Capture Properties for Editing TV Shows

[netpro]

Hi All, Before I begin, let me list the equipment I am using:
Gateway Laptot w/ WinXP SP2
Intel PentiumM 1.6Ghz 1GB Ram
1.5 GB Swap Space (Paging File)
NetGear SC 101 for Storage
40 GB Hard Disk with 2 Partitions
LG LRM 519 Digital Media Recorder
10/100 Network

O.K., now that I've got that out of the way, I can start. My Digital Media recorder contains the recorded TV shows, which I edit the commercials out of. However, as far as capturing is concerned, most of what I see in this forum deals with Camcorders. I have read the Sticky at the beginning of this forum and I am wondering what the best settings are for me to use when editing Video to burn to DVD. If there is a post addressing this, please point me in the right direction. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.[/b]

[Ken Berry]

Thanks for the details of your computer. (I was tempted to ask whether your "Gateway Laptot" [sic] was a kid's computer!! )

But we need more information. We don't even know whether you are in PAL or NTSC country, let alone the format that your recorder has captured the TV in. However, if it does not capture to DV/AVI format, then you should be setting it to record it to DVD-compatible mpeg-2. After that, though, there are too many variables to be able to give you a definitive answer with the information you have provided. Go into Tools > Make Movie Manager to see what the default DVD settings are for both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio.

Another main variable you have to worry about is whether the TV signal you are capturing is analogue or digital. Presumably, your computer should adjust the Field Order it uses automatically, but normally video captured from an analogue source uses Upper Field First, while digital uses Lower Field First. But this can vary with the capture device.

The third important variable is bitrate, and this in turn affects how much video you can (or want to) fit on a disc and the quality you are prepared to accept in the trade-off. If your TV is analogue, then there is no point in setting the bitrate at any higher than 6000 kbps. You simply won't get any better quality by setting a higher rate. Some people would even say that a bitrate of 4000 or 4500 kbps is more than enough for analogue sourced video. A bitrate of 6000 will allow you to burn about 90 minutes of video to a single layer DVD; while 4000 will allow about 2 hours. If your source material is digital and you want the highest quality, then a bitrate of 8000 kbps will allow only about 1 hour of video to be burned to disc.

In all of this I have said 'about', because the fourth variable is the audio format you choose. LPCM audio makes the largest audio file, but is excellent quality. Much smaller audio files are created if you use mpeg layer 2 audio or Dolby, and the above figures will expand by 10 minutes or more if you use either of these formats. Just be aware that mpeg audio is not part of the NTSC DVD standard, though will play on most modern NYSC DVD players. Some people do have problems with it, however.

But hey, you don't even tell us what version of VS you are using, so we can't even say whether you can use Dolby audio or not. It really only became available with an expensive plug-in for VS8. But regardless of the version, if your VS came bundled with hardware, then it is probably an SE edition, and NO SE edition supports Dolby for licensing reasons.

[netpro]

Hi Ken, thanks for the quick response. Sorry about the lack of details in my first post. Here are a few more particulars.
Country U.S. (NTSC)
VS Version 10+
I am capturing Analog signal through Dish Network (Satellite)
The best I can figure, I am capturing my video at Variable 6500 Max
Dolby Digital 2.0
These are the Project Properties before I do anything to the saved Video.
I have the option to change the Capture properties on my Video recorder, but since it is just Analog, I really don't see the point. The signal is not that good to start with, because of partial obstructions to the satellite. (Read "Tall Trees")


I think the best I can do is Smart Render using Project Settings and save my project to Video File and match my Burn DVD settings to my project settings.

I thank you for all your help, and I Love my little Laptop(t).

[Ken Berry]

Yes, well I suspect my own inclination would also be just to leave things alone as they are -- use exactly the same properties as your captured files throughout the process. In other words, your output should use the same properties. If you merely cut out the ads and perhaps insert transitions in their place, then you could also use Smart Render which would only re-render those particular spots.

But just be aware that there is a 'healthy' debate going on at the moment as to whether Smart Render should be used at all. Quite a few people find that, if they use it, it often creates problems such as out of sync audio and video in the resultant DVDs... So test it first, and if in fact you get out of sync, then simply turn off Smart Render and be prepared to accept longer render times.