VHS to DVD software recommendation please

[hcb0172]

I was in Best Buy and saw 3 or 4 different VHS to DVD/Computer ripping packages.

I have a bunch of VHS I want to rip, including the entire Woodstock 1994.

I've seen Roxio's offering, Magix offering, the Dazzle..
Are any acceptable for dumping VHS to computer or DVD?
thanks

[xjsb125]

http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77771

[hcb0172]

Thanks for the link. I don't have the $ for that type of equipment and don't want to pay for a service. Sounds like the software route isn't great.

The other option I have is a DVD burner I can hook to my VHS and run. It's a Sony DVD burner, it is a Sony RDR-GX7.

Would this be suitable to recording and taking it to post online?

[mbself]

Thanks for the link. I don't have the $ for that type of equipment and don't want to pay for a service. Sounds like the software route isn't great.

The other option I have is a DVD burner I can hook to my VHS and run. It's a Sony DVD burner, it is a Sony RDR-GX7.

Would this be suitable to recording and taking it to post online?

It would be more than suitable but there are a couple of potential problems you need to be aware of.

1. Some of these stand alone recorders have a/v sync issues.

2. The DVD that comes out will be in an oddball format that will play on most DVD players but not all.

3. dropped frames from time base problems and wavy lines at the tip and bottom margins......a tbc will correct that which some of the units on the link provided above have built in...you can get a stand alone but you can spend as much on one of those as you would a good capture device

4. you will not be able to author good menus and no one else will be able to either because the format your recorder will create on the dvd will require transcoding which i think is not allowed here for quality control reasons

so anyway, i know the entire woodstock 94 event is out there already authored and ready to roll.....i would just find it and download it..i think the sources out there are better than vhs

what are the other things? just do a search and make sure you are not spinning your wheels.....see if someone else has already done the work

[hcb0172]

Thanks, I may start trying some things. I haven't seen the whole Woodstock 1994 anywhere. I've seen pieces. I want to make the whole thing through..
I've also got several Project/Object shows from 1999-2001 from when I saw lots of their shows and drove around w/ them for several days each tour. I went to highschool w/ a few guys that were in the band at that time.... and I know I'm the only one who taped the shows.
Those are all on Hi-8 and I need to get them onto DVD too.

[bestatworms2]

buy a dazzle, they are pretty cheap

[DanielG]

This is how I do my VHS transfers.

Make sure you have a good VHS/SVHS deck. This is most important.

I then use a miniDV videocamera which acts as an analog-digital converter. I plug the VHS deck into the videocamera (the camera should come with a cable to do this. Use the S-Video connection if possible). Then I run a firewire cable from the miniDV videocamera to my PC.

To 'capture' the video on my PC I use a free bit of software called WinDV. This software uses the DV-AVI codec and results in an AVI file 13 gigabytes per hour.

This file is perfect for editing and you can import it into any video editor (Vegas, Premiere, Windows Movie Maker). A side-effect of VHS tapes is that there is 'head-switching' noise at the bottom few lines of the video. Sometimes the edges and top also have a bit of noise. I would recommend adding a black border around the affected areas (using your video editor) or just crop and zoom it out.

Once you have edited your video, you render the video to MPEG-2 and the audio to PCM or AC3 and then import the resulting files into a DVD Authoring application. This application will allow you to create menus, chapter points and it will then create a "video_ts" folder that you can burn to a DVD.

[hcb0172]

That sounds like a good option actually!
I have a miniDV camera (Sony DC-HCR90) so I can do that..

[DanielG]

Good to hear. Some later models do not have the 'pass-thru' feature, fingers crossed yours does.

Some tips: You may need to go into the menu system of your Sony and change the input to 'S-Video' as mine defaults to the composite inputs.

Also, I didn't mention this in my first post but you don't need to record to the miniDV - you can play the VHS and then record on your PC at the same time.

Good luck!

[hcb0172]

I might be in luck

Analog To Digital Conversion with Pass-Through. Convert and/or record any analog NTSC video source to digital
video via the analog inputs. Analog NTSC video can also be passed through the digital Handycam Camcorder directly
into a PC via the i.LINK interface in real-time for easy PC editing of your analog footage.

http://www.kines.umich.edu/faculty/kinhelp/camcorder.pdf

Sounds like a winner!