Best Computer set up for VHS to DVD

[mraynrand]

OK, video gurus, what should I get to convert my library of Packer VHS tapes (from 1994-present) to DVD/blueray, etc. What's the best platform (PC/mac) and what is the best editing software? I do a lot of scientific imaging with stuff like ImageJ, quicktime, etc. and so forth, but I'm a newbie as far as video editing/conversion. What do you guys suggest. I'd like to stay with my Windows using the following:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA5200CSBOX
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Canopus ADVC110 IEEE 1394 Interface Advanced Digital Video Converter - Retail
and about 4-8GB of RAM (recommendations on RAM for this set-up?)
Also, recommendations for video card, LCD, tower, power supplies, fans, etc. I'll take any advice I can get...

My experience is that Macs are better for digital video editing, but didn't want to limit my options. Suggestions???


The offshoot of all this is that a bunch of games will be available to order at cost....

[the_idle_threat]

I hope you get the help you seek on this. I might be interested to purchase copies if they become available. :whist:

[GBRulz]

I have transferred hundreds of VHS tapes to DVD and experimenting with different software all along the way. My best advice for newbies (PC) is the Pinnacle Dazzle Suite. The only downfall to this set up is that you really have to have a fast computer or you will find that it bogs down easily.

I have recommended this to many friends who are new to video transferring/editing and they are all very happy with it. You can get the software and the "box" to plug your VCR/camcorder in for like $50 at Circuit City. http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/150878/catOid/-13044/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do There is also a Titanium Edition that is like $30 more, where you can also output the format for iPods, PSP, etc.

I also have a Mac and for my own editing projects, I use the ILife Suite - using iDVD and iMovies for the project. Like the Pinnacle product that I suggested above, you will need a "transfer station" which converts the analog data into digital. There are several ways to do this, the easiest is probably with a MiniDV player hooked up to your VCR.

I'm sure you'll get lots of good suggestions from our fellow rats here, but feel free to PM me with any other questions.

[GrnBay007]

The offshoot of all this is that a bunch of games will be available to order at cost....
Awesome!!!

[Harlan Huckleby]

This site is an incredible, if overwhelming, collection of advice: http://www.videohelp.com/
(Go to Capture section for tips on converting VHS to DVD.)

PCs are fine for video editing.

But maybe you don't want to do video editing. Maybe you just want to transfer your videos to DVD and watch um. I would get a Panasonic VHS/DVD dual recorder if you don't mind dropping about $200. They do a better job than most people achieve farting around with software.

I decided not to deal with VHS tapes, 90% of what I'm interested in is available on Netflix. But I do a lot of copying movies & clips from DVDs, and burning new DVDS. The golden software programs I've settled on:

DVDShrink - an illegal program for ripping commercial DVDs to your hard disk. It ALWAYS works. And prison isn't as bad as it's rumored to be. I also use DVDShrink to do my DVD burning. You can download it on say, Limewire - tell them Tony sent you.

DVD FLICK - excellent, free program for recombining video clips in various formats into DVD format.

VIDEOREDO - a $50 program for editing (in a quick and crude way) DVD files directly. You may not need this for your projects. But it is a fantastic tool for a DVD pirate like myself.

[superfan]

I'm not a video editing expert, but I see nothing in your specs listed that screams "upgrade". The 7200 RPM drive should be quick enough (although 10-15k scsi or fibre channel drives are faster, but much more expensive), 4 GB of RAM should be enough, the 64 bit processor looks good.

We do a fair amount of video editing at my company using quad core Mac Pro workstations with 4 GB of RAM, using a fiber channel connection to an Apple XRaid disk subsystem populated with 7200 RPM SATA drives, with no complaints. Not sure that we do a lot of VHS to DVD, though. A rig like that costs in the $5k range, not counting the XRAID, which handles something like 10 TBs of storage and costs about $10 grand.

Which is of course worth it for all that Packer game footage.

[Zool]

I would recommend a new Mac for this. They are all Intel Core2Duo's and you can get a multi proc setup if you want. If you still need Windows, install Bootstrap and dual boot the system. Works like a champ. The Core2 Macs are some of the fastest machines out there for running Windows apps.

It will definitely set you back more than your PC setup will, but not by as much as you would think.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I would recommend a new Mac for this.

Zool, this is like recommending that somebody buy a model of car because he wants to get a pack of cigarettes at the convienence store. He doesn't even necessarily need a car, maybe he can just walk.

The type of "video editing" that most people ever attempt is so trivial, that it can be done equally well on ANY computer, even an old junker.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Not sure that we do a lot of VHS to DVD, though. A rig like that costs in the $5k range, not counting the XRAID, which handles something like 10 TBs of storage and costs about $10 grand.

