Mass conversion of SVHS tapes to DVD

[dazzler]

Hi all,
Like many of you I have a large bunch of SVHS tapes to convert to DVD. Has anyone found an efficient way to do this? What do you think of the following approach, or is there a better one?

1. I plan to play my analog tapes into my All-In-Wonder card and capture each of them as separate MPEG2 files onto a DVD-RAM disk.

2. Most tapes are approx 1/2 hr and some have bad footage that should be eliminated,, so I'm thinking of trying to cut bad parts out on the fly during capture. I'll try to group tapes with the same subject matter together on the same DVD-RAM. Ultimately each finished DVD-R will contain content from several tapes.

3. Next I'll create a separate title page for each tape and save it also as an MPEG2 onto the DVD-RAM.

4. Hopefully I can then either copy everything on the DVD-RAM to my hard drive, create a VS9 project and burn a DVD-R complete with titles directly.

or

Create a project from the DVD-RAM and then burn a DVD-R directly from the DVD-RAM.

What do you think? Is there a better, easier or simpler way to do a large number of tapes? Is it practical to cut bad footage while capturing to MPEG2 or should this be done in the editing stage?
Thanks,
Don

[skier-hughes]

How many is lots?
How often are you going to watch each of them?

If it really is lots and you'll hardly if ever watch them.

I'd use my stand alone dvd recorder and just copy them direct to disc.

Then all the time I saved can be used watching some of them and skippping the bad bits.

Graham

[dazzler]

Hi Graham,
I've about 50 SVHS tapes. Your suggestion is a good one but means buying a new piece of gear.

I know it's preferred to edit video as an avi, but in the case where your just cutting out bad footage, does it matter if the file is in MPEG2?

Don

[jchunter]

Don,
It doesn't matter if you edit your VCR videos in mpeg2. Just be sure the capture properties are set to be DVD-compliant and preserve those settings all the way to the DVD so the the final output video file will be smart rendered.

[sjj1805]

From my experience the problem with editing MPEG files occurs around transitions where the video and audio can (not always) go out of synch.

If you use VideoStudio to edit your MPEG's then I suggest you avoid transitions and use straight cuts. IF you suffer out of synch problems then it has been suggested by forum members to turn OFF smart rendering whilst dealing with these files.

Yes you can edit MPEG files, you just have to watch what your doing a bit more closely and be prepared to make sacrifices.

[jchunter]

Don,
As Steve says, problems can happen in any video format because video editing is a very complicated process. Be sure that you take one of your tapes all the way through all the stages of video editing to be sure that you like the results, before you commit to all fifty tapes.

In your case, capture and edit Mpeg2 if your ATI card has the option to encode your analog video directly into the format that you will need to burn your DVDs (Mpeg2). Any other option will cost you both time and disk space and not improve picture quality (which is already limited by SVHS tape technology).

BTW, I would recommend capturing directly into your hard drive, for editing (not the DVD-RAM). Then you can burn DVDs after editing.

I capture and edit Mpeg2, use transitions freely, and smart render whenever possible. Fast, efficient, and get excellent quality.

Pay attention to setting video properties, manually, in every phase of video editing and you will be a happy camper.

[dazzler]

Hi folks,
Thanks very much indeed for the many good ideas. They are all super suggestions and I guess I'm about ready to start now that you have so kindly cleared up many issues for me. You have been a really great help.

I've also examined the SVHS Player - DVD burner combo alternative. People seem prefer using a separate SVHS player connected to a separate DVD burner for this application.

Don