Are you considering the purchase
of a DVD burner with the idea of preserving your aging videotape
collection by transferring it to DVD? It’s certainly a good idea
given that most tape technologies begin to lose the ability to hold
the recording over time
In as few as 10 years, video dropouts and fuzziness can occur with
a videotape. The solution? Transferring the tape to a more stable
medium is probably the safest bet. DVD is an excellent medium for
a number of reasons. In only six years of availability, DVD players
have already reached a staggering 54 percent of home penetration.
As a result, there are plenty of devices in which users can play
a DVD once it has been created. Furthermore, because DVD media has
an estimated shelf life of more than 30 years, it is an ideal medium
for preserving videotapes. Other benefits of DVD is that up to two
hours of video can fit onto a single DVD disc, and with the falling
cost of DVD recordable/rewritable media, it’s economical too
A Word About Copyrights – Please respect the rights of copyright
holders and refrain from recording anything onto a DVD or CD if
you do not have the rights to do so. If you are unsure of your rights,
please consult your legal advisor
Getting Started
As with many things in life,
you get what you pay for. Achieving quality results when transferring
tape to DVD depends on having a fast enough computer, and most
importantly, a high-quality capture card. Burning a DVD after
capturing the video also begs the questions : What kind of DVD
burner is best, and which DVD format should I use ?
Below are some considerations for equipment:
- Computer : For the
purpose of this paper, we’ll use a Microsoft Windows operating
system-based PC as the example system. When considering a PC
to transfer your videos, CPU speed, RAM, and hard disk space
are all vital. While you can get by with an Intel Pentium III
800mhz CPU, you’ll find that a Pentium 4 or equivalent CPU is
worth the money. Rendering of video is very CPU intensive, so
the faster the CPU, the quicker the video will be rendered.
For best results, go with a minimum of 256 RAM, and use as big
of a hard drive as you can. If needed, you can also add an extra
hard drive to your system. Capturing video for DVD typically
consumes about 35 MB of capacity per minute, so you’ll need
almost 5 GB of hard drive space for a two-hour video
- Video Capture Equipment
: The hardware for capturing video is a very critical component.
The better your video capture hardware, the better the capture
quality. Be sure to select a card that can capture video for
MPEG-2 (DVD quality). Companies like ATI and NVIDIA offer solutions
that serve as add-in cards for your PC, whereas Dazzle and others
offer external units that connect to your computer using USB
2.0 or IEEE1394 / FireWire / i.LINK
Double-check that the video capture solution you choose has
analog inputs, typically composite video (the yellow RCA jack)
and left/right stereo (red and white RCA jacks). If you’re fortunate
enough to have S-Video (DIN-style connector with four pins)
outputs on your tape deck, opt for a video capture solution
that has S-Video inputs and left/right stereo inputs. S-Video
delivers a better signal than composite. All of the video capture
solutions should include software for capturing video. If your
PC came equipped with a video capture port and audio inputs,
you may want to try out the quality of your built-in video capture
solution before looking into alternatives
- DVD Recorder : The
burner that you use with your PC is another important consideration.
Both the hardware and the bundled software should be evaluated
for speed, ease-of-use, and player compatibility. The flexibility
of the Sony Dual RW DVD recorders is hard to match as they record
on both DVD+R and DVD+RW discs. Why is this important? You may
want to share your DVDs with others and it’s possible that a
friend’s DVD player may prefer one format over another. Most
DVD players manufactured after 2000 should be able to play either
format, but there are still some players out there with a preference.
Having the ability to burn both formats protects your investment
in the burner no matter which of the two formats ends up dominating
the market.
The software bundled with your
drive is also important. MyDVD software from Sonic Solutions is
currently the most popular DVD video authoring solution for consumers.
It’s included with many of the DVD recorders being sold, including
the Sony Dual RW drives. The software you choose is significant
because some packages do a better job than others of creating
DVD video discs that adhere strictly to the DVD video standard.
Discs that adhere to this standard will provide an extra margin
of compatibility with the vast majority of DVD players
NOTE
Do your homework when it comes
to choosing equipment. Be sure to check the details to ensure
the video capture equipment is compatible with your PC and operating
system. The same goes for your DVD burner and its associated software.
A little research on the front-end will save you loads of trouble
later
Connecting Your Equipment
In the above picture you’ll see a typical setup for transferring
VHS tape to DVD. The following products are depicted in this image
:
1. Notebook computer with USB 2.0 interface and Pentium 4 CPU
2. Dazzle Digital Video Creator 150 video capture solution
3. Sony Dual RW DRX-510UL DVD recorder
4. VHS VCR
Following the manufacturer’s instructions, install your hardware
and software and ensure it is operating correctly.
Capturing The Video
The next step is to capture you video, with means transferring
it from your camcorder to a computer or similar device
Before you begin capturing, think about the DVD that you’re planning
to create. Each capture you make will be a “chapter” on the DVD.
It’s generally a good idea to make each major “scene” a chapter.
