Making my own DVDs from VHS

Hi All,

I am just starting out in the world of DVD making, having just been
given a DVD writer as a Birthday present.

I am trying to convert my VHS video collection onto DVDs to save on
storage space.

I got hold of a Pinnacle Linx USB video capture device on eBay which I
am using to capture video. The problem I have is that the DVDs I'm
making are of poor quality. The Linx only captures at 320x240 which I
think may be the main problem, but I had some video files on my
computer already which were in VCD format (352x288 IIRC) which made a
far superior DVD than the Linx captures.

Is there anything I can do to make them better without going down the
route of buying a higher-res capture device?

I am using a Ricoh DVD+RW drive with Imation DVD+R and Packard Bell
DVD+RW media, using the Intervideo WinDVD software bundled with the
drive. It makes now difference whether I use recorder to burn direct
to +VR format DVDs or capture first then burn to a conventional DVD.

I would be very grateful for any advice.

Cheers,
Chris.

 

That would certainly cure the problem, assuming your PC is also up to
the task. You need all the horsepower you can get to capture at DVD
quality, and a decent capture device such as made by Canopus, or the
ADS A/V Pyro link (steer clear of ADS's USB devices), both of which will
set you back a couple of hundred quid at least.

Regards

Mark

 

You fail to mention what camcorder you have. Many camcorders that have
DV-in have an analogue video (A/V) in facility - Sony miniDV camcorders
do.

If you "qualify" then you can transfer to miniDV tape and handle in the
usual way (to produce DVDs), or alternatively use Movie Factory which
allows you to do it on the fly.

I might add that the built-in (hardware) codec is of better quality than
most PC software codecs, and much faster so you're less likely to get
dropped frames.
--
Tony Morgan
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice,
there is." - Yogi Berra
http://www.camcord.info
http://www.rhylonline.com

 

It will be, you need to either have an analogue capture card or a way of
converting your analogue source to DV and then capture via your IEEE1394
port (this can either be via a camcorder that allows analogue > DV pass
through or using something like a Canopus analogue > DV converter.

 

I've had great success doing the following:

Playing the VHS through my player (that has just had a head clean), this
goes to the analog port on my Panasonic DS-60 (which can be selected as an
input or an output). My DS-60 is then connected to my PCs firewire port. I
just start up my favorite DV editing software, and capture the video on the
fly. Full resolution, no dropped frames, beautiful audio, everything is
perfect.

I found it was less expensive to purchase a DV camera than it was to get a
good capture card.

Hope I haven't confused ya!

L.

 

Thanks for that. I (for one) wasn't sure if the DS-60 supported analogue
pass-through.
--
Tony Morgan
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice,
there is." - Yogi Berra
http://www.camcord.info
http://www.rhylonline.com