Hello all
I am new to video editing and want to copy some
VHS tapes from my VCR and burn them to DVD.
I capture using an ADSTech VideoExpress (USB2) and
upgraded from the VideoStudio 9 SE trial that came with
it to the full version. I use a Scart/RCA adapter
on the VCR and connect to the VideoExpress with the
supplied RCA leads.
When capturing, the picture shown with VS9 is perfect,
easily as good as when playing the tapes through
my VCR (Brand new Sharp).
When creating a video file, however, whatever settings
I use, AVI, DV, MPEG etc the picture I get either in
the file or on the disk is nowhere near as good. I
get ghosting and the picture looks 'misty'.
I have tried different tapes, and have used about 15
DVDs, using all combinations of capture and creating
a video file then burning, including the recommendations
in this newsgroup. Nothing seems to bring the
picture up to the same standard that I see in VS9
when capturing. Also, now and again when capturing
to AVI I get sound lag in the video file, when the
sound is about 1/2 second after the lip movement.
Any suggestions please ?
TIA
Stuart
Poor picture in video file
Moderator: Ken Berry
-
jchunter
Stuart,
I suspect that you are not setting the properties properly when creating your video file. Have a look at the procedure recommended in the top sticky post and set every property manually. If your ultimate objective is to put your video on DVD, you must use Mpeg2 - not DV or AVI or Mpeg1. Frame size 720x480 (NTSC) Field order = Upper Field First, Video bitrate of 4000Kbps (Variable) for VHS source with composite video connection. If SVHS connected with S-video you may see an improvement at 6000 Kbps.
I suspect that you are not setting the properties properly when creating your video file. Have a look at the procedure recommended in the top sticky post and set every property manually. If your ultimate objective is to put your video on DVD, you must use Mpeg2 - not DV or AVI or Mpeg1. Frame size 720x480 (NTSC) Field order = Upper Field First, Video bitrate of 4000Kbps (Variable) for VHS source with composite video connection. If SVHS connected with S-video you may see an improvement at 6000 Kbps.
If you play-back an as-captured AVI/DV file, how's the quality? The quality shouldn't degrade if you edit and save without changing the format.
A file captured to AVI/DV is the best you can get. If the quality is poor, it's a limitation of your capture hardware.
All of the other formats use "lossy" compression*. If you convert from one lossy format to another you'll loose quality. If you do any editing to one of these lossy formats, you can further degrade the video by going through an extra decode/re-code cycle.
Even if your goal is a DVD (MPEG-2), you should capture to AVI/DV and do all of your edits without changing the format. There are too many problems with capturing and editing MPEGs. (If you create a DVD with Video Studio, it will perform MPEG encoding once as the last step before burning.)
Is the audio from your VCR connected to your capture device or your soundcard? The drivers for the capture device should keep the audio & video in sync. However, sync problems are very common, and they seem to have several different causes / solutions. Search the forum for "sync", and you'll find lots of discussion & suggestions.
Although DVDs are better than VHS tapes, digital video is NOT perfect. The limitations and degradation of digital (and the analog-to-video conversion) are different than analog limitations and degradation. When you make a DVD from an analog tape, you get the weaknesses of both formats. The DVD will not be quite as good as the tape... But, it can be almost as good.
* AVI/DV is actually slightly lossy too (I think), but it is much less-compressed and much less lossy.
A file captured to AVI/DV is the best you can get. If the quality is poor, it's a limitation of your capture hardware.
All of the other formats use "lossy" compression*. If you convert from one lossy format to another you'll loose quality. If you do any editing to one of these lossy formats, you can further degrade the video by going through an extra decode/re-code cycle.
Even if your goal is a DVD (MPEG-2), you should capture to AVI/DV and do all of your edits without changing the format. There are too many problems with capturing and editing MPEGs. (If you create a DVD with Video Studio, it will perform MPEG encoding once as the last step before burning.)
Is the audio from your VCR connected to your capture device or your soundcard? The drivers for the capture device should keep the audio & video in sync. However, sync problems are very common, and they seem to have several different causes / solutions. Search the forum for "sync", and you'll find lots of discussion & suggestions.
Although DVDs are better than VHS tapes, digital video is NOT perfect. The limitations and degradation of digital (and the analog-to-video conversion) are different than analog limitations and degradation. When you make a DVD from an analog tape, you get the weaknesses of both formats. The DVD will not be quite as good as the tape... But, it can be almost as good.
* AVI/DV is actually slightly lossy too (I think), but it is much less-compressed and much less lossy.
[size=92][i]Head over heels,
No time to think.
It's like the whole world's
Out of... sync.[/i]
- Head Over Heels, The Go-Gos.[/size]
No time to think.
It's like the whole world's
Out of... sync.[/i]
- Head Over Heels, The Go-Gos.[/size]
-
jchunter
Stuart,
Your Video Xpress capture device seems to be the actual culprit because, according to the mfg, the box sends uncompressed video to the PC where it is stored either as an uncompressed AVI file, a compressed AVI file, an MPeg1 file, or Windows Media file.
