Convert VHS to MP4 files (H.264-AAC mono) - suggestions?

[xceller8]

Hi - 1st post as paid member, thx

Goal: convert alot of VHS ultimately to .mp4 files (h.264/AAC mono) that will only be archived on hdds - no burning DVDs, etc -- easy-peasy, eh?

Hardware:

Note: I maintain some fluency w/ Mac in order to support my wife's work, but I do all my work in Windows -- I've configed these Mac laptops to multi-boot in an unorthodox, advanced way -- implying some skills, but I'm not fluent day-2-day in the OSX operating system, nor do I want to invest any more time to do that.

... but i'm using the Macs because of the Firewire input ports !!

1) Apple.MacBook.13.`07_2.1_A1181_core2duo 64bit machine
Intel core 2 duo - 2.16 GHz -
Chipsets: i945 GM ; Southbridge 82801GHM ( ICH7-M/U )
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
120 gb SATA I hdd, 4 gb RAM
Firewire port

Software: Windows 7 32 bit sp1 Ultimate

(the machine runs 64bit Snow Leopard, but only supports 32bit Win 7)

Notes on this machine & projects:

Installed the former Windows Movie Maker (WMM) v2.6_MM26_ENU.msi -- because it "still" recognizes attached devices such as camcorders, etc.

My CAPTURE signal path:
*Polaroid DVC2000 4-head VHS/DVD player deck (reasonable shape) composite cables out into a DAC-100
(Digital to Analog converter -- just "happens" to defeat Macrovision, etc.)
-- out from DAC-100 with Firewire 400 into the Macbook --

* simultaneously out of the Polaroid VHS to a monitor w/ coaxial cable in order to Preview -- and turn off the "Preview" function in WMM.

I've captured quite a few VHS in this manner to DV (.avi), then move the DV (.avi) 10 - 14 GB file over to one of my fast ASUS machines, & used "Freemake" for quick-&-dirty conversions to .mp4 = results are acceptable.

This week I played quite a bit with Handbrake, encoding various ripped DVDs to mp4, with "Save Chapters" enabled -- then discovered "Drax" software, and the wonderful ability to edit my own Chapter Titles as quick-Go To type bookmarks.

... preferring to use MPC-HC (which I'm very happy with), though occasionally I have a go w/ VLC again

So .... that got me to rethinking my VHS long-term conversion project.

Given that I probably won't spend any more $$$ for hardware .... am I missing out on a better workflow that could potentially yield higher quality ? .... even though super-high quality isn't my end-goal, still, a little mental effort for greater material gains?

Goals for results: All my VHS are basically instructional in nature -- all I really care about is the ability to revisit the learnings -- I'm not looking to enjoy terrific Sound - Color - Pictures - Nature - Surfing - etc !

therefore I convert all Audio to mono @ 128, and I only need "decent" video quality to revisit these instructional videos --

it's actually more important to me to type in the Chapters from hand-written notes accumulated over the years of study -- so that I can immediately go to the topic of interst.

Other hardware possibilities :

2) Asus G73JW Intel i7 740QM w/ USB 3 32 gb RAM 126 GB SSD -- but no way to input analog ????

3) Apple.MacBook.Pro.15.late`08_5.1_M98__A1286
Intel core 2 duo - 2.4 GHz -
Chipsets: i945 GM ; Southbridge 82801GHM ( ICH7-M/U )
120 gb SATA II 3.0 Gbps hdd, 8 gb RAM
Firewire 800 port
nVidia GeForce 9600M GT

I run Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate sp1 on this machine, but haven't used it yet to convert any VHS -- I'd just need to use a Firewire 400 - 800 adapter to complete the signal path.

** From a few visits here, I see y'all are big into VirtualDub -- so is this a better/BEST choice to capture the analog from the VHS, as compared to WMM? (don't laugh too hard
or is there another .... and also please suggest any other ways of capturing that might be better --

I'm not really interested in spending several $100 for a better VCR -- these aren't precious family moments, they're just instructional VHS.

Will probably still use Handbrake to recode from DV/.avi to H.264-AAC (mono) w/ chapters, unless you convince me that something else is better-easier-faster, etc.

Last point in this post -- when I load the VHS, I Fast Forward to the end, then Rewind before cueing up to begin the capture -- seems like I read somewhere long ago that this would help old VHS tapes to playback better -- yay or nay -- any other tips?

Thanks ever so much, will post more details as you require them.

