External VHS-transfer - Help sort through the BS
 

Hi all,

Sorry if this is the wrong place(Admin, please move if needed) - But hoping you guys have some input.

Currently I'm transferring my home movies to my computer with the following hardware:

My hardware:

• JVC HR-S9600E
• ATI AIW X1300
• Intel Q9550, Asus P5Q-E, 6 gb ram, Windows XP SP3 - ATI drivers from this site. Only used for capture.
• No external TBC, as I haven't been able to obtain one.

Once I've captured it all to the best of my abilities myself, I'll be shipping out test items to external companies to do it(If the quality is much better, I'll pay to have everything by the company. ).
I'm doing in all for myself in case something happens while at external companies(However small that chance may be)

I'll be trying a local company in Denmark first to see if they can do a better job/Which claim to be the best in Europe). However, I need help cutting through the BS.

Site: VideoPro (Danish version) - Google translated english version

Faq:

• All my tapes are VHS-C or VHS(Pal)
• 1€ ~ 7,5 DKK e.g. cheapest option is 16€ up to 40€ for the best they have.

Questions:

1. What exactly is Procast format and is there any upside to using ProRes 422 format? I can choose SD, ProRes 422 or MPEG-4 and if I go for the expensive option 1080p or 720p.
2. Any sense in getting the video resized to 16:9 instead of the 4:3 format? That's something I can do afterwards as well I assume?
3. Any sense in choosing the HD version? I assume they capture the exact same file and then upscale(That's something I'll ask) but how much can you really upscale a VHS movie? They write it's "optically rescanned to HD" and then I can get 1080p, however they suggest 720p progressive.
4. The SD version is interlaced, while the HD is progressive - Will that make any difference?

Looks like complete B.S. to me. 4K from standard definition tape? Good luck with that one. Broadcast DVD ? ? (There is no such thing. Broadcast-quality MPEG is another term for 15000 kbps encoding, but it isn't valid for "DVD" spec., but it sounds cool to customers who don't know anything about formats, doesn't it?). 1080p is not valid for BluRay, only 720p at double frame rates meets HD spec. Some devices will choke on 1080p 50fps playback. They aren't a Pro shop -- they don't list lossless transfer as an option. Lossless is the way the pros do it. They don't warn you that upsampled standard definition is blurry and under-saturated.

Submit only one tape, and be prepared for a disappointment.