the results are like watching a badly dubbed film. I was told by someone reliable once that the key issue is to have enough memory in the system, and this was hundreds of times more important than the processor speed. He told me that to get really good results, the best configuration would be 1Ghz + processor, 1024Mb RAM, and PCI rather than USB connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 13, 2004 Author Share Posted November 13, 2004 I've had a couple of people recommend this company's product range, specifically the lower-end of the ADVC range - anyone know anything about them? They seem a little pricey compared with the alternatives, but if they're worth the money ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Ive had high end Canopus software demo 'd to me & it seems very good - stable functional etc etc. It is also as you have noticed rather expensive & whether its worth it I couldnt say. I certainly havent bought it but would consider it if I were looking to make a living from its use. Have you had a look round for open source editing apps as it seems thats going to be the meat of your process. The capturing & output being handled perhaps by propietary applications that you have with yur hardware? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim_mcslim Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 the canopus stuff is pretty cool, I am gonna buy the hardware processor as soon as I have a need for it, I have the canopus procoder mpeg maker - not the quickest of things on my p4 2.4gig but does make a nice mpeg.... however - in answer to your question.... would it not be easier to use something like this to achieve your transfer task, there are cheaper models - but the one I linked is pretty good.... doesn't give you the editing capability originally requested but it does do the job in real time, which if you have quite a few to do then it would be better than messing about going through a pc... paul... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 14, 2004 Author Share Posted November 14, 2004 would it not be easier to use something like this to achieve your transfer task, there are cheaper models - but the one I linked is pretty good.... doesn't give you the editing capability originally requested but it does do the job in real time, which if you have quite a few to do then it would be better than messing about going through a pc...It's certainly a possibility. I was planning to buy a DVD/VCR combo jobby from Richer Sounds - are they available with recordable DVD sections yet without having to pay stupid money for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 There are a few HDD / DVD write combos around. CPC allege to have a Philips model at a reasonable price... but I'm still waiting for mine! Sorry, but I can't find it on their site now. I'll look at my order on Monday. You would copy the video to HDD, then edit out the adds, divide into suitable programmes then burn the DVD, all in real time. The edits are a bit crude, but it does work. Edit Found it. The stock code is AV1101309, but the www site offers no details. £383.63 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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