DVD-Software.info

[Terry Eden]

Hi all,

I'm doing the big "convert the VHS to DVD" game. I was initially going
to get a standalone DVD recorder and plug the video in - but I've
realised that I want to edit, add menus etc etc.

So, I'm looking to get a hardware encoder to do the legwork on the
converting. Am I better off getting a USB2 box like the Pinnacle PCTV
Deluxe or Plextor Convertx M402U - or are the PCI cards like the WinTV
PVR-250 and 350 any good?

Failing that - what would you recommend?

Are there any boxes which will capture Freeview AND do MPEG encoding?

Thanks

Terry

[catfish@hotmall.com]

I have a m402u - it is basically click and play, then click and burn.

[Smarty]

Having owned and used several types of encoders which do direct mpeg2
encoding as well as DV avi encoding to make DVDs from VHS tapes, I would
personally (and strongly) recommend using a standalone DVR as your encoder.
The Panasonic hardware encoder does an especially fine job of reducing
noise, improving the synch (by regenerating the time base) and encoding in a
very nice looking mpeg2 conversion. The Hauppauge PVR (both PCI and USB)
also work well, as does the Plextor I've used, but the Panasonic looks
better, and allows you to take the captured mpeg2 into an editing process
which is lossless on the PC to do I-frame editing / cuts and then author a
DVD with menus very easily. I and some other folks on this newsgroup prefer
to use TMPGE DVD Author to do this computer editing / authoring step.

The PCI / USB approach with an mpeg2 capture device is good but not quite as
excellent in final results, and is also more limited in terms of pre-set
encoding bitrates. The Panasonic bitrate can be chosen continuously over a
very wide range.

Let's see how other folks react to your question. My approach is not
necessarily the best, but I have done 100's of tapes and am very pleased
with the results, both in quality as well as speed of conversion.

Smarty

[Bill Vermillion]

If you are going to use an external device you'd probably be better
off with a firewire connection. It seems to be far more stable
than USB.

I use a Canopus ADVC300 - but then you have to encode the video
aftewards.

As to a standalone unit - I use that a LOT. And I record onto
+RW disks, them move them to the PC and manipulate them with
VideoRedo.

But there are lots of ways to do it.

Bill
--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com

[Ken Maltby]

I have for a long time now used what I have come to regard
as the "best hardware encoder" for MPEG-2, an AVC-2000. I
still use it for captures off my DirecTiVo DVR. The encoder chip
it uses, the Broadcom BCM7040 (KFir II) disappeared from the
capture card ranks after TiVo bought out its production for all their
Series-2 TiVo units.

For VHS to DVD I prefer to use a DVD Recorder with built-in
TBC and noise correction. I use DVD+RW disks and bring those
to my PC for proper authoring, with TDA. I have it setup so that
the VHS to DVD+RW process can be done separate from and
not interfering with my use of the rest of my audio-video system or
my PCs. I use a refurbished RCA DRC8000N I picked up for
~$150. ( It uses the Philips SAA7118H 9bit A/D chip the
successor to the SAA7114H in the AVC-2000)

Luck;
Ken

[Mark Burns]

I am using a Pioneer desktop DVR-RT500 desktop recorder (since May) and
a Pinnacle Moviebox USB 2.0 (2 years).

The desktop is easy to use. I front end it wint a SIMA CT-2 to remove
macrovision from my old VHS tapes. Record to DVD-RW, edit on PC with
VideoRedo, author with TmpgEnc DvdAuthor, create .iso with DvdShrink,
and burn with DvdDecrypter.

The PMB offers more control. I can change the audio settings, color
intensitys and hues, and set the bitrate. I capture with a bitrate of
7000, and often overrun the size of a disk. Then follow the same steps
as the desktop but often use DvdShrink and its deep analysis to
compress to the size of the DVD.

I think that the PMB gives me a better result because of the higher bit
rate at capture. There is a big difference between 6000 and 7000, but
not much (none that I can discern) between 7000 and 8000. I actually
believe that my disks made this way play back much better than the
original VHS tapes, they sort of shine.

I try to keep my DVD's to about 2 hours. I would rather split a DVD
than sacrifice quality. We can't add pixels later.

Good luck...

Cheers...

[GMAN_]

[Guest]

Which Panasonic unit do you recommend?

An early 2005 Consumer Reports magazine seems to recommend the
DMR-E55/E65, but I'm afraid of what I read at
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-68810.html :

"This unit will stop recording on almost ALL dvd-r discs from all
manufacturers EXCEPT for Verbatim discs..."

"Problems I have experienced with the Panasonic DMR-E55: Unit stops
recording for no apparrent reason. Slightly jittery video even from
good quality VHS source tapes..."

Has the DMR-E55/65 been superseded by newer models?

[Geezah]

Smarty wrote:

[Martin D. Bartsch]