Make Movie HELP!

Simmer wrote on 4/25/2002, 9:05 AM

Hi all

I'm capturing video from a standard VCR tape, editing it and then puting it back out to VCR tape.

Setup: VCR <---> Dazzle Hollywood Bridge <---> OHCI 1394 capture card <---> PC

I capture fine, edit fine and can put back out to tape fine.
However, the quality of the final video seems to be considerably less then "good".
It almost looks like the quality is like a 3rd or 4th generation tape copy with
annoying light diagonal lines scrolling downward in the picture.

Question 1:
What dimension and format should I be capturing from and "make movie"ing to.

Question 2:
I'd also like to put my videos onto DVD-R. When I "Make Movie", I select the
following options:
NTSC DV
MainConcept MPEG-2 (*.mpg)
Fast Video Resising
When I do this I get the following message:

"Saving your video to MPEG format is perfect for creating high-quality, low
bandwidth videos for DVDs and the internet......
Buy Now Close"

Is this the correct format I must produce in order to put my video onto DVD (MPGE-2)?
If so I guess I need to get this plug-in.

Thanks so much for everyone's help. This site has been a life-saver.

-Mike

Comments

Grazie wrote on 4/25/2002, 9:29 AM

Mike

- Possible response to the bad tape capture you are getting...

I've got the self same set up going to a Dell Inspiron. It works well and I can not tell the difference from copying directly off my old banger of a Analogue Panasonic to a VCR and that which has gone through the VF cap/Ed/to tape mill (oh yes this last part I send through Studio 7!) Ahem, anyway, I do know and have been told by Datavision (my suppliers of the Hollywood Bridge) that I can only send a proper
DV-PAL file to the Dazzle - Nothing else will do - had to swear this on a stack of Bibles! No MPEG no nothing what so ever. If you aren't sending MPEG to the Dazzle I don't know what is causing your problem....

I am UK so I'm PAL user - I wouldn't have though NTSC makes any difference - but hey I have been wrong before.

So, keep it Simple etc etc just DV - PAL (for me that is) and then whatever you need DV - NTSC I presume.

Sorry can't be of any further use, one of the other Forum members might have a solution.

Grazie

johnmeyer wrote on 4/26/2002, 1:05 PM

--> "Question 1: What dimension and format should I be capturing from and 'make movie'ing to."

Answer: All capturing and all "Make Movie" settings should be for "NTSC DV." Do not use MPEG-2 at all when you are making a movie to put back to tape. If you use only DV settings, the quality of the final VHS tape should be almost as good as the VHS tape you started with. I generally find the quality to be far better than if I just connected one VCR to another and then made a dub. If the original VHS tapes have any real value, I would also consider dubbing back to DV tape as well. This preserves the most quality (you will definitely lose quality going back to VHS tape, and you will also lose a surprising amount of quality even when going to DVD. You lose no quality at all going back to DV tape.).

For truly great VHS to VHS dubs made by going through your computer in DV format, here are a few more suggestions.

1. Make sure the edit switch on the playback VCR is turned on. This is quite important. On older VCRs, this is an actual switch. On new VCRs, you will find it in a menu. It is sometimes called "Video Dub." Really cheap VCRs don't have this. This switch turns off all the blurring and edge enhancements that VCR manufacturers turn on in order to make the picture "look better." When copying tapes, it makes the next generation look like a French impressionist painting, with all the details smeared together.

2. If you are reasonably technically capable, you can use VirtualDub (free) and the Mainconcept AVI codec (which you must purchase for $50 directly from the vendor) to filter your video to make it look better. VirtualDub lets you use all sorts of really neat filters that can perform near-miraculous operations on your video. The filter you want to use is the "Flaxen VHS Filter." (Here is the URL: http://flaxen.dynip.com/vdf/fxvhs/help.html). This can be used to reduce many of the undesirable characteristics of VHS video without screwing it up to much in the process. It takes a long time to run, but if you want to make copies that in some ways look BETTER than the original, this is the way to go. Obviously it won't add detail where none existed, but it can make the picture more enjoyable to watch.

I've archived onto DV tape about thirty hours of VHS and S-VHS tapes from the past twenty years. I'm very happy with the results. One of the other things I did while I was at it was to edit about 1/4 second from the beginning of most scenes that were shot with a 1981 deck that was built before flying erase heads were common. This eliminates the rainbow and audio dropout at the beginning of each scene. I was also able to use VF's excellent Color, Brightness, Contrast and gamma controls to improve video taken in dark environments.

John Meyer