VHS to DVD conversion

Well, I'm not doing this for profit, it's actually for a group that I'm in.
We have informational videos that we send to donators that we communicate with. We are interested in converting them do DVD.
My plan originally was to play them in a VCR, and put them onto a camcorder, and then onto a computer, then onto a DVD.
Is this doable?
Do you guys know any better solutions?

From my experience the possible options are:
1. Play the analog tape into a MiniDV camcorder which has analog "A/V" inputs taping on MiniDV tape. I have done this for short VHS clips which I gathered up and was the most convenient at the time. They were later transferred to computer for editing.

2. Play the analog tape "through" a MiniDV camcorder which has what is commonly called "Pass Through" to a computer as a DV AVI file.

3. Use a "capture card" or a "capture box". There are a variety of units available. Here is a comprehensive list which shows what is available:

Capture Cards (http://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCard=&videoin=1&searchconnection=Any&price=&&hits=25&Submit=Search&Search=Search&orderby=Rating)

The results were unsatisfactory for me a few years ago (1999/2000). Most capture cards encode the file to a format like MPEG or WMV with various results. These encoded files are difficult to edit, at times this caused audio synchronization problems and loss of video quality. There are a few "Capture Cards" which will digitize the analog signal and output DV AVI. A card like the Canopus ADVC 300 (or some of their other units) have a Time Base Corrector to eliminate the audio synchronization problems.


4. Some DVD recorders will record the analog signal to DVD. There are some other explanations in these two separate posts by DaveC:[indent]
Thread: MiniDV or DVD camcorder? View Single Post (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=97212&postcount=16)
Thread: Digitizing Direct To DVD - LiteOn 5005 View Single Post (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/showpost.php?p=85101&postcount=9)



I only use 1 and 2 above.

You might carefully read through this thread which deals with analog to digital conversions which applies to Hi8, 8mm and VHS tape: Hi8 Video Transfer (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=110863)



Rich

The only problem going from VHS to camcorder to computer is that you are unnecessarily adding another generation. If quality is an issue, def. look for a capture card like ponch said, so you can go directly from VHS to your computer. You might also need a break-out box to give your computer the physical connections you need to connect the VHS deck.

The only problem going from VHS to camcorder to computer is that you are unnecessarily adding another generation.
But there's only one analog generation so there should be no quality loss going VCR to cam then cam to computer versus VCR through cam to computer. Once it's on tape in the cam there is no quality loss going to the computer. The only question, I think, is whether you want a tape backup of the digitized VHS contents.

Good luck.

Dennis

It seems to me that you could also use one of the stand alone dvd recorders that have a hard drive. It would save wear and tear on the camcorder. I have a panny e100 with a nice variety of inputs.

I have been visiting this thread on a regular basis over the last 6 months. My idea - making some money on the side to fund PC expansions and to buy blank media such as Cd's and DVD's.

I tried advertising in some local papers, with limited success. What has worked best for me, in the last few months, has been to leave some business cards and adverts (A4 size) at some of the local photo development shops. Lots of people want VHS or DV to DVD conversions, and often with some basic cut and paste editing too.

I ask about $25 per conversion/basic edit and business has been good the last few months, especially the last 2. Next year I plan to approach some schools and small theater companies to convert their shows/big functions to DVD. I add a basic menu to the product, with scene selection option where I make chapters of 2 minutes or so, depending on the length of the video. I dont do labels and place the DVD in a normal DVD case (replacement box they call them). My aim is to move on to a printer that can print directly onto a DVD and to do cover prints too.

The PC encodes while Im sleeping, so I dont use too much of my own time except capturing.

Once in a while you strike it lucky, and a guy wants to convert 5-10 home videos of his family to DVD with another 5 copies to family members. These are good projects, but I realise the ones to try and go after are projects such as school plays, where you make one master DVD, and sell 10-30 copies. I havnt gotten these yet, but it seems the way to go, more bucks for your time. Maybe copies at about $10-$15 will be reasonably for such. You dont even need to make the initial video, maybe get it from the school.

This forum has given me many ideas, and I hope this gives something back.

Kobus
South Africa

My church did a fund raising thing to pay off a children's building. They asked members to take some money (I took a $50), use it creatively, and bring back the income.

