VHS/8mm tape collection editing

[Dr. Seinyor]

My sincerest apologies if this is in the wrong forum...

I have this huge collection of VHS tapes that I would like to edit on my computer and burn to DVD, at first I thought this would be a simple goal accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.

But then I am swamped by all these different video formats and minute details that make this much harder than I orginally thought. My hardware situation makes it even worse... I have an old Sony VAIO with a capture card that I can simply plug my VCR into and I can get the video fine. The problem? This system is a Windows 95, and all the software on it is designed for keeping the video extremely small for its hard drive. This computer also has no way of connecting with my other computer...

My other computer is what I want the video on. It's running XP, Premiere Pro, and has around 80GB of free space to work with, but no capture card.

I guess what I am trying to say is I need a way to capture my VHS tapes to my computer, keeping the quality as high as possible while keeping the size down... the idea of compression I am going after is the DVD compression, around 1 hour to 2GB.

[olyteddy]

Get a stand alone DVD recorder. Lot's less hassle. Use DVD RW if you plan to edit the vid. If not, burn straight to DVD R.

[photo_angel2004]

My sincerest apologies if this is in the wrong forum...

I have this huge collection of VHS tapes that I would like to edit on my computer and burn to DVD, at first I thought this would be a simple goal accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.

But then I am swamped by all these different video formats and minute details that make this much harder than I orginally thought. My hardware situation makes it even worse... I have an old Sony VAIO with a capture card that I can simply plug my VCR into and I can get the video fine. The problem? This system is a Windows 95, and all the software on it is designed for keeping the video extremely small for its hard drive. This computer also has no way of connecting with my other computer...

My other computer is what I want the video on. It's running XP, Premiere Pro, and has around 80GB of free space to work with, but no capture card.

I guess what I am trying to say is I need a way to capture my VHS tapes to my computer, keeping the quality as high as possible while keeping the size down... the idea of compression I am going after is the DVD compression, around 1 hour to 2GB.

I would sugest getting a capture card for you pc with XP and the larger HD.


Captureing video to convert will use a lot of Hard drive space you will need it.

Or you could get a captureing device like Dazzle, which plugs in the the pc by USB and connects directly to the VCR or video cam corder. (That is what I use with great results)

Here is a guide that may help you this is the one that did the trick for me.

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=56454

[rago88]

I use the Plextor M402U digital convertor for all my vcr, 8mm camera analog conversion.
hooks up via usb to your pc.

It is a quick and easy way to convert all analog video to digital files which you can then either burn to a dvd or use in any video editing program if you want to do precise edits..

[katzdvd]

Hi Dr.

I would have to agree with olyteddy on this one. I mean, if you are wanting to capture vhs that you recorded yourself on blanks, you could be looking at 6 hrs. worth of vid. capture for each tape.

Who wants to tie the pc up for that amount of time?

Use DVD RW if you plan to edit the vid.

That is probably the easiest way to do it.

regards, katz