The Mpeg1 file would have poor quality because it's specifications are not up to the standards required of DVDs. Mpeg2 is required for DVDs.
Your best option (considering the limitations inherent in the Video Xpress capture box) is to capture "compressed AVI file" (which, I think, means "DV" format) as Type 1 DV, 720x480, Field Order: Upper Field First. Note that many users have had problems with Type II DV. Then follow the directions that I posted in my first reply, making an Mpeg2 Video File before trying to burn a DVD.
You can avoid making any more beer coasters by making a DVD disk image file before trying to burn a DVD. In the last window of the Burn module, (SHARE/Create Disk) Uncheck "Burn to Disk" and check "Create Disc Image File." Then preview your work using Windows Media Player, VLC Media Player, or Power DVD before burning the DVD
Your Video Xpress capture device seems to be the actual culprit because, according to the mfg, the box sends uncompressed video to the PC where it is stored either as an uncompressed AVI file, a compressed AVI file, an MPeg1 file, or Windows Media file.
The Mpeg1 file would have poor quality because it's specifications are not up to the standards required of DVDs. Mpeg2 is required for DVDs.
Your best option (considering the limitations inherent in the Video Xpress capture box) is to capture "compressed AVI file" (which, I think, means "DV" format) as Type 1 DV, 720x480, Field Order: Upper Field First. Note that many users have had problems with Type II DV. Then follow the directions that I posted in my first reply, making an Mpeg2 Video File before trying to burn a DVD.
You can avoid making any more beer coasters by making a DVD disk image file before trying to burn a DVD. In the last window of the Burn module, (SHARE/Create Disk) Uncheck "Burn to Disk" and check "Create Disc Image File." Then preview your work using Windows Media Player, VLC Media Player, or Power DVD before burning the DVD
-
crow_se
Hello
Many thanks for the advice, the picture I get now is greatly
improved over what it was.
However, I still have one or two problems (please forgive if
questions considered too simple, but as I said I know next
to nothing about the whole subject)
1. If I set capture to DV it reverts to AVI every time.
2. How do I set DV1 or DV2 ?
3. How do I set Mpeg1 or Mpeg2 ?
4. When capturing to AVI I get loss of sound synch, which
I gather I can sort out from posts on this forum (sorry but
haven't had chance to look at this yet), but apart
from this, after 30 secs - 1 min the sound disappears
completely. Is this part of the synch problem ?
5. A friend has the same capture hardware and VS9, and
when he tries to capture to AVI, after 3 - 7 minutes he gets
a message that an error has occurred in the capturing process.
This may be due to insufficient disk space. He has a 200 Gb
WDC WD20 00JD-00HBB0 SCSI disk with 132 Gb free.
6. Might it be better to forget the USB2 capture hardware I
have and go for an internal card ? If so, can anyone make
any suggestions as to what to go for ?
Sorry for the number of questions.
TIA
Stuart
Many thanks for the advice, the picture I get now is greatly
improved over what it was.
However, I still have one or two problems (please forgive if
questions considered too simple, but as I said I know next
to nothing about the whole subject)
1. If I set capture to DV it reverts to AVI every time.
2. How do I set DV1 or DV2 ?
3. How do I set Mpeg1 or Mpeg2 ?
4. When capturing to AVI I get loss of sound synch, which
I gather I can sort out from posts on this forum (sorry but
haven't had chance to look at this yet), but apart
from this, after 30 secs - 1 min the sound disappears
completely. Is this part of the synch problem ?
5. A friend has the same capture hardware and VS9, and
when he tries to capture to AVI, after 3 - 7 minutes he gets
a message that an error has occurred in the capturing process.
This may be due to insufficient disk space. He has a 200 Gb
WDC WD20 00JD-00HBB0 SCSI disk with 132 Gb free.
6. Might it be better to forget the USB2 capture hardware I
have and go for an internal card ? If so, can anyone make
any suggestions as to what to go for ?
Sorry for the number of questions.
TIA
Stuart
-
Ken Berry
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I can at least tackle some of your easier questions:
1. DV is a special version of the AVI format developed by Microsoft to exactly emulate the quality of video in a mini DV cassette in your digital video camera. It is an extremely high quality codec, is not lossy (in the sense that you can manipulate/edit it without loss of quality), but is somewhat more compressed than full AVI format: DV takes about 13 GB of hard disk space for one hour of video (hence a slight worry about your 80 GB hard disk), while full AVI takes a whopping 65 GB for one hour. It could be that Video Studio realises it cannot capture in DV format through your capture device, and so reverts to the nearest, which is full AVI. (If capturing from a digital source, it is usually the other way around: if you set AVI, it automatically reverts to DV). Do a test and capture about 5 minutes of video using 'AVI' as the setting -- if the captured video is over 5 GB, then you are capturing full AVI. If it is only around 1 GB, then you are capturing DV (and if it says it is 'Microsoft AVI', then that confirms it).