That way, you’ll have the flexibility to jump quickly to specific
parts of the video, just like the scene index on a commercial
DVD movie. It may mean more work for you on the front end of the
creation process because you need to capture each scene one at
a time, but the end product will be worth the effort! If you’d
rather not make each scene a chapter, you can just let the tape
play and make one big capture of all the video. You won’t have
the ability to jump around like you would if each scene was a
chapter, but it’s less work
Also before you begin, make sure to select the resolution that
is most appropriate for DVD. Some software packages make it easy
by spelling out the best resolution for DVD. If it’s not clear,
be sure to capture MPEG-2 at the highest resolution available
Now you’re ready to begin capturing your video. To get started,
launch the video capturing software that came with your video
capture solution. Typically, you’ll see a screen that looks like
the below
From this point, follow these basic steps for a seamless capturing
experience :
- Connect your tape deck or
video camera to the video capture inputs and power it on
- Select the proper input device
in your capture software (if applicable) and hit play on the
tape deck or camcorder. The video should appear in the capture
screen section of the video capture software
- Next, stream the tape to the
desired starting point using the reverse or fast-forward buttons
on your tape deck or camcorder
- Once you’re at the correct
start point, click the record button in the capture software
and let the tape play. It’s not necessary to end the capture
at the exact place where you wish it to stop as you can edit
it later in the DVD authoring software process. However, it
is important to start at the correct point. Remember, you can
always trim video later, but you cannot add video
- When you’re ready to end the
capture, click the stop button in the capture software application
- Make sure to save the captured
video to a location where you have enough available hard drive
space
- The captured file should be
an .avi or .mpg file. Most DVD authoring packages accept avi
or MPEG video file formats. Some DVD authoring packages will
accept other file formats as well. Check the documentation that
came with your DVD authoring software
NOTE
Keep track of the captures as
you make them and name them according to content so you’ll remember
the order of scenes later when you’re authoring the DVD. Once
you have captured your video, you can use the editing software
that came with your video capture hardware to add desired title
screens or transition effects. For your first time, it’s generally
better to minimize editing and head straight to DVD authoring
Authoring The DVD
Launch your DVD authoring software and select the appropriate
buttons to start a new project. Typically, the first step is to
choose the background theme. This is the first screen to appear
when your DVD in inserted to a player. Most DVD authoring software
packages have pre-canned themes, and often times you can use a
JPEG image you have saved as the background theme. Typically,
you can also add an audio file to play when the background screen
is displayed
Also from the beginning, you need to decide if you want your DVD
to “play through” like a commercial DVD movie, or return to the
background screen after playing a chapter. This option can be
set in the “Options” or “Preferences” section of your project
Once you have chosen your background theme and decided how you
want to play your finished DVD, it’s time to add the video that
you captured. Choose the “Get Movies” or “Get Video” option within
the DVD authoring software. Add the video clips in the order that
you want them to play on the finished disc. (Now aren’t you glad
you kept track of the video captures earlier?) Each clip becomes
a chapter. You can typically re-name each chapter by clicking
on the title. By default, the name of the video clip is the chapter
name
Once you’ve added your video
clips, you can adjust the start- and end-points of each clip,
if necessary, so that each chapter starts and ends on the desired
video frame. In the MyDVDÒ application, you can simply double
click on a chapter to bring up the trimming window, which has
easy-to-use sliders that you can click and drag to set the start-
and end-points for the video. You can also select the video frame
that will be the “thumbnail” for the chapter. In doing this, you’re
not affecting the original captured video file on the hard disk,
only what will be recorded to the DVD
Burning The DVD Disc
Now that you have added your video clips and adjusted them, it’s
time to see how the finished project will look. Insert a blank
DVD recordable or rewritable disc into your DVD burner and click
the “Burn” or “Record” button in the DVD authoring software. It
may take some time to trans-code all the video and build the DVD
menu structure—this is where it really pays to have a fast processor.
A 4x speed recorder, such as the Sony Dual RW DVD drive, can burn
an entire DVD±R or DVD±RW disc in approximately 15 minutes
It’s important to follow the DVD burner manufacturer’s recommendations
for DVD media. For best results, stick with name brand DVD discs
NOTE
It’s generally better to use a rewritable disc the first time
you burn. That way, if the project doesn’t turn out the way you’d
hoped, you can always erase the disc and re-burn it after making
adjustments
Checking The Disc In A DVD
Player
You can now hold in your hand the masterpiece you created. The
final step is to pop it into a DVD player and see how it looks.
After inserting the disc into the DVD player, the background screen
you selected and the video chapters displayed should be the first
visuasl to appear. Clicking play should start the playback of
the first video chapter, and each chapter should play sequentially
unless you selected the option in your DVD authoring software
to return to the menu after each clip plays
NOTE
DVD players manufactured in 2000
and later are the most compatible with DVD recordable media. If
your PC or laptop contains a DVD-ROM drive, the disc you created
should play when inserted.