-- merged --

Is there an Edit function in this board - and does it require a minimum # of posts? I didn't see one ~

The process of writing and posting caused me to formulate things more clearly in my brain --

I recall using something like the Canopus rig a few years ago, but the downside to those types of AIO conversion hard + software = crap proprietary software.

So just now googling "usb analog video capture" of course I come across the Diamond crap, and then the Elgato Video Capture which seems to be a finer bit of crap, if you will - though there's many positive reviews on both Amazon & NewEgg.

So one benefit to me of using Elgato is the direct conversion to H.264 - (oh yeah -- I can use my Asus machines too, w/ USB connectivity) won't they be using Handbrake or something similar as the Open Source backend??? because .....

during my 1st time experiments w/ Handbrake this past week, I also used VidCoder, which of course uses Handbrake as its encoding engine (and it actually functioned correctly in some instances where the latest version of Handbrake glitched)

So a more direct question relevant to my goals of highest quality VHS ---> H.264 conversions (no disc burning! -- hdd archival only) thru software signal path only (not going to $$ better hardware)

--

Capture to DV then transcode/filter/ etc. .... using whatever ? WMM / VDub + other filters?

how much "better" will VirtualDub do this capture than Windows Movie Maker??

& how much better will capture VHS to DV compare to capture/convert direct to H.264 by ....

spending $80 for Elgato at WalMart for easy return if I don't like it, capture direct to my end-goal of H.264 -- maybe tweak the audio to mono later -- import my personal time-based Chapter markers with Drax,

and finally crack open a Guiness and call it a day?

edit -- well i thought i saw that Edit button, and so i did - at least immediately after submitting the post! ..... don't know how long it stays though -- prevents wholesale deletes from trollers, etc, eh? that's a good thing

[kpmedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

Is there an Edit function in this board - and does it require a minimum # of posts? I didn't see one ~

Posts lock after 60 minutes. After that time, just add a new post. Only mods/admins can edit past 60 minutes. We'll merge posts as needed.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

Hi - 1st post as paid member, thx

And that's why I'm responding so quickly. Thanks for supporting the site.

Quote:

Goal: convert alot of VHS ultimately to .mp4 files (h.264/AAC mono)
that will only be archived on hdds - no burning DVDs, etc -- easy-peasy, eh?

For me, yes.

Without reading further (yet), you need a few essentials.
- quality S-VHS VCR with TBC + external TBC + quality capture card
- careful deinterlace with Avisynth

H.264 is NOT really an archive for SD interlaced material (ie, VHS tapes). That's interlaced MPEG-2, preferably Blu-ray or broadcast specs, not mere DVD. What you'll have is a copy of the material, hopefully in decent quality, but it's not really truly "archived" in the best possible quality. Keep that in mind.

Quote:

Note: I maintain some fluency w/ Mac in order to support my wife's work, but I do all my work in Windows -- I've configed these Mac laptops to multi-boot in an unorthodox, advanced way -- implying some skills, but I'm not fluent day-2-day in the OSX operating system, nor do I want to invest any more time to do that.
... but i'm using the Macs because of the Firewire input ports !!

You need Windows XP (preferably) or Windows 7 anyway.

Quote:

Installed the former Windows Movie Maker (WMM) v2.6_MM26_ENU.msi --
because it "still" recognizes attached devices such as camcorders, etc.

Yuck.

Quote:

*Polaroid DVC2000 4-head VHS/DVD player deck (reasonable shape) composite cables out into a DAC-100

Yuck.

Quote:

I've captured quite a few VHS in this manner to DV (.avi),
then move the DV (.avi) 10 - 14 GB file over to one of my fast ASUS machines,
& used "Freemake" for quick-&-dirty conversions to .mp4 = results are acceptable.

The DV aspect is quick-and-dirty as well, since you're NTSC (USA).

Quote:

This week I played quite a bit with Handbrake, encoding various ripped DVDs to mp4,
with "Save Chapters" enabled -- then discovered "Drax" software,
and the wonderful ability to edit my own Chapter Titles as quick-Go To type bookmarks.

Never heard of it. Looked it up, sounds neat if you want chapters like DVDs.

Quote:

... preferring to use MPC-HC (which I'm very happy with), though occasionally I have a go w/ VLC again

Me too. MPC is my preferred player on both OS X and Windows these days. My love affair with VLC is mostly over.

Quote:

Given that I probably won't spend any more $$$ for hardware ....
am I missing out on a better workflow that could potentially yield higher quality ?

Yes.

Quote:

.... even though super-high quality isn't my end-goal,

"Decent" quality doesn't really exist with video. It's either excellent, or it's blah. There is no middle grade.

