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-   -   Beginner advice for AVI to MP4 conversion? (https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-conversion/11633-beginner-advice-avi.html)

andrewprjnn1 03-21-2021 11:22 AM

Beginner advice for AVI to MP4 conversion?
 
So I've followed a lot of the steps listed on digitalfaq to digitize my VHS tapes and tapes for family friends. With a lot of trial and error, I finally got a workflow down for that (thank you lordsmurf :) ). Now I'm looking to find a better way to convert the .avi files to .mp4 considering their immense size (if there are other file formats that are better to convert to and are easy enough to use by people in their mid 60s who come from the old country with no computer experience, I'm open to that as well). Should be noted, the way the files will be viewed will be through both PC and Mac, as well as my grandma preferring DVD so I apologize if this will be a mouthful conversation :depressed:

I've tried using HandBrake, but the quality (as mentioned in some other posts) isn't the best. Out of the others available, which would be the most user friendly for someone in their mid-20s who doesn't have any sort of coding experience or dense lingo in the matter and can maintain lossless to near lossless quality in compression? I'm okay with even spending money on software as I intend to do more VHS conversions for family and friends in the future. I'm also open to learn any basic coding if need be :D

Current setup:
-JVC SR-VS30U MiniDV/VHS VCR (only VHS side works)
-Sony DSR20 DVCam Recorder (using for MiniDV)
-Sony LMD-9050 Multiformat Monitor (just to have a way of viewing the image)
-Custom built PC (Forgetting some exact specs, but it runs Windows 7 Pro, top of the line for the time 3rd gen Intel i7 Hexacore processor, GeForce GTX-770 Classified, 32GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB Samsung Evo 840 SSD, 4 TB WD Black Edition 7200/rpm HDD)
-15" Macbook Pro Retina (Mid-2014, 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16GB DDR3 RAM, Intel Iris Pro 1536MB, 512GB SSD, OSX Yosemite because I want my iTunes playlists. Using this as my personal computer when commuting)
-10TB G-Drive External HDD USB 3.0 (just to store the TBs of files I got so far from all the .avi files)
-Pinnacle USB (bought from lordsmurf and would highly encourage anyone else to buy from a trusted source like this site :congrats: )
-Datavideo TBC-1000 (took a chance on eBay and works just as it should :cool2:)

Thanks for the help community!

lordsmurf 03-21-2021 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewprjnn1 (Post 76103)
So I've followed a lot of the steps listed on digitalfaq to digitize my VHS tapes and tapes for family friends. With a lot of trial and error, I finally got a workflow down for that (thank you lordsmurf :) ).

:D

Quote:

Now I'm looking to find a better way to convert the .avi files to .mp4 considering their immense size (if there are other file formats that are better to convert to and are easy enough to use by people in their mid 60s who come from the old country with no computer experience, I'm open to that as well). Should be noted, the way the files will be viewed will be through both PC and Mac, as well as my grandma preferring DVD so I apologize if this will be a mouthful conversation :depressed:
MPEG-2 @ 15-20mbit high bitrate is an archival option, 4:2:2 when available
H.264 is the streaming option, required deinterlace (QTGMC only one to bother with, all others very lossy)

MPEG-2 for archives, also easy+quick to reencode copy down to DVD-Video spec for DVDs.
H264 for LAN/WAN streaming (NAS, Youtube, etc)

Quote:

I've tried using HandBrake,
Nope, don't do that.

Quote:

but the quality (as mentioned in some other posts) isn't the best.
...and this is why.

Quote:

Out of the others available, which would be the most user friendly for someone in their mid-20s who doesn't have any sort of coding experience or dense lingo in the matter and can maintain lossless to near lossless quality in compression?
selur's Hybrid
His defaults are blah, and I need to make a guide for what to do. But I can share my settings, which will be a good heads start.

