converting VHS to DVD

[Malidog]

Is there a relatively easy way to convert old VHS movies to DVD?

I've seen a product called Replicant but I've heard bad things.

I've got a relatively good VCR and a DVD burner drive in my Gateway. I can connect the two somehow, correct?

I DON'T however, have a DV camera.

Any ideas for someone who hasn't done this before, but is computer savvy would be appreciated.

 

[benorbeen]

I just bought a product called Dazzle that can do this.

There's a recent thread in this forum called VHS-->Computer that may be of some insight.

 

[Ute Giddeon]

To make DVDs that will play on set-top players, you'll need to "convert" the VHS tapes to a computer file, using a format called "MPEG-2."

The easiest way is to capture directly from the VCR to your computer in the MPEG-2 format. For that, you'll need a "capture card," which is the generic term for Ben's Dazzle device. Specifically, you want a capture card that captures directly to MPEG-2. I don't know if the Dazzle DVC 80 allows for any sort of MPEG2 encoding.

You'll also need DVD authoring software.

 

[benorbeen]

That's helpful for me to know, Ute (whatever your real name is, I forget). I get really bloated file sizes with Dazzle, only because I don't know which kind of encoding to use. I believe there is the MPEG-2 format, and -3, and -4. Not totally sure, though.

 

[Ute Giddeon]

(whatever your real name is, I forget)

Jamey.

If you want, take a look and post all the encoding options when you can; I'll give you my two cents.

 

[benorbeen]

Avi
Dv-avi Pal
Dv-avi Ntsc
Mpeg-1 Vcd Pal
Mpeg-1 Vcd Ntsc
Mpeg-2 S-vcd Pal
Mpeg-2 S-vcd Ntsc
Mpeg-2 Dvd Pal
Mpeg-2 Dvd Ntsc

 

[Ute Giddeon]

Avi
Dv-avi Pal
Dv-avi Ntsc
Mpeg-1 Vcd Pal
Mpeg-1 Vcd Ntsc
Mpeg-2 S-vcd Pal
Mpeg-2 S-vcd Ntsc
Mpeg-2 Dvd Pal
Mpeg-2 Dvd Ntsc

Ben,

MPEG-2 DVD NTSC is probably your highest-quality option, but you'll have to check the bitrate or compression ratio to be sure. Higher bitrate = higher visual quality = larger file size. Maybe the manual has a comparison chart which includes the bitrate?

If you want to keep your file sizes down, you'll have to experiemnt with the different codecs and make your own determination about visual quality vs. file size.

Generic AVI or DV are your other likely options; again, you'll want to know the bitrate. DV is always 25 Mbps (megabits per second), which is equal to 2.98 MBps (megabytes per second), not including audio and overhead. The other codecs can vary.

If you have a specific application in mind for your videos, I can make some hard-and-fast setting reccommendations.

There's no such thing as MPEG-3 , FYI. Mp3, which sometimes confuses this issue, stands for "MPEG Layer 3." It's part of the MPEG-1 specification. MPEG-4, however, is an excellent new codec.


-Jamey