Quote:

Goals for results: All my VHS are basically instructional in nature --
all I really care about is the ability to revisit the learnings --
I'm not looking to enjoy terrific Sound - Color - Pictures - Nature - Surfing - etc !

and I only need "decent" video quality to revisit these instructional videos --

That changes things some. You can take the image quality hit from DV. But the VCR quality hit is really not a good idea. The TBC can be skipped, but even with the DV box (Canopus clone) ignoring Macrovision, you'll still have some errors on some tapes.

Quote:

therefore I convert all Audio to mono @ 128,

For AAC, that's fine. Even 96kbps would be fine. We used that to encode thousands of videos for studios, and it was their spec. And trust when I say audio quality was VERY important.

Quote:

Other hardware possibilities :
2) Asus G73JW Intel i7 740QM w/ USB 3 32 gb RAM 126 GB SSD --
but no way to input analog ????
3) Apple.MacBook.Pro.15.late`08_5.1_M98__A1286
Intel core 2 duo - 2.4 GHz -
Chipsets: i945 GM ; Southbridge 82801GHM ( ICH7-M/U )
120 gb SATA II 3.0 Gbps hdd, 8 gb RAM
Firewire 800 port
nVidia GeForce 9600M GT
I run Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate sp1 on this machine,
but haven't used it yet to convert any VHS --

Nah, the existing setup is fine.

Quote:

I'd just need to use a Firewire 400 - 800 adapter to complete the signal path.

Most of those adapters work poorly. Beware.

Quote:

** From a few visits here, I see y'all are big into VirtualDub --
so is this a better/BEST choice to capture the analog from the VHS,
as compared to WMM? (don't laugh too hard

Yes. And now I feel compelled to use this:

Quote:

I'm not really interested in spending several $100 for a better VCR --
these aren't precious family moments, they're just instructional VHS.

Buy it, use it, resell it. The cost is then temporary.

Quote:

Will probably still use Handbrake to recode from DV/.avi to H.264-AAC (mono) w/ chapters,
unless you convince me that something else is better-easier-faster, etc.

I use Avidemux (free) or MainConcept (not free), but Handbrake is probably fine. It's just another front-end, the same as Avidemux is.

Quote:

Last point in this post -- when I load the VHS, I Fast Forward to the end,
then Rewind before cueing up to begin the capture -- seems like I read somewhere long ago
that this would help old VHS tapes to playback better -- yay or nay -- any other tips?

Yes and no.
- Yes, if the tape is not damaged.
- No, if the tape is damage. For example, shedding oxide. That makes a nice black mess in the VCR.

Quote:

Thanks ever so much,

It's why we're here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

So just now googling "usb analog video capture" of course I come across the Diamond crap,

There's nothing wrong the ATI "Diamond" (rebadged) cards.

Quote:

and then the Elgato Video Capture which seems to be a finer bit of crap, if you will -
though there's many positive reviews on both Amazon & NewEgg.

Some Elgato are good, some not so much.

Quote:

won't they be using Handbrake or something similar as the Open Source backend??? because .....
during my 1st time experiments w/ Handbrake this past week, I also used VidCoder,
which of course uses Handbrake as its encoding engine
(and it actually functioned correctly in some instances where the latest version of Handbrake glitched)

x264 is the H.264 encoding. Handbrake is just a front-end for other projects like x264, ffmpeg, etc.

Quote:

So a more direct question relevant to my goals of highest quality VHS ---> H.264 conversions
(no disc burning! -- hdd archival only) thru software signal path only (not going to $$ better hardware)

I've never found a good hardware H.264 encoder, aside from expensive studio/broadcast gear. It's not just the quality, but the bugginess of the experience as well. It was long-term easiuer and faster to use a software conversion method, with also looked better.

Quote:

how much "better" will VirtualDub do this capture than Windows Movie Maker??

WMM degrades everything on capture. VirtualDub does not.

Quote:

& how much better will capture VHS to DV compare to capture/convert direct to H.264 by ....

DV is actually worse than MPEG-2 -- especially at comparable 15mbps bitrates. But even DVD is better. There's a lot of color loss from DV. Given that image quality does not matter, MPEG-2 for DVD is fine, as is the original plan of H.263 (though I'd deinterlaced with a fast QTGMC in Avisynth).

Quote:

spending $80 for Elgato at WalMart for easy return if I don't like it,
capture direct to my end-goal of H.264 -- maybe tweak the audio to mono later --
import my personal time-based Chapter markers with Drax,

You can always try it.