I bought 100 dvd -r's for $20 on the day after Thanksgiving sale, did videos of the children's Christmas program and the teen musical, and took orders for Dvd's. I'm at about $250 and counting. Used the Panasonic 400 my wife was kind enough to get me for an early present; ran the feed through the e100; and made dvd's. Took about 20 min per dvd on high speed. I only charged $5 per dvd. I might have set the bar too low, but I wanted people to get a good bargain on an unedited nonprofessional shoot.

kinda fun

1ab

Go to an electronic store, purchase a standalone DVD burner...you can get them for as low as $150......

then you can burn from VCR to DVD (onto DVD+/-R)...the same way you would dub a VHS tape from VCR to VCR.

That is the easiest and cheapest way to do it.

Chris

Jehan60188,

You didn't mention how many DVD's you wanted to end up with, nor why you wanted to go to a computer.

If we assume you do not need to add anything to the tape, and that you will want a number of DVDs to send out, I would suggest that you get one of the DVD recorders with a hard drive. That way you can record the best tape you have to the harddrive and then put out new DVDs as you need them. You don't want to have to run a tape every time you need a DVD. You also may not want to keep that large of a file on your computer over time. Harold

If you wind up specializing in transferring VHS to DV there is a Video Processor / Media converter box from Edirol called the VMC-1 that does a pretty nice job of cleaning up VHS footage. It has a built in Time Base Corrector (TBC) that smooths out the jittery footage. I put a comparison video up if you want to check it out here (http://dvcreators.net/products/edirolvmc1.html)
and to the original poster, if you're a non-profit and need some footage transferred with this unit, I have one on loan for awhile and would be happy to do the transfer for you.

Canopus also makes a converter with TBC, the ADVC300.

Good luck.

Dennis

The Canopus looks great and is a little less expensive. It boils down to if you want to do Real-Time 10 bit color correction in a 4:2:2 enviroment before going into the 5:1 compresion of 4:1:1 DV. Remember you can do the color correction after you have brought the video in, but depending on your editing system, it may or may not require rendering.

It's the TBC that is doing the majority of the "cleaning up" so both are a great alternative to just using your camera for doing the transfer and will be big improvement. Thanks Dennis for pointing out the Canopus. It's good to know what else is out there.

If you don't need to edit your VHS tapes, a stand-alone DVD recorder would be the way to go. If you have a computer with a DVD burner and a second DVD ROM drive, you could produce a master DVD on the stand-alone recorder and then make copies on the computer. This would save the extra cost of a DVD recorder with a hard drive if you already have the computer.

:eek: :mad:

If you don't need to edit your VHS tapes, a stand-alone DVD recorder would be the way to go. If you have a computer with a DVD burner and a second DVD ROM drive, you could produce a master DVD on the stand-alone recorder and then make copies on the computer. This would save the extra cost of a DVD recorder with a hard drive if you already have the computer.

The production company next door thought this too and invested in the Philips DVDR985 (this was two years ago). They thought it was a good idea until the client complained of the ugly DVD menu.

The standalones are great for your own stuff, and for clients that don't mind. However if you want to do a professional looking finished project, ya just gotta have a cool Motion Menu when they put in the disc - it's one of the things they remember the most!

I can do the fancy menus too. Time is money, and non-linear editing is going to be more time consuming and expensive. If the client is only interested in a basic tape transfer, then the stand-alone would be the most economical. It's a matter of what the customer wants and what he or she is willing to pay.

We bought a stand alone (set top) DVD burner at Sam's Club. It's a RCA, and was about $275 or so. I can't remember model #, but could get it if you're interested. It makes nice photo menus of different chapters in stand alone mode. It writes to DVD+R discs, and once finalized, the discs can be read by most DVD players. It's a good simple burner for making straight VHS, HI-8, or DV copies to DVD.

Curt

buy a dvd recorder and a vhs video player
conect vhs player to dvd recorder
conect dvd recorder to tv (av)
play vhs, rec dvd recorder.
use 1 hour per dvd
simple fast cheap easy

or visit VHS to DVD (http://www.vhs-to-dvd.com/vhs-to-dvd.html) and transfer your home video tapes to dvd. You can get a pretty good conversion at a reasonable price from a lot of places. But what are most of these companies lacking? Care and attention to detail! Other ways you get totally amateurish product done with domestic equipment.
link: http://www.vhs-to-dvd.com/

I can transfer VHS to DVD for $10 per hour with additional copies at $6 per hour. I use the 1 hour mode for the highest quality.

McVety Film & Video Transfer
Kent McVety
24 Brittany Lane
Clinton, IL 61727
217-935-7207
kmcvety@rocketmail.com
http://il.local.yahoo.biz/filmtodvdtransfer