#1  
08-27-2004, 12:31 AM
lantern lantern is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 13
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I have been experimenting recently with capturing VHS directly to mpeg in ATI MMC (I follow LordSmurf's guides pretty closely) and capturing to avi with VDub (352x480 Picvideo codec setting of 20 for quality, I get about 2.3:1 compression). I then convert using TMPGenc to convert to mpeg.

I have noticed that in my opinion, the avi -> mpeg route provides clearer and sharper captures. When I capture directly to mpeg (MMC), I sometimes end up with macro blocks and less clarity (I have played with the videosoap settings and have also turned off videosoap).

I was wondering about other opinions concerning direct to mpeg capture and avi->mpeg conversion. Are the MMC codecs and the TMPGenc codecs different? Is it just an issue of direct to mpeg capture? Is 2-pass VBR conversion that much better than direct capture to mpeg?
Reply With Quote
Someday, 12:01 PM
admin's Avatar
Ads / Sponsors
 
Join Date: ∞
Posts: 42
Thanks: ∞
Thanked 42 Times in 42 Posts
  #2  
08-27-2004, 10:17 AM
admin's Avatar
admin admin is offline
Site Staff | Web Development
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,310
Thanked 654 Times in 457 Posts
MMC uses Ligos GoMotion, which is entirely different from the Tsunami engine in TMPGEnc (the "T").

Two pass VBR will yield better quality than a direct MPEG capture, in most cases. It first analyzes the video, then encodes it based off the analysis. For an active MPEG encoder to do this, it would need a huge buffer, or some other means to see into the future.

Ligos is actually much better encoder, and is part hardware, part software on the card. The LSX encoder for the PC also uses Ligos as the engine, an older encoder, but still quite nice.

The easy way to fix MPEG compression artifacts on live capture is to pump up the bitrate a bit, and then to experiment with the IPB settings.

In actuality, the Tsunami has a way of softening the video, so it is probably just glossing over the same errors you saw from MMC files, just that MMC chose detail over softness.



- Did this site help you? Then upgrade to Premium Member and show your support!
- Also: Like Us on Facebook for special DVD/Blu-ray news and deals!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
08-30-2004, 06:35 AM
lantern lantern is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 13
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Would you suggest capturing with MMC at a high bitrate, then running through TMPGEnc with two-pass VBR to fit to disc?

Even with the higher bitrate, the file would still be considerably smaller then an avi with 2.5:1 compression
Reply With Quote
  #4  
08-30-2004, 02:43 PM
admin's Avatar
admin admin is offline
Site Staff | Web Development
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,310
Thanked 654 Times in 457 Posts
If anything, if space is a problem, I would capture at 704x480 MPEG-2 at 15MB/s with one I and two P (no B) frames, and then re-encode with Procoder to lower bitrate/resolution ... that's if you're not happy with MPEG-2 captures and do not have room for AVI captures.


- Did this site help you? Then upgrade to Premium Member and show your support!
- Also: Like Us on Facebook for special DVD/Blu-ray news and deals!
Reply With Quote
Reply




Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
MPEG Capture Quality ishmot Capture, Record, Transfer 1 01-07-2006 02:06 PM
Digital camcorder av to dv conversion yendrek Capture, Record, Transfer 1 03-22-2005 05:27 AM
Mpeg capture software for PVR 350 mlaviolette Capture, Record, Transfer 2 11-30-2004 01:08 PM
MPEG-2 vs. MPEG-2 DVD in MMC TV Capture JimGorsline Capture, Record, Transfer 4 07-09-2004 02:20 AM
Video conversion process myron Author, Make Menus, Slideshows, Burn 2 04-28-2004 03:18 AM

Thread Tools



 
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:30 AM