Quote:

and finally crack open a Guiness and call it a day?

I'd rather a Shiner.

Quote:

edit -- well i thought i saw that Edit button, and so i did - at least immediately after submitting the post!
..... don't know how long it stays though -- prevents wholesale deletes from trollers, etc, eh? that's a good thing

We had a person try to delete ALL his posts several years ago, which destroys the conversation in the forum. We restored everything, then changed the settings. That was completely stupid. He never gave a reason. I'm not even sure it was the same person, and not some troll/whatever who hacked his account and was just causing trouble. So we also banned his account.

[sanlyn]

Welcome. Interesting goals, Yep. Well, you might consider lordsmurf's long experience as posted above, and peek around a little more before you get started. This forum, videohelp, AVS Forum, AfterDawn, doom9 -- don't let these intimidate you. They can save much headache and disappointment if you pay attention. Tip: I see you've been considering some big box stores, Walmart, etc. Don't ever buy anything from BestBuy or Walmart. Don't even look there.

This statement:

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

So a more direct question relevant to my goals of highest quality VHS

Well, but "highest quality" isn't really want most people want. Most people don't know what "highest quality" means anyway. They don't even know what "good" means. However, I think everyone would agree that the term "acceptable", which you used earlier, doesn't mean "highest". You have to start looking a little deeper.

More pointers (free):
There is a capture and video restoration guide in this forum. Repeat, free. Read that first, even if some of the hardware notes are kinda dated. First get the principles of what "quality" means, or even what "good" or "correct" means, then consider available hardware. The hardware always changes. The principles don't. Even with inferior hardware, knowing some basic principles will help to avoid a total waste of your time.

Find out what you can about why video re-encoding differs from WinZIP or RAR.

Basic principle: encode once. Only once. Only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

Capture to DV

With VHS source? Uh-oh, that's quality hit #1. Not counting your DVD/VCR combo as a basic player (quality hit #2, and a biggie). Say you don't want to put up for a better player ? Quality hit #3.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

But then transcode/filter/ etc. .... using whatever ? WMM

Friends don't let their friends uses WMM. But VDub, yes. You'll need to learn a little Avisynth before going there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

how much "better" will VirtualDub do this capture than Windows Movie Maker??

Best answer: You have to ask? See above. And take another hit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

& how much better will capture VHS to DV compare to capture/convert direct to H.264 by ....

Never capture VHS directly to lossy formats. Or, let's not dogmatically say "never". Let's say never do it that way if you're serious and understand the consequences. That includes DV, which is not that lossy, but it's still lossy. Take another hit. Capture VHS to h.264? Ouch. 2 hits on that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

spending $80 for Elgato at WalMart for easy return if I don't like it,
capture direct to my end-goal of H.264 -- maybe tweak the audio to mono later --
import my personal time-based Chapter markers with Drax,

and finally crack open a Guiness and call it a day?

Now you're being realistic. A U.S.Grant hard currency says this is the road you'll take. I know the $80 will hurt, but....Guiness will drown the pain, and the concept of "highest quality" will just be water under the bridge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

edit -- well i thought i saw that Edit button, and so i did - at least immediately after submitting the post!
..... don't know how long it stays though -- prevents wholesale deletes from trollers, etc, eh? that's a good thing

The EDIT button will appear for about an hour.

And welcome to digitalfaq. Everyone here was a newbie at one time. And good luck.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanlyn

even if some of the hardware notes are kinda dated.

I'm trying to fix that. It just takes time.

Quote:

Ouch. 2 hits on that one.

I like the 'hits' idea. I might have to steal that one.

More like punches in a fight.

How many can you take without getting knocked out?

- combo VCR, plain VHS = WHAM!
- DV box = WHOP!
- cheap capture card = WHACK!

TKO!

Quote:

Everyone here was a newbie at one time.

Even me ... but like Star Wars, that was a LONG LONG time ago!

[xceller8]

Thanks to everyone who responded so far ....

#1a) I've read a bit further here and there on this forum --
let me just acknowledge on the front end the Respect I have for your (collective) talents,
and apologies for my WalMart/Best Buy mentality.

#1b) If I had true precious family recordings, I'd be paying you to do it for me, Seriously!

That said, hopefully I can reiterate/clarify my goals ...

But I'll start w/ one of my favorite Cris Carter (Vikings NFL Hall-of-Famer) quotes:

"C'MON, MAN !!!"