Which is of course worth it for all that Packer game footage.

Good Lord, thousands of dollars for computer equipment. A $200 VHS/DVD recorder will do the job well and easily.

If you really want to then do some video editing, get this program for your computer:
http://www.videoredo.com/
It is a cheap, simple program that was born to edit-out the commercials.

[Zool]

I would recommend a new Mac for this.

Zool, this is like recommending that somebody buy a model of car because he wants to get a pack of cigarettes at the convienence store. He doesn't even necessarily need a car, maybe he can just walk.

The type of "video editing" that most people ever attempt is so trivial, that it can be done equally well on ANY computer, even an old junker.I guess maybe i misread. I thought the hardware list was one he was going to purchase not one he already owned.

[mraynrand]

SO Harlan, it looks like you recommend copying the VHS to DVD using a dual recorder. I would imagine that then you could copy the DVD to a hard drive and edit using that program.

What I want to do, in addition to other work related stuff, is to convert VHS game tape to digital files. Then I want to edit them, specifically to get rid of commercials, and even in between crap - kinda like the thing DirecTV has where they shorten a game to an hour. Also, it would be fun to make highlight files of players or plays or even single seasons.

The equipment I listed, I don't have yet (at home). I have some sophisticated stuff at work, but I want to build a home system that can do everything I do at work, but can process/convert and store 13 years worth of game film. So far, you guys have given me some good ideas. (I doubt I'm going to go with the commercial editing equipment. I was thinking of buying a new car instead!)

[Harlan Huckleby]

SO Harlan, it looks like you recommend copying the VHS to DVD using a dual recorder. I would imagine that then you could copy the DVD to a hard drive and edit using that program.

Ya, I think this is the best way to go. You will get consistently good results, with (by far) the least effort.

You MIGHT be able to achieve a slightly better picture quality by going with a high-end capture card, and experimenting with CODECS & such, the nerds at videohelp.com take great pride in all the parameter tweaking they do to maximize quality.
But remember: the engineers at Panasonic (or whover makes your deck) have also put R&D into perfectly matching the VHS electronics with the electronics/firmware of the DVD recorder. The basic, inexpensive Panasonic dual deck is in its 3rd or 4th generation, and I know the 2nd generation version worked quite well.

The media that you use to transfer to computer is a minor issue. Any format will work with DVD recorder, but the DVD drive in computer is more variable. A DVD-RAM disk is ideal, can hold a full game and be rewritten indefinitely. DVD-RW can only be rewritten a limited number of times. Or you could use two single-layer DVD-R disks per game. ( The double-layer DVD-R holds a whole game but is annoyingly expensive)



What I want to do, in addition to other work related stuff, is to convert VHS game tape to digital files. Then I want to edit them, specifically to get rid of commercials, and even in between crap - kinda like the thing DirecTV has where they shorten a game to an hour. Also, it would be fun to make highlight files of players or plays or even single seasons.

VideoRedo is definitely your program.

VideoRedo is unique and highly efficient because it works directly on the small, highly compressed video files from a DVD.

[mraynrand]

Thanks to all, esp. Harlan, for your suggestions. I finished my first tape to DVD - I copied the 1993 Divisional Playoff vs. Detroit using a Canopus ADVC110 converter - input was from the original Sony VCR - I was able to use the Nero software that's bundled with many new DVD+RW drives. I edited the recording using Video Redo. Just watching it on the tube, the recording is every bit as good as the original VHS. It will probably take some time to get my library converted, but at some point I'll post a thread with options available for people who want games. I have to make certain I don't violate the edict: "This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited."

[MJZiggy]

Well, since you've bumped a thread about video stuff, I have a question. I recorded something on my camera, but when I go to look at the video, it's 53mg and the computer has trouble with it. Is there any way to shrink a video file to something more manageable for my wimpy computer?

[GBRulz]

DVD Shrink would be a good program for that, but if your computer won't even play a 53MB file, it's gonna be a bitch to try and edit the darn thing.

[GBRulz]

mray, careful about posting threads making game copies available. Sounds like you are already familiar with the laws though, so I'm sure you will choose your words carefully! You certainly don't want to see anyone getting slapped with a lawsuit or even drawing attention to PR that someone is making game copies available. BTW, let me know when you have the SB tape done...LOL :wink:

[Harlan Huckleby]

DVD Shrink is not really applicable, it doesn't work with most video formats. Despite its name, the main job DVD Shrink does is decrypt DVDs. It also can take the highly-compressed DVD files and compress them even further (but I always thought this was a dubious thing to do, seeing that blank media is so cheap.)

