#1  
11-29-2011, 05:24 AM
naripeddi naripeddi is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 244
Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
Hello all,

This is a long question, so please bear with me. I am in PAL world.

My set-up:

JVC HR-S7600AM S-VHS VCR (with built-in TBC and 3D-NR)
Canopus ADVC 110
ATI TV Wonder 600 USB (Ordered, but yet to receive)
Seagate 2 TB harddrive (USB 2.0, Externally powered)

My goal:
To archive family VHS videos in the most fool-proof & future-proof manner with my current hardware.

My current approach:
Captured some of the VHS tapes with Canopus ADVC-110, created DVD-Video discs, and also stored the DV files on MiniDV tapes.

My (changed) approach after going through this site for a couple of years:

1. Capture the VHS using the ATI 600 USB, VirtualDub, Huffyuv in uncompressed format

Question: Is Huffuv okay, or I need to go for the FREE Matrox's version of uncompressed SD Codec? Also, capture at what resolution for being future-proof, considering I might put multipe VHS into one Blue-ray disc when I buy Blue-ray in the future?

2. Filter the video using VirtualDub, burn the DVD-Video discs (multiple copies to be stored in multiple physical locations)

3. For archival purpose (in addition to the above), store the uncompressed video on hard drive.

4. For archival purpose (in addition to the above), convert the uncompressed video using Matrox's FREE MPEG-2 I-Frame-only at 25 Mbps and store on a different hard drive.

Question: Is 25 Mbps the correct & sufficient bitrate? In that case, wouldn't it be the same as DV quality? (going by DV birate of 25 Mbps) File size would be similar to DV? (13 Gb per hour)
Question: Can we also use the Matrox MPEG-2 codec to encode video to DVD?? I guess not, but just checking...
Question: In future, can we convert this to Blueray without much quality loss (if the uncompressed video is lost)?

5. For archival purpose, convert the uncompressed video into DV-AVI (using the FREE Matrox DV/DVCAM Codec) and store them on MiniDV tapes.

Question: Isn't Canopus ADVC-110 good enough for this bit (capturing VHS to DV directly) rather than converting the uncompressed video using Matrox DV Codec? Is Matrox DV Codec superior to Canopus Hardware DV Codec? (I know I asked this question earlier and got the answer that Canopus is inferior to Matrox DV.) Also I need to consider the 0-255 versus 15-235??? (I don't understand this bit entirely, but I know it means something).

Thanks very much for the wisdom generated by this site. I will surely update my progress on this thread as I go along. This is going to be a long project for me, especially with restoration work that needs to be done.
Reply With Quote
Someday, 12:01 PM
admin's Avatar
Ads / Sponsors
 
Join Date: ∞
Posts: 42
Thanks: ∞
Thanked 42 Times in 42 Posts
  #2  
12-06-2011, 06:36 PM
lordsmurf's Avatar
lordsmurf lordsmurf is offline
Site Staff | Video
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,503
Thanked 2,448 Times in 2,080 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by naripeddi View Post
This is a long question, so please bear with me. I am in PAL world.
I'm constantly surround with both NTSC and PAL gear, so I'm no stranger to either.

Quote:
My set-up:
JVC HR-S7600AM S-VHs VCR (with built-in TBC and 3D-NR)
Canopus ADVC 110
ATI TV Wonder 600 USB (Ordered, but yet to receive)
Seagate 2 TB harddrive (USB 2.0, Externally powered)
Looks fine.

Quote:
My goal:
To archive family VHS videos in the most fool-proof & future-proof manner with my current hardware.

My current approach:
Captured some of the VHS tapes with Canopus ADVC-110, created DVD-Video discs, and also stored the DV files on MiniDV tapes.
Standard home/hobby user goal and approach.

Quote:
My (changed) approach after going through this site for a couple of years:
1. Capture the VHS using the ATI 600 USB, VirtualDub, Huffyuv in uncompressed format
A change for the better.

Although for PAL video, DV isn't awful. But it's still compression, and if you plan to restore or edit the videos in any way, it's often best to avoid compression if you can.

Quote:
Question: Is Huffuv okay, or I need to go for the FREE Matrox's version of uncompressed SD Codec? Also, capture at what resolution for being future-proof, considering I might put multipe VHS into one Blue-ray disc when I buy Blue-ray in the future?
Huffyuv is fine. Just use the normal version -- not MT, not 64 bit, not a hacked version, etc
Blu-ray supports 720x480 H.264 (AVC standard) or MPEG-2 (15Mbps max).

Quote:
2. Filter the video using VirtualDub, burn the DVD-Video discs (multiple copies to be stored in multiple physical locations)
3. For archival purpose (in addition to the above), store the uncompressed video on hard drive.
4. For archival purpose (in addition to the above), convert the uncompressed video using Matrox's FREE MPEG-2 I-Frame-only at 25 Mbps and store on a different hard drive.
That works.

