Digital 8 to DVD

[bigd25]

I just transferred my digital 8 from my sony TRV140 to my computer and burned to dvd and the picture quality is not good at all compared to the original tape. I used Nero 6 (DVD Plug in). Any advice please. thanks

[reboot]

When "transferring" from the cam to the PC, what format is it in? (Should be DV-AVI).
This avi is exactly the same quality as the original on the cam.
The degradation takes place in your method of encoding to mpeg-2 and authoring and burning to DVD.

I always use good standalone programs for each step, to retain as much quality as possible.
This means, encoding in Mainconcept or Canopus Procoder, authoring in DVDLab Pro, and then burning in Nero.
The so called "one-click" applications just cannot maintain any quality from DV-AVI sources. They may work well with downloaded xvid, or even captured huffyuv, but not DV-AVI.

[shulthise]

bigd25 dude,

I have a Sony TRV 340 camcorder, which is a Digital 8 from the same serious of the 140. I shoot and capture a lot of videos, and rendered several to DVD (and i can't keep up with the editing and rendering and backups and ****.. but this is a different story)

From my experience the video should be at good quality.
The problem is, most likely, in the Nero DVD rendering. It either delivers bad quality or you didn’t adjust the output parameters right (e.g. you didn’t set the right bitrate, mixed PAL/NTSC in and out standards, etc.)

I never used Nero’s DVD rendering, but if you used the default settings and they didn’t work for you than I suggest that you use a different encoder or DVD authoring applications (MainConcept encoder, DVD Architect, or whatever) and use Nero only for “Burning Rome”.

Cheers

[bigd25]

When "transferring" from the cam to the PC, what format is it in? (Should be DV-AVI).
This avi is exactly the same quality as the original on the cam.
The degradation takes place in your method of encoding to mpeg-2 and authoring and burning to DVD.

I always use good standalone programs for each step, to retain as much quality as possible.
This means, encoding in Mainconcept or Canopus Procoder, authoring in DVDLab Pro, and then burning in Nero.
The so called "one-click" applications just cannot maintain any quality from DV-AVI sources. They may work well with downloaded xvid, or even captured huffyuv, but not DV-AVI.

The format that is is captured is NTSC and is MPEG4 file. Not sure if DV-AVI was even a choice....

[bigd25]

bigd25 dude,

I have a Sony TRV 340 camcorder, which is a Digital 8 from the same serious of the 140. I shoot and capture a lot of videos, and rendered several to DVD (and i can't keep up with the editing and rendering and backups and ****.. but this is a different story)

From my experience the video should be at good quality.
The problem is, most likely, in the Nero DVD rendering. It either delivers bad quality or you didn’t adjust the output parameters right (e.g. you didn’t set the right bitrate, mixed PAL/NTSC in and out standards, etc.)

I never used Nero’s DVD rendering, but if you used the default settings and they didn’t work for you than I suggest that you use a different encoder or DVD authoring applications (MainConcept encoder, DVD Architect, or whatever) and use Nero only for “Burning Rome”.

Cheers

Yeah, I did use the default settings,do you know what bitrate it should be set to?

[reboot]

Then you're not transferring, you're capturing...which means the digital cam signal is being re-encoded on-the-fly.
You should be simply transferring the digital data from the cam, to the PC.
Try some different software, such as WinDV, which will give you the digital DV_AVI file.
This will be identical to what's on the cam, no loss of quality.
When encoding to mpeg-2, please, please, use a good encoder, not Nerovision Express.
If you want to keep the quality, break the avi up into (maximum!) 90 minute segments, preferrably 60 minutes. Then encode using a bitrate calculator to get it to fit on a DVDR, then author.
If you find it just slightly too large, you can use DVDShrink to make it fit.

[bigd25]

Thanks a lot for this info. Do you have any recommendations on good encoders? Also, does it matter if I use USB instead of firewire? My pc does not have firewire port.....

[reboot]

USB is slower, better off to purchase a firewire card.
Good encoders include (but not limited to):
Canopus Procoder (Express).
Mainconcept mpeg encoder.
CCE basic.
Tmpgenc Plus (tediously slow, but nice results).
Quenc
Freenc
Yes, there are others, but the "one-click-wonder" types don't qualify as a good encoder.

[bigd25]

Awesome.....Really appreciate this info........I'll give it a shot....

[shulthise]

bigd25 -

The Sony TRV?40 series uses USB, not even USB 2.
It was designed for (a) transferring low-resolution still photos taken with the camcorder from the memory stick to the PC, and (b) using the camcorder as a web-cam (why would anybody want to use a $400-$600 camcorder as a web cam?...)

When using the USB cable the camera delivers a very very very poor video quality!

You MUST use Firewire in order to transfer the video from the camcorder to the PC. (The card is not supplied with the camcorder, but some motherboards have it built in – if not than just buy one.)

BTW.. you might not be aware of it, but 1 hour of digital video from your camcorder will require 13GB of disk space... (roughly 220MB+ per minute)
So, make sure you have enough disk space for both the entire tape AND the output of the encoder (typically 4.7GB + change for burning to DVD). OR, you can transfer the video in chunks/scenes.

cheers

[shulthise]

Oh - One more thing I forgot to mention - Defrag!

Defrag your disk before transferring a video this size to your hard drive, at least partially. If your drive is badly fragmented (as many hard drives are after a few months) you might end up with dropped frames or some “hiccups” in the transferred video.

It happened to me a few times when I didn’t bother de-fragmenting my hard drive, and I had to transfer the video again...

[bigd25]

Then you're not transferring, you're capturing...which means the digital cam signal is being re-encoded on-the-fly.
You should be simply transferring the digital data from the cam, to the PC.
Try some different software, such as WinDV, which will give you the digital DV_AVI file.
This will be identical to what's on the cam, no loss of quality.
When encoding to mpeg-2, please, please, use a good encoder, not Nerovision Express.
If you want to keep the quality, break the avi up into (maximum!) 90 minute segments, preferrably 60 minutes. Then encode using a bitrate calculator to get it to fit on a DVDR, then author.
If you find it just slightly too large, you can use DVDShrink to make it fit.

You need firewire in order to use WinDv. My pc does not have firewire port. Is there another software that uses USB?

[shulthise]

bigd.. read my previous posts from today...

[reboot]

Sorry, my mistake about WinDV.
I wasn't aware that your particular cam only used the old USB 1.1 or firewire, and could not do USB 2.0.
Go purchase a firewire card and cable. It's the only way.
Another option you should seriously consider, is purchasing a second hard drive, and use it to capture the video.
This will avoid any hiccups that may occur.

[bigd25]

I have now purchased a firewire card & cable, and downloaded Windv....All I need to do now is purchase a good encoding software, I am deciding between Tmpgenc Plus & Canapos......I think Tmpgenc Plus is cheaper.....