DVD creating issue

SavageAmusement · #1 05-01-2006, 05:52 AM

I have recently pbeen putitng a thriller series- to dvd.
80 percent of the episodes, (22 total) are exactly 55 mnutes.
So to retain quality I was putting 2 per disc. Sp format.
Cool, no problems.

Get to the last 8.
And they vary in length, and 3 of them are actuall 156 minutes.

So , Sp won't work

So i have several programs, but I can't seem to find one that allows LP playback or capture without butchering it.

Help!

wheezer210 · #2 05-01-2006, 06:45 AM

are you keeping the commercials intact? if not you should be able to put 3 episodes per disc with very little if any noticeable loss of quality.

It does require more work, you need to maually remove the commercials then use a program such as TMPGEnc to re-encode the video and audio at 352x480, audio should be at least 256 and if you make each episode 32.85% of the disc that should keep the bitrate at a very acceptable rate. You will then need to re-author the MPEG2 file in a DVD authoring program. The episodes that are 156 min. will only be able to fit 1-2 on a DVD, but again that depends on if the commercials are included.

lordsmurf · #3 05-01-2006, 08:34 AM

What DVD recorder do you have?

SavageAmusement · #4 05-01-2006, 01:03 PM

Hi there

ok- first of these are all retail tapes, i am trying to back up-
now my stand alone, vhs to dvd, wont take these. it distorts the image and sound- im guessing copyguard.
My parents bought the set for me, slowly when I was growing up
the tapes are getting old- so i wnat to make the set - as i watch them often enough its worth it.

So i popped the tape into my vcr attatched to my pc, and it copied in fine.
Bizarre to me.

So i took in 12 episodes, all 55 minutes nice nad neat, no commericals-
and burned 6 discs.
pulled the remaining 8 tapes and was astonished to find they are 144 minutes, 135 minutes, 140 minutes you get the point.

So the programs I have on my hardrive i use to capture/burn i sometimes use Nero Vision. Ulead, Windvd creator 2, those are the top.
Now when I use Nero vision, it did take the entire allowance in, and it said I could change the intake to LP which is 240 minutes, more than enough.
It did save the file
But when i went to actually burn it-
it just sat there- kept saying "preparing item for burning process"
and it did that for 11 hours overnight.

other programs I have...umhmm. I think that is it for capture programs
And the way I have the capture set up is, 6 head Maganovox, to the pc -basic audio set up etc.

lordsmurf · #5 05-01-2006, 01:25 PM

None of those are very good methods of transferring video. You're losing a lot of quality between the source tapes and your DVDs.

Ditch Nero Vision, ditch WinDVD Creator. Those programs will not create anything for you that ends up in good quality.

The capture card on your computer is not seeing Macrovision. The DVD recorder did, and was distorted signal.

I cannot give much more advice without knowing the brand and model of both the DVD recorder and the computer capture cards.

A 6-head Magnavox should be more decent than most normal VHS VCRs, so that's a plus in your favor.

SavageAmusement · #6 05-01-2006, 05:04 PM

Hi there

The burner is a liton-
Cpature, is Radeon 9550

lordsmurf · #7 05-01-2006, 05:12 PM

ATI All In Wonder Radeon 9550?
LiteOn DVD recorder? .... model# ?

Those are both quite nice conversion hardware to use.

Those should be quite adequate tools. For the ATI card, you must use ATI MMC (ATI Multimedia Center, the "TV" icon) to capture video, and foolow the ATI AIW MPEG capturing guides at www.digitalFAQ.com

And then for the LiteOn, capture as needed. Depending onmodel, you may be able to install hacked firmware that both remove Macrovision detection, as well as enable it to record in 3-hour mode and even play discs from any region (it already plays region-free PAL just fine, and R1 NTSC). Then extract the video from disc to computer, again following guides from www.digitalFAQ.com on editing DVD recorder discs.

Once you have MPEG files from those, then you need to use a decent authoring software, like TMPGEnc DVD Author (TDA) or Ulead DVD Workshop 2 (DVDWS2). E-mail or PM me for more info on these.

Then you'll be done, without butchering your video. No problem to put 3 hours on a disc in high quality, not with the tools you have available to you.

SavageAmusement · #8 05-01-2006, 07:09 PM

Email you? can I borrow you? Lol...

okay re, re rereading---but definatley check your email box

cp32 · #9 05-02-2006, 09:09 AM

Savage invest in a video stabilizer. Removes macrovision from Vhs tapes

SavageAmusement · #10 05-03-2006, 06:21 AM

When you say removes CP do you mean removes from the tape - completly- so it can be used anywhere?

i do have a "black box" which works from one vhs player to another.
But not from vhs TO dvd.

And smurf no problem, Your help is well worth the wait I can only imagine how busy you are- I am still writing up the email -