* This project is about the "highest quality" to ME - to ME - to ME,
the way I - I - I choose to DEFINE "highest quality" --
within my own chosen Limitations =

maybe unacceptable crap to you, but it only needs to be acceptable to ME --
regardless of how YOU might define, deplore, or detest it, ok?

Please refer back to #1a-b -- I already acknowledge & appreciate that you all are the Masters here,
and I respect the ways in which YOU CHOOSE to do things --
even if/when YOUR choices may not coincide with mine.

I'm already "successful" using my previously stated pathetic methods --
it's already "acceptable" to me --

I'm paying to be here for the possibility of enhancing the ACCEPTABILITY,
most likely by software methods,
and to clarify/correct my understandings in this arena going forward for future digital endeavors.

If my own desires, needs, and goals change in the future,
and I decide to invest in better/best hardware,
then I'll surely be asking for guidance in the context of that scenario --

That said, please and kindly guide me within my own Chosen Limitations --
I'd say I'm pretty aware of them,
and they're "OK" with me, now,
they're ACCEPTABLE to me, now,
until I Choose Again.

Believe me, at age 62, I'm a highly regarded Professional in my own fields (which shall remain private),
and every bit as exacting & demanding there, as you are here -- been there, done/doing that.

My last foray into this arena was around 2001 - 05 in all the usual 'suspect' forums mentioned --
forums in which many of you cut your teeth as well.

And as you already see, I still have errors of understanding/miscomprehension from those times,
which is why I've paid for the privilege of your expertise and counsel here,
rather than knocking around again "over there".

Reiterating my end goal -- i'll no longer use the word "archive", ok? if it violates your definitons --

I simply wish to convert - change - the format of the analog INFORMATION
that resides on the VHS tapes, into digital INFORMATION that will reside on physical hard drives
in a .mp4 format that is both: reasonably compressed, and allows for "Chapter/Bookmarking"
such that I can quickly get to my desired Information-Destination.

IF I already had all this information committed to long-term physical brain memory,
then I wouldn't even be having this conversation - I'd simply trash the old VHS --
no disrespect to those who revere the medium and its message!

I feel the same way about most of my informational books --
if I could sleep on them like Edgar Cayce did and absorb their contents,
or if I could salt-pepper and eat them & absorb their contents, I Would !!

-- Onwards --

With my [yuck] Polaroid VHS box, I have 2 choices to Hardware-Physically capture the VHS -

#1) out from the VHS via composite, & through the DAC-100 into the PC via Firewire, or
#2) out from the VHS via composite, & through the Elgato Video Converter into the PC via USB

Then, I have some choices to make regarding the Software used:

#1) please and kindly outline the best software workflow if #1 is used? --
the software(s), as well as the best settings, choices, (formats, rates, etc) --

-- GIVEN MY GOALS & CHOSEN LIMITATIONS THAT I HOPE ARE CLEARLY STATED --

I'll always try again if I haven't communicated anything clearly enough ~

Concerning VirtualDub - as I read elsewhere - is it best to dL-install the setup you've put together,
and avoid their 'latest release' ?

Remember I'm on Windows 7, if I need to perform/observe certain tweaked steps.

#2) If I choose the Elgato pathway, then I ass-u-me that I'll be using their frontend
to "1-step" capture/convert direct to H.264 --

-- kindly mention any softwares I might use afterwards? if this is the case?

[kpmedia]

So what exactly is your proposed workflow?

For example, one of our workflows: JVC S-VHS VCR > AVT-8710 TBC > ATI AIW AGP card > VirtualDub to capture AVI

Post-capture, we can process the video in many ways. For VHS to H.264, it's most often a combo of Avisynth for clean-up and deinterlace, followed by MainConcept Reference to encode. Sometimes direct, and sometimes with another intermediary Huffyuv AVI between them.

Yours (I think) is either

(A) plain VHS VCR > DV converter -- and then VirtualDub is suggested for capture
(B) plain VHS VCR > Elgato H.264 card

The first has more potential for cleanup/restore of the audio and video, therefore is better.
The second compromises quality for convenience.
Note that the first methods was already compromising the quality, however you seem to be fine with it.

With (A) you can use Audacity (freeware) to clean up the audio some, and then Avisynth (free) if you want to clean-up the video some. VirtualDub also has some cleanup options.

The part you may not understand here is that compression works better on cleaner files. So even a little VirtualDub or Avisynth processing work will yield files that will look drastically better -- and potentially encode smaller as well. At very least, you should filter out the chroma noise and mask the overscan. As mentioned before, a temporary buy-use-sell better VCR is often a wise temporary investment.

[sanlyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xceller8

With my [yuck] Polaroid VHS box, I have 2 choices to Hardware-Physically capture the VHS -

#1) out from the VHS via composite, & through the DAC-100 into the PC via Firewire, or
#2) out from the VHS via composite, & through the Elgato Video Converter into the PC via USB

Then, I have some choices to make regarding the Software used:

#1) please and kindly outline the best software workflow if #1 is used? --
the software(s), as well as the best settings, choices, (formats, rates, etc) --

-- GIVEN MY GOALS & CHOSEN LIMITATIONS THAT I HOPE ARE CLEARLY STATED --

I'll always try again if I haven't communicated anything clearly enough ~

Concerning VirtualDub - as I read elsewhere - is it best to dL-install the setup you've put together,
and avoid their 'latest release' ?

Remember I'm on Windows 7, if I need to perform/observe certain tweaked steps.

#2) If I choose the Elgato pathway, then I ass-u-me that I'll be using their frontend
to "1-step" capture/convert direct to H.264 --

-- kindly mention any softwares I might use afterwards? if this is the case?

If you go with #1, some popular software for your use after capture would be Adobe Premiere Elements. Sold at discount, but you can save a little more by getting bigger discounts on Sony's Movie Studio Platinum. Both have about the same features, similar interface, and process/edit and output features. So there's no debate here about what the output videos look like because both products are pretty much alike.

If you go with #2, it's the same after-capture software suggestion. Yes, you have to use Elgato's software to capture, which is the way it works with all capture devices. Even if you went with #1 instead or even with VirtualDub, you have to install your capture device's drivers and sometimes some additional interface software. But you don't have to use Elgato's stupid software for editing afterwards.

If you want to know all the Adobe or Sony settings, step by step setup, and which icons to click on, you'll have to look into the user manuals. We could post their entire user manuals here in order to answer all your questions, but it would take several dozen web pages to post all of it. It's copyrighted material anyway so we don't think Sony or Adobe would let us get away with it. Both products pretty much ask want you want to do and set up lots of it for you. You can download free trials for both products. Adobe is easier to use.

If you decide to download VirtualDub, get the package that Digitalfaq offers. The "latest" VDub has problems. You won't be using it anyway. It's fully manual operation, meaning you have to learn a bunch of stuff about what you're doing and explicitly tell VirtualDub what to do, step by step. Other geeks have developed over 200-plus filters for it that you won't find anywhere else, but if they're not in the Digitalfaq package you have to find them at various websites, decide which ones will do what you want to do, and download, install, and configure them one by one. You'll have to lay off the Guiness temporarily to see you through the ordeal. So I'm not recommending VirtualDub. But you can always give it a try.

You might want to consider what you want for your final output format. If you capture to DV, your choice for playback and viewing would be PC only, period. DV-AVI isn't playable on set top players, external media players, or TV players. It can't be posted on YouTube, either.

If you capture h264 format and you want to watch it on anything other than your computer or a console, you'll need a BluRay player or an external media player like a Western Digital box. Your DVD/VCR combo won't play h264 videos. Some BluRay players can play various h264 formats, some can't, unless you're talking about standard BluRay formats. The software recommended above can format, author, and burn standard BluRay. They can also create the less strictly formatted AVCHD for BluRay disc, DVD disc, or memeory/hard drive devices, but many BluRay players don't recognize AVCHD. If you tried it in your Your DVD/VCR combo the poor thing would have no idea what the hell was going on. It would either ignore you, choke and freeze up, or display rude error messages. The only digital format around today that's universally playable everywhere is standard DVD.

[admin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanlyn

Other geeks have developed over 200-plus filters for it that you won't find anywhere else, but if they're not in the Digitalfaq package you have to find them at various websites, decide which ones will do what you want to do, and download, install, and configure them one by one.

If you think something related to restoration should be added, let us know what it is. Create a new thread, and attach it in a zip.

We purposely don't use a lot of plugins, because a lot of them are useless editing effects better applied in Adobe Premiere. VirtaulDub is an excellent capturing and restoration tool, but a terrible editor (NLE).

[sanlyn]

Yes, Admin, you're right there. I mean to say that you do have to read up on what a lot of the filters do, and new ones for format input come along all the time. I think that what xceller8 wants is an NLE (Non Linear Editor) with timeline editing and lots of automatic profiles, built-in encoders and authoring, etc., and lots of online help. A one-stop shop, so to speak. Thanks for spotting me on that.