Ziggy's problem is she is too cheap and/or lazy to get a new computer and/or hard drive. "Poor" is not an excuse - there are a lot of lawns that need to be mowed in her neighborhood. This is an issue that can't be solved with technical advice, it requires some character stiffening.

[Scott Campbell]

DVD Shrink is not really applicable, it doesn't work with most video formats. Despite its name, the main job DVD Shrink does is decrypt DVDs. It also can take the highly-compressed DVD files and compress them even further (but I always thought this was a dubious thing to do, seeing that blank media is so cheap.)


There are other reasons for DVD shrink. I've got a media server in my home theater set up with about 150 movies spread out over 3 500 gig hard drives. They're all full, and I'm out of hard drive bays. If I had used DVD Shrink up front, I could probably fit another 50 movies or so into the same hard drive space. Besides compression, you can also author them by taking out previews, foreign languages and other unecessary "features" stored on the DVD.

[Harlan Huckleby]

how did you get the movies onto the hard disk without DVD Shrink?

[Scott Campbell]

Curretly - RipIt4Me paired with DVD Decrypter. I haven't yet run into a movie that this setup couldn't decrypt.

I've found http://www.doom9.org/ pretty helpful.

[Harlan Huckleby]

DVD video is already very compressed, so when DVD Shrink does more compression, it can noticeably lower the video quality, expecially when viewed on a big screen. Its a little ironic, what with the growing interest in high definition DVD to go backwards to less than standard DVD quality.

Also, I imagine the media server is for convienence. But if you have to tediously compress DVDs, doesn't it defeat the purpose somewhat?

[Scott Campbell]

DVD video is already very compressed, so when DVD Shrink does more compression, it can noticeably lower the video quality, expecially when viewed on a big screen. Its a little ironic, what with the growing interest in high definition DVD to go backwards to less than standard DVD quality.

Also, I imagine the media server is for convienence. But if you have to tediously compress DVDs, doesn't it defeat the purpose somewhat?



Maybe. I'm not sure there ever was a valid purpose, other than to prove to myself that I could do it.

[mraynrand]

mray, careful about posting threads making game copies available. Sounds like you are already familiar with the laws though, so I'm sure you will choose your words carefully! You certainly don't want to see anyone getting slapped with a lawsuit or even drawing attention to PR that someone is making game copies available. BTW, let me know when you have the SB tape done...LOL :wink:

I'm not too worried about this. I used to get a guy to send me game tapes. He only charged for the price of the tapes and the shipping - essentially he was lending me his game tape - he even advertised in Packer report. The key was that he wasn't rebroadcasting or making any money off it. I would follow the same rules as he did.

I have to admit, I'm a bit concerned about SC, etc. using those DVD decoders and possibly getting busted. I see no problem with it so long as it's just for at home, but the DVD guys might see it differently. Anyone know whether they've tried to shut down the distribution of that software? Have they had any success doing so? Are they chasing after people who use it?

SC, are you using a RAID utility and SATA drives? I have but one 750gb SATA drive and was considering making an array at some point in the future since I have 6 SATA ports on my motherboard. Is it worth it?

[Scott Campbell]

mray, careful about posting threads making game copies available. Sounds like you are already familiar with the laws though, so I'm sure you will choose your words carefully! You certainly don't want to see anyone getting slapped with a lawsuit or even drawing attention to PR that someone is making game copies available. BTW, let me know when you have the SB tape done...LOL :wink:

I'm not too worried about this. I used to get a guy to send me game tapes. He only charged for the price of the tapes and the shipping - essentially he was lending me his game tape - he even advertised in Packer report. The key was that he wasn't rebroadcasting or making any money off it. I would follow the same rules as he did.

I have to admit, I'm a bit concerned about SC, etc. using those DVD decoders and possibly getting busted. I see no problem with it so long as it's just for at home, but the DVD guys might see it differently. Anyone know whether they've tried to shut down the distribution of that software? Have they had any success doing so? Are they chasing after people who use it?

SC, are you using a RAID utility and SATA drives? I have but one 750gb SATA drive and was considering making an array at some point in the future since I have 6 SATA ports on my motherboard. Is it worth it?


I haven't tackled RAID yet. I use JBOD. You can use RAID for different things - either redundancy or to improve throughput speed (dubious) - or both with RAID 5. But if all you need is more storage, RAID is a bit of overkill.

Disclaimer. I use decrypters to archive legally purchased DVD's - all part of fair use rights. I also never used Napster, and emphatically denounce all forms of digital piracy!

DVD decrypter was shut down, but you can still find it out there. No more updates though. That's why I use the RipIt4Me plugin.

[GrnBay007]

Where are you Mraynrand?? We need you. :D