Workflow usage: video capture, saving, playback, conversion?
 

More questions now that my workflow is getting stable and I'm getting in a little deeper. WF includes JVC HR-S9800U, TBC-3000, ATI 600 USB, VirtualDub (with NO audio preview). I'd really like advice on what others do...

1. I'm doing only SD VHS to digital. No DVD or commercial VHS. All off-air NTSC VHS recordings and maybe a few home movies someday. I may eventually get into advanced filters and avisynth. Do I use 352x480 (which looks tall and distorted in VD) or 720x480 (which looks fine but takes more disk space)? I don't want to compromise on end result but also don't want to waste resources if there is no reason to.

2. Playback of .avi's - what do you like to use. I have VLC which seems more reliable than Windows Media. I want to look at what I captured and be sure it looks good on any computer. I do expect to share some of my files with friends and may eventually convert others VHS tapes.

3. I expect to always save as uncompressed .avi, maybe compress with HuffYUV to save space for archive or do occasional mpg for public sharing (I'm ok with wasted disk space if it preserves highest quality). I might post on YouTube/Facebook on occasion but that's not a priority. What would you do?

4. I have mostly EP VHS tapes. I want to separate out things like commercials and short news clips. I assume VD is the best tool for recording. Can VD also be used to do coarse editing? In other words if there is a 60 second commercial I want to extract. Can/how do you use VD for that? If not I have Pinnacle Studio 21 (which I already hate) or I can get something like Vegas or Adobe I suppose. Looking for what others like and how well they do simple cut and paste-to-new.

Thanks!
Bill

If you plan to use Avisynth, or edit in NLEs, stick to 720x480. While 352x480 is closer to true VHS clarity, the 352x480 resolution is best saved for final MPEG usage, if any. For streaming copies, you'll use netiher, sticking to 1:1 aspects with either 640x480 or 720x540.

WMP has always been terrible. Use VLC. For true preview on AVIs, not watching, I use VirtualDub.

No reason for uncompressed, wastes space, has CPU and I/O overhead. Use lossless Huffyuv. Due to 32/64 OS issues, I use Huffyuv only to capture, and Lagarith for all intermediary work (restore, edit, etc). Most 64-bit software hates Huffyuv, and the ffmpeg version has interlace flaws.

VirtualDub basic "scissors style" editing, yes. Cut what you want removed, or highlight what you want to keep, then save with Direct Stream Copy mode. You cannot use VirtualDub to rearrange footage, it's not an NLE. Even the append function can act wonky, so I often avoid it.