Quote:

I'm okay with even spending money on software as I intend to do more VHS conversions for family and friends in the future.
Hybrid is free.
Hint: selur tales donations, and he deserves them. (We also take donations. :wink2:)

Quote:

I'm also open to learn any basic coding if need be :D
Learning Avisynth is good. At minimum, it will help understand Hybrid filtering (Avisynth). At most, you can custom write scripts, and feed the .avs file to Hybrid as input. I do that quite often. Hybrid has some internal filtering, but I prefer my own control over step location. I mostly use internal for deinterlace only, when not doing anything else scripted.

Quote:

Current setup:
-JVC SR-VS30U MiniDV/VHS VCR (only VHS side works)
-Sony DSR20 DVCam Recorder (using for MiniDV)
-Sony LMD-9050 Multiformat Monitor (just to have a way of viewing the image)
-Custom built PC (Forgetting some exact specs, but it runs Windows 7 Pro, top of the line for the time 3rd gen Intel i7 Hexacore processor, GeForce GTX-770 Classified, 32GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB Samsung Evo 840 SSD, 4 TB WD Black Edition 7200/rpm HDD)
-15" Macbook Pro Retina (Mid-2014, 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16GB DDR3 RAM, Intel Iris Pro 1536MB, 512GB SSD, OSX Yosemite because I want my iTunes playlists. Using this as my personal computer when commuting)
-10TB G-Drive External HDD USB 3.0 (just to store the TBs of files I got so far from all the .avi files)
-Pinnacle USB
-Datavideo TBC-1000 (took a chance on eBay and works just as it should :cool2:)
Seems to be all-good stuff there. You got lucky on the eBay TBC-1000, so many bad units on are eBay these days.

Quote:

(bought from lordsmurf and would highly encourage anyone else to buy from a trusted source like this site :congrats: )
Thanks for the help community!
:salute:

andrewprjnn1 03-27-2021 04:04 PM

Yes please if you can share your settings! Much appreciated :) It's pretty in-depth software it seems so a lot of the terminology in it is a bit out there for me, but I'm attempting to learn it. I'll also look into Avisynth for reference :thumb: In regards to donations, I shall happily give what I can when the paycheck rolls around in a week or two. You've been a tremendous help lordsmurf and looking forward to learn more ahead! :D

BarryTheCrab 03-27-2021 04:27 PM

I have also found Staxrip to be an easy path to QTGMC.

andrewprjnn1 03-30-2021 05:43 PM

Interesting, I will look into Staxrip as well. Thanks for the heads up! Hoping to just get something going this week with encoding because I've had the avi files for quite some time and my friend is just dying to see the content.

rprilenski 10-12-2021 11:40 AM

lordsmurf, could you include your settings that you mentioned above that you use for Selur’s Hybrid when you encode from .avi to MPEG-2?

ffmpeguserss 10-16-2021 08:06 AM

Wow, what a setup. 32GB RAM!

I got a tip for that 4TB WD Black - format it using a large cluster size (eg, 32 or 64kb) to help with large files. Captures are a great use for that drive; those drives tend to be as loud as a rock tumbler when used as an OS drive but can be quiet when used for capture. Looks like you're offloading to the external.

DVD is a great format with a high-enough bitrate, obviously not for archival but great for viewing as you're preserving the interlaced material.

Lots of fun ahead!

BarryTheCrab 10-17-2021 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rprilenski (Post 80327)
lordsmurf, could you include your settings that you mentioned above that you use for Selur’s Hybrid when you encode from .avi to MPEG-2?

Hybrid, to my understanding and experience does not encode to MPEG2 at all. Make your corrections in Hybrid, export as AVI, and use Avidemux ( or other) to encode to MPEG2. Some of us would like Selur to tackle MPEG2 in Hybrid, however I don't think it's a priority.

113pigeon 10-19-2021 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rprilenski (Post 80327)
lordsmurf, could you include your settings that you mentioned above that you use for Selur’s Hybrid when you encode from .avi to MPEG-2?

I'm also interested in these settings as well!


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