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Posted by Ken Maltby on 02/09/07 10:25
"The Wizard" <the_wiz@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:f9Vyh.2853$mn2.2174@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
>
> "youarehappyhey" <youarehappyhey@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1171003042.975849.210460@k78g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> Hey all,
>>
>> Just gotta vent here and ask for help with DVD burning from all of you
>> experts in these newsgroups. All I've wanted to do is transfer some
>> old home movies on VHS and 8mm video camcorder tape. I've been
>> running the outputs from the VCR or camcorder to a Dazzle Digital
>> Video Creator 150. In order to hopefully enhance the video quality, I
>> run the video output through a GoDVD video enhancer between the VCR/
>> camcorder output and the Dazzle input. The Dazzle then inputs into my
>> computer which is a:
>>
>> Dell Dimension Desktop 4700
>> 3.4 GHz Pentium 4 processor
>> 16X DVD+/-R/RW (Phillips DVD burner)
>> 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM at 400 MHz
>> 250 GB hard drive
>> Operating System is Windows XP Media Center
>>
>> My computer came with Sonic MyDVD software for burning video and data
>> DVDs. The Dazzle video digitizer also came with Pinnacle Studio 9
>> Quickstart, which allows video clips to be edited and output as
>> various types of files. My media of choice is Delkin eFilm Archival
>> Gold DVD-R. I have given up trying to make video DVDs because they
>> were riddled with various problems. Instead, I've decided to make DVD-
>> compatible MPEG files and store them on data DVDs. At least I can
>> reliably make data DVDs which I can verify as being exact copies of
>> the MPEG files burned.
>>
>> Unfortunately, I have a series of problems in the created MPEG files,
>> pre-burning. First of all, Studio 9 Quickstart seems to force me to
>> double-encode my MPEG files. The reason this happens is as follows:
>> The capture step only allows me to save my initially captured video
>> from the Dazzle video digitizer as MPEG files. These initial MPEG
>> files look better than the finished ones, but I don't want to burn
>> these initial MPEGs onto DVD because they need to be edited and
>> trimmed such that blank tape captured at the beginning and end of the
>> tape can be edited out. Well, after I drag the initial MPEG file to
>> the storyboard in edit mode and trim the ends, I then have to use the
>> Make MPEG function in the Make Movie step to make a new MPEG with the
>> edits. The Make MPEG settings allows me to set a quality level of the
>> output edited MPEG, such as DVD-compatible, which leads me to believe
>> the program is re-encoding the edited MPEG, which seems rather
>> pointless as it is already an MPEG file. The re-encoding seems to
>> make the picture jerkier in the edited MPEGS, especially when the
>> camera moves. Isn't there a way I can just trim the beginning and end
>> of an MPEG file, without re-encoding the middle of it and altering the
>> resulting video quality? I can't seem to find a way of doing so on
>> Pinnacle Studio 9 Quickstart.
>>
>> In addition, even some of my initially captured video MPEG files have
>> problems. The frames seem to be flickery and jerky at times. My
>> Pinnacle capture settings are MPEG (high-quality DVD) (6000 Kbits/
>> sec). I was wondering if maybe this is too high of a quality setting
>> for my computer to keep up with? If so, what would be a better
>> quality-level, in terms of bit rate, in light of my processing power.
>>
>> I have tried everything I can think of to try to fix the above
>> problems, including updating Studio 9 Quickstart, Sonic MyDVD, and my
>> DVD burner driver, turning off my screensaver, emptying my recycle bin
>> and temporary files before burning, turning off my power saving
>> settings, checking my system for viruses, running my disk
>> defragmenter, not running any other applications while using my video
>> software, and restarting my computer right before using my video
>> software. Nothing seems to work.
>>
>> I can't understand why I can't get this stuff to make simple MPEG
>> files for burning on data DVDs which are quality representations of
>> their respective videos. Is this technology not perfected or what?
>> All I have read indicates that my system should be perfectly capable
>> of doing all that. I've looked at other software video digitizing
>> equipment, but if you go on amazon.com, it seems like every such
>> product has highly mixed reviews, even Nero software, which seemed to
>> be the most highly respected video software on these newsgroups. If I
>> just knew what hardware and software and settings that could reliably
>> do what I want, I would happily try to purchase and use them.
>>
>> I tried technical support from Dell, Sonic, and Pinnacle, but am still
>> having problems.
>>
>> I'm so frustrated, I'm just about ready to give up on my whole
>> archiving project, which I was really looking forward to. What is
>> going wrong here, and how can I fix it? I tried to provide as much
>> information as I could for anyone willing to give an opinion or
>> advice.
>
> Can't really help you too much as I stopped using my TV card when I bought
> a seperate DVD recorder (A lot cheaper now than they used to be and great
> for recording Camcorder and VHS tape to DVD with no problem!)
>
> There is also a lot of different software mentioned on this group...Video
> Redo spring to mind for trimming the blank sections as you've mentioned at
> the start.
>
> Before shelling out for more software, Check the freeware newsgroup first,
> A lot of the freeware is just as good as the pay for stuff!
>
> Nero 6 would be handy as well, As there's a *Make DVD* option in the menu,
> Even a Record direct to DVD (Though I have'nt tried this yet with my TV
> card and somehow just hitting record and it going direct to disc!)
>
> I can't remember the actual audio, But do know it has to be set different
> for DVD compatabilty to what the usual audio settings of a TV card are
> also.
>
> I kept forgetting all the settings like a jerk, hence I took the DVD
> recorder route to make things a lot easier :-)
>
> T.W.
>
www.VideoReDo.com should be all you need to do
what you have described. Nero is a great burning
program, but "burning" is only the process of using
a laser to burn pits in a die layer of a blank DVD.
Included with the Nero package is also "NeroVision"
which insists on re-encoding perfectly good DVD
compliant MPEG. Exposing any video to
NeroVision, is a form of abuse.
You have unfortunately ended up with a very poor
combination of hardware and software.
Dazzle has a very poor reputation.
Sonic MyDVD has been a total disaster for many users.
Pinnacle software isn't well liked either. (The more recent
Avid versions, are definitely improving pinnacle's rep.)
If you are getting acceptable MPEG from your Dazzle
hardware, then a few software changes can get you
back on track.
The one hardware addition I would recommend is a
capture hard drive separate from your system hard drive.
Since you are capturing in MPEG, it need not be a
large drive. (I use a 34GB 10k WD Raptor)
If you want to do more extensive MPEG editing,
consider the www.womble.com wizard products,
or Ulead's VideoStudio 10+.
To author a video DVD that functions like a commercial
DVD, you should use a dedicated authoring program.
My favorite for quick and dependable DVD authoring
is TMPGEnc DVD Author 1.6 (TDA), a Google may still
find a source for that version. DVD Lab Pro is a more
capable authoring program, but is more complex and costs
a little more. www.mediachance.com .
First try trimming your Dazzle captures with the free trial
download of VideoReDo, in addition to doing frame
accurate cuts and joins, it will process and improve the
audio and video timing. This will most likely fix your
jittery video.
Check out the user comments, for what you have now,
at www.videohelp.com , there is often some workarounds
mentioned for known problems, like alternate drivers or
software for your capture card.
Luck;
Ken
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