Help Converting Analogue VHS or 8mm to DVDs

awillem · Post by **awillem** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 9:49 pm

I am trying to convert some old VHS and 8mm videos to digital DVDs. I am using either my VHS player or an old 8 mm video camera and playing them to my Sony digital Handycam and recording them onto the digital tapes. I am then connecting my Sony video camera to my computer via a firewire and directly transferring the video to my computer to an AVI file using Video Studio Version 10. I am then going to 'share' and 'create disc'. I select what I thought were the highest quality settings because I want to try and not lose any quality in my reproduction. I select: HQ 4:3 (20min/1.4G, 60min/4.7G, 100min/8.5G). I then create a disc and the quality is reasonably good, but not as good as the original VHS tape in many parts of the video.

Can someone advise me on whether this is the best I can do or is there some way to get quality that is as good as the original tape?

Thanks in advance.

awillem

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:14 pm

Does your Sony digital camera only allow you to record from a the VCR or analogue camera, rather than simply act as a pass-through direct to your computer i.e. without even needing a tape in it? Does the manual say anything about this?

awillem · Post by **awillem** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:50 pm

No. It allows me to use it as a pass through and I have done that with analogue 8mm tapes, but my VHS player is in another room so I recorded those.

Do I lose quality recording it onto a tape first?

awillem

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:57 pm

Given that VHS doesn't provide particularly high quality in the first place, re-recording it -- even to digital tape -- is still adding in an extra layer of processing, and it is likely that some degradation will occur. I simply set my VCR in my computer room when I need to capture from it to computer via my own Sony as pass-through... The idea is to get the VHS direct to the computer with as few chances for further degradation as possible...

awillem · Post by **awillem** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:07 am

Thank you! I will certainly try that.

Could you also tell me if setting the viceo data rate at constant and 8000 kbps is important?

Willem

Post by **Ken Berry** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 1:18 am

You will get a variety of answers on your last point. Some people would argue that if you are capturing analogue material, even if you are converting it to digital DV format along the way, it only needs a relatively low bitrate setting -- around 4000 or 4500 kbps, and with and absolute maximum of 6000 kbps. That may be true when capturing from a VCR. I am less certain about when you are connecting your analogue video camera to the digital one.

But I have found when I put my 8mm analogue tapes into my Sony Digtial 8 camcorder (which happily accepts them), and capture from it over firewire, using a higher bit rate does in fact give noticeably better quality. I use 8000 kbps as a maximum, though I use variable bit rate, rather than constant. Some people will nevertheless argue that using constant bit rate may give you an even better quality... You will need to experiment a little yourself to see which settings give you the best results.

awillem · Post by **awillem** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:21 am

Thank you!

Willem

Bimbing · Post by **Bimbing** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:15 pm

Ken, if you use the digital camera as a pass-through, how do you set the camera and the connections? Like Willem, I used to record the material from the VCR to a tape in the camera first and then do Capture Video.

I could not find this pass-through mentioned in my Canon Elura 85 digital camcorder manual, unless I missed it.

Would this work: Leads from VCR plugged into camcorder Input jack. Camera set on "Play" with the Firewire connected to the computer?

Thanks, Bimbing

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:30 pm

Hi

Ken may well be in bed at the moment as he is AU.

If your camera does support pass through, and I am not sure.

First remove the DV tape from the camera.

Connect the Vcr to A/V-In on the camera

Connect Dv-Out to the pc via firewire.

There is probably a setting to change within the cameras menu, to do with Dv-Out
My Panasonic has to enable Dv out.

Capture is to Dv-Avi and is much better quality.

Hope this Helps

Trevor

Bimbing · Post by **Bimbing** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:06 pm

Thanjs, Trevor. I will try it. Bimbing

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:38 pm

Ken, I agree with your comments about the quality of analog tapes thru a Sony Digital 8. I thought it was just my imagination because I always read it wasn't possible! Glad I'm not just seeing things.

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 6:48 pm

Hi Jeff

No its not your imagination, at least I don¡¦t think so.

I get much better quality connecting vcr to my cam-corder as throughput, than I do connecting to composite.

Vcr to Cam to firewire good quality
Vcr to pc via capture card/composite poor quality.

Trevor

erock1 · Post by **erock1** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:24 pm

Willem,
according to one of the the mods at camcorderinfo your Canon does do analog to digital pass through.
Canon Elura 85 "Pass Through" (Analog-Digital Converter)

No one mentioned one little fact. If you do not have a HiFi 4 head VCR you will only be using one of the composite audio cables, white or left channel audio and not the red or right channel.
Erock