2. Type 1 and 2 encoders only relate to DV, not full AVI. But if you are indeed capturing DV, then in the Capture window, about one third the way down the left hand side of screen there is a cogwheel icon 'Options'. Click on that, and you will see 'DV Encoder Type'. That is normally set at Type 2 by default on installation, so just change it to Type 1. Remember, though, the choice will not exist or will be greyed out if you are not capturing DV. Many of us think that Ulead is silly when they set Type 2 as the default, since (a) only top-end users or certain third party programs actually require Type 2 DV video; and (b) Type 2 apparently is more demanding of computer resources, and if your computer is not up to it, then you will have problems such as jerky video and/or erratic audio.
3. To capture either mpeg-1 or 2, you simply choose either format in the drop down menu which appears when you select the capture format: the same little window that shows DV or AVI. If you are talking about later in the project, then when you go to Share > Create Video File, there is another drop-down menu which should include these as choices.
4. & 5. Sorry -- I have no idea why you and your friend are having problems. If changing the DV Encoder type changes nothing in your capture quality, then like others, I can only suspect your problem is related to your capture device. With your friend having a (relatively) large HDD with a lot of space on it, I'd say it is not a question of insufficient space. Perhaps your computers are just not up to the job of capturing uncompressed AVI in large blocks. But as I say, I just don't know.
6. FWIW, if you do go for an internal card, I have the Winfast DV2000, which I find to be excellent, and it gives me both on-screen TV and FM radio into the bargain. It does not capture in DV format, though. But you can capture in good quality mpeg-2 if your computer is up to that very demanding process... and bearing in mind that many people claim you should not edit mpeg very much if at all. Others, of course, will have their own favourite internal or external capture devices. But if you have the money, I would definitely look at one that has both a hardware encoder (and so relieves your computer of the burden of encoding on the fly) and allows DV capture from an analogue source. But they are a good deal more expensive than, say, my Winfast card which costs around US$75 here in Australia...
1. DV is a special version of the AVI format developed by Microsoft to exactly emulate the quality of video in a mini DV cassette in your digital video camera. It is an extremely high quality codec, is not lossy (in the sense that you can manipulate/edit it without loss of quality), but is somewhat more compressed than full AVI format: DV takes about 13 GB of hard disk space for one hour of video (hence a slight worry about your 80 GB hard disk), while full AVI takes a whopping 65 GB for one hour. It could be that Video Studio realises it cannot capture in DV format through your capture device, and so reverts to the nearest, which is full AVI. (If capturing from a digital source, it is usually the other way around: if you set AVI, it automatically reverts to DV). Do a test and capture about 5 minutes of video using 'AVI' as the setting -- if the captured video is over 5 GB, then you are capturing full AVI. If it is only around 1 GB, then you are capturing DV (and if it says it is 'Microsoft AVI', then that confirms it).
2. Type 1 and 2 encoders only relate to DV, not full AVI. But if you are indeed capturing DV, then in the Capture window, about one third the way down the left hand side of screen there is a cogwheel icon 'Options'. Click on that, and you will see 'DV Encoder Type'. That is normally set at Type 2 by default on installation, so just change it to Type 1. Remember, though, the choice will not exist or will be greyed out if you are not capturing DV. Many of us think that Ulead is silly when they set Type 2 as the default, since (a) only top-end users or certain third party programs actually require Type 2 DV video; and (b) Type 2 apparently is more demanding of computer resources, and if your computer is not up to it, then you will have problems such as jerky video and/or erratic audio.
3. To capture either mpeg-1 or 2, you simply choose either format in the drop down menu which appears when you select the capture format: the same little window that shows DV or AVI. If you are talking about later in the project, then when you go to Share > Create Video File, there is another drop-down menu which should include these as choices.
4. & 5. Sorry -- I have no idea why you and your friend are having problems. If changing the DV Encoder type changes nothing in your capture quality, then like others, I can only suspect your problem is related to your capture device. With your friend having a (relatively) large HDD with a lot of space on it, I'd say it is not a question of insufficient space. Perhaps your computers are just not up to the job of capturing uncompressed AVI in large blocks. But as I say, I just don't know.
6. FWIW, if you do go for an internal card, I have the Winfast DV2000, which I find to be excellent, and it gives me both on-screen TV and FM radio into the bargain. It does not capture in DV format, though. But you can capture in good quality mpeg-2 if your computer is up to that very demanding process... and bearing in mind that many people claim you should not edit mpeg very much if at all. Others, of course, will have their own favourite internal or external capture devices. But if you have the money, I would definitely look at one that has both a hardware encoder (and so relieves your computer of the burden of encoding on the fly) and allows DV capture from an analogue source. But they are a good deal more expensive than, say, my Winfast card which costs around US$75 here in Australia...
Ken Berry