Quote:
Question: Is 25 Mbps the correct & sufficient bitrate? In that case, wouldn't it be the same as DV quality? (going by DV birate of 25 Mbps) File size would be similar to DV? (13 Gb per hour)
For PAL, it's similar, yes. 4:2:0 (albeit variants that differ) and 13Gb/hour. But Matrox codecs are highly regarded, and for the longest time you had to buy pricey Matrox hardware to get access to their codecs. Having freely available VFW codecs is awesome. I'd call the Canopus DV codec a McDonald's hamburger, while a Matrox codec is like a good burger from the local diner.

Quote:
Question: Can we also use the Matrox MPEG-2 codec to encode video to DVD?? I guess not, but just checking...
Not the VFW codecs, no.

Quote:
Question: In future, can we convert this to Blueray without much quality loss (if the uncompressed video is lost)?
At high bitrates, loss is minimal to negligible.

Quote:
5. For archival purpose, convert the uncompressed video into DV-AVI (using the FREE Matrox DV/DVCAM Codec) and store them on MiniDV tapes.
You can do that, sure.

Quote:
Question: Isn't Canopus ADVC-110 good enough for this bit (capturing VHS to DV directly) rather than converting the uncompressed video using Matrox DV Codec? Is Matrox DV Codec superior to Canopus Hardware DV Codec? (I know I asked this question earlier and got the answer that Canopus is inferior to Matrox DV.) Also I need to consider the 0-255 versus 15-235??? (I don't understand this bit entirely, but I know it means something).
At some point, a lot of this becomes preference based on experience. I've been doing this for a long, long time now -- between 10 and 15 years. (If you refer to the homepage of this site, you can read a editorial series I wrote a few weeks ago.) My observation on quality has long been that Matrox looks better. However, in the interest of not doing roundabout encoding, you may have to just use the Canopus for your DV tape work -- and I think that's fine. You could also consider somehow splitting or concurrently encoding video, so you make the DV backup tape and the uncompressed capture at the same time. (That's how many professional workflows run, using a distribution amp, such as the DataVideo VP-299, which is also inclusive in the DataVideo TBC-1000.)

Quote:
Thanks very much for the wisdom generated by this site. I will surely update my progress on this thread as I go along. This is going to be a long project for me, especially with restoration work that needs to be done.
Please do. It always makes for a great read (for both site staff, and other readers and members) to see how others are progressing on their projects -- both good and bad experiences, as we can all learn from both kinds!

Thanks much.

P.S. -- For quicker response times to threads, consider upgrading to a Premium Member.

- Did my advice help you? Then become a Premium Member and support this site.
- For sale in the marketplace: TBCs, workflows, capture cards, VCRs
Reply With Quote
  #3  
12-07-2011, 10:21 PM
naripeddi naripeddi is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 244
Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
WOW, thanks for the very detailed response LS!. It was worth waiting for your reply.

Quote:
Blu-ray supports 720x480 H.264 (AVC standard) or MPEG-2 (15Mbps max).
Which one do you suggest for my long-term archival purpose, and what bitrate?

Regards
Reply With Quote
  #4  
12-08-2011, 09:05 AM
metaleonid metaleonid is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Fort Lee, New Jersey
Posts: 502
Thanked 19 Times in 17 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by naripeddi View Post
Which one do you suggest for my long-term archival purpose, and what bitrate
For long term archiving purposes I personally suggest to keep "originals". I don't mean to keep VHS, I just mean to keep original uncompressed or losslessly compressed files if you capture in Huffyuv or DV if you capture with ADVC. The reason is - every compression results in loss of the quality. DVDs will go away and will be replaced by Blu-Ray. Then Blu-Ray eventually will go away and will be replaced with something else. And so forth.

I started to keep the originals. If I see the format change again, I will just re-encode originals to the superior format that is going to exist at that time.

--Leonid
Reply With Quote
  #5  
12-08-2011, 10:06 PM
naripeddi naripeddi is offline
Free Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 244
Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
Thanks metaleonid.

Yes I appreciate the value in keeping the uncompressed videos.

My approach is to store them as uncompressed, DVDs, DV files as well as MPEG-2 I-Frame.

Regards
Reply With Quote
Reply




Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Best VCR? Is a separate TBC or proc amp necessary? Capture card suggestions? lordsmurf Project Planning, Workflows 24 05-24-2011 07:39 PM
VHS, S-VHS, LD capture - apparently doing it entirely wrong. Suggestions? Urbane0083 Capture, Record, Transfer 13 12-15-2010 11:25 AM
Advice/suggestions regarding capture,cleanup of mid 80's home VHS rms8 Capture, Record, Transfer 20 03-25-2010 04:50 PM
Long term (archival type) storage? admin Blank Media 11 01-07-2010 01:10 PM
Capture Card Suggestions with Vista 64 bit cgcarter Capture, Record, Transfer 6 12-28-2008 01:03 AM

Thread Tools



 
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:44 PM