Still confused about converting vhs to dvd

[Froggie47]

I am a complete and utter novice, and have been reading so many articles that instead of gaining knowledge, I am more confused than when I started.
I simply want to convert some VHS films (PAL) to DVD (or vcd).
I have a DAC-100 coming soon and have looked at Scenalyzer (ScLive). It seem quite daunting however and I can't find any tutorials. To someone with knowledge, I'm sure it is quite simple.

Basically I don't know if I have to have more than this (or a similar) program to convert. Everywhere I read seems to have different opinions, and many seem to regard half a dozen programs as standard.

What I really want is a foolproof (!) single program to do just what I want (not too interested in editing as that can come later when I'm more familiar with it). Is there such a beast?

[megamachine]

Most capture devices come with the software you need to capture your VHS video and then encode and author that to a DVD. I assume the DAC-100 is a capture device you`ve ordered, so just wait and see what comes with it, and experiment a little, then write back and let us know how it`s going. We can help you better once we know more.

[Froggie47]

Thanks megamachine - will do.

[Froggie47]

Received trhe DAC-100 and have been trying it out. It comes with no software at all so I tried SCLive. Whilst this appeared ok (except for the watermark which would disappear if I purchased) there's really nothing to say what settings are recommended. Ok, I realise most of you are experts, but I'm not, and the thought of never ending tests and experiments (and of course endless 'coasters' )simply puts me off. Perhaps I can't see the wood for the trees. At the end of the day, all I want is to transfer VHS to CD or DVD.

[megamachine]

You need to do four things: first "capture" the video from the VCR, second "encode" the video to DVD or VCD format, third "author" the DVD, which can include adding menus, and lastly "burn" it to disk. Some people use different softwares for all four steps, some softwares combine the steps. For example, some capture devices also encode at the same time, though this is less flexible if you want to do some editing. So, first off see what format the device captures to. Also, see if there is a DAC-100 online forum, since being in contact with other users can be useful. Some folks here do VHS to DVD work. I use a combined capture and encoding device that came with its own software, and then use TMPGEnc DVD Authoring and Nero for burning. No frills, not a lot of editing.

[megamachine]

Just had a look at the DAC-100 website, and it seems to capture to DV, which means you can use Adobe Premiere for professional editing, or Ulead Video Studio for most basic home uses. The latter costs around 100USD, and comes bundled with many capture devices, so maybe you can borrow a disk from friend and try it out. The site has no forum, but here`s a thread on another site where some folks are weighing in on the DAC-100: http://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t231534.html
Some one on the thread says the best software to use with it is Scenalyzer, so it sounds like you are on the right track.

[ormonde]

"the thought of never ending tests and experiments (and of course endless 'coasters' )simply puts me off."

If you are new to all this, then always burn to a (+R, +RW) disk first to check if all the necessary steps have been performed satisfactorily. (e.g. capturing, authoring, and burning). You can always "Erase" the disk and start again if the project was initially unsuccessful.

[Froggie47]

Thanks so much megamachine and you also ormonde. Perhaps I shouldn't have been as discouraged as I was but mainly it was my own fault. I now know the reason, but not the solution.
When I received the DAC-100, I downloaded the trial of Scenalyzer and tried it with a copy of a home recorded video taken off tv (Pal system). In the first 20 minutes, i received more than 2500 dropped frames, so I downloaded some other software and tried and tried again. Same result. After spending a day and a half, I suddenly got the notion to try a genuine vhs (one of the Readers Digest series). I only received two dropped frames.
Obviously I should have tried a shop bought vhs first, but the reason for buying the DAC-100 was to transfer home recorded videos.
I appreciate all the time and advice you've given, and wonder (if I'm not pushing it too far) if you could give me some advice as to the dropped frames problem. I have looked at the forums, but my dropped frames quantity appears to be excessive to the point of obscenity.

[megamachine]

That many dropped frames does seem excessive. Could be any number of things. Digital video work takes tons of processing power and memory, and most folks recommend firewire with a processor speed above 2ghz and RAM of 512mb. Also, try rebooting before capturing and then don't touch or run anything else while capturing. And, as you already figured out, your source quality matters, too. Hope this helps.

[Froggie47]

Thanks again megamachine. My specs are:

Win XP Pro + SP1
Asus A7N8X-X (Rev 2) MB
1 Gig Crucial Ram
2500+ Athlon (runs at 1.85g)
80g HD (66G free) UDMA5
NVidia GeForce FX5200 Graphics Card

Read in a forum that the cable could contribute to the problem so am looking for a gold plated cable to replace the one that came with the DAC-100.
I did turn off all unnecessary items - firewall/AV etc and also defragged before trying.

[ormonde]

"Thanks so much megamachine and you also ormonde."

Glad (We) could be of help

[megamachine]

Your rig should handle the load OK, mine does and it`s about the same specs. A better cable might help. The only other thing I can think of is maybe overheating. Some external capture devices get pretty hot when doing capture on the fly, especially if they are converting, too. Mine captures and converts to MPEG-2, and after about an hour gets heated up, and I notice at that point it starts to drop frames. I run a fan on it for longer captures, or just do things an hour at a time, with cool down time in between. Other than that, not sure what it could be. Maybe some one else can offer additional advice?

[Froggie47]

I've been doing a couple of test with an old cable I didn't know I had (have ordered one with gold plated contacts). Captured the same video with both programs (55 Days To Peking - 2hrs 42 mins)

WinDV
6900 frames dropped which I think equates to 4min 36 secs lost

Scenalyzer
429 frames lost which I think is about 16.36secs.

It may be of course that the tape had loosened up after being played in WinDV so I'm going to try VideoMagic and then WinDV again.
All you help is very much appreciated.