Posted by Gene on 02/18/07 16:11

I'm nearing my search for a solution for dubbing 1.5hr
MiniDV and 1.5hr LP Digital-8 tapes to a maxed-out DVD-R.

I'm 100% sure I do not want (or need) to transcode, as I am
doing zero editing, or need enhancement whatsoever. I have
experimented with Sony 7, Roxio 9, Nero everything, and
lastly the trial version of TMPGEnc DVD Author 3 with DivX.
(Which is the best of them all, IMHO - at least it works.)

We tested 2-pass best of everything settings for transcode,
and none of the laborious works of art were better than simply
doing a quick dub on a new Sony RDR-GX330, or the old
Panasonic ES20. Even the old hacked LiteOn 5005 produced
good results. Our method of testing was to play the A/V on
a 1080i TV, as well as on older conventional TVs. We played
tapes to TVs as well as DVD-Rs to TVs. IMHO, the DSPs &
hardware code won best "real world" A/V award.

"CPUs are best for data, DSPs are best for A/V. "

If I can find a set-top-box that has a hard drive, automatically
generates ~5 minute chapter skips, and produces a DVD-R
that is burned & finalized to > 95% full for maximum quality,
and has the ability to easily burn a 2nd copy - then that sounds
like the solution that I want to purchase next. Unfortunately,
I have not found that DVD Recorder / Player yet. The problem
is compounded by the fact that all 3 of our Sony digital
camcorders seem to have a problem completing a dub
to any set-top box, that is, they tend to randomly freeze during
the dub. So I need to find a DVD Recorder Player that is compatible
with the Sony camcorders. Guess I will just have to keep trying
out boxes until I find one that works as well as the Belkin PCI
TI chip card on the PC. I have "never" had a freeze when dubbing
from the Sonys to hard drive with the Belkin / TI chip.

"If anyone knows of a DVD box that will do the above, PLEASE post
the Make & Model number :-) "

I have a nagging feeling that my only real solution will end up being the
one that I least wanted to use. That may be a dedicated PC with a
capture card containing the required DSPs & code to capture the
camcorder AVI directly to VOBs on the hard drive, then use a keyboard /
mouse
macro recorder to automate the task from start to finish. That is, I place
a 1.5hr
MiniDV tape in a camcorder attached to the dedicated PC via firewire and two
blank
DVD-Rs in the two PC DVD burners (IDE master and USB2) and come back in
~ two hours to a burned and finalized master & a copy. This is a
no-brainier to do,
just need to find a REALLY good PCI card or USB2 device to do the AVI to VOB
real-time conversion. I have not started looking for this solution yet, but
am aware that
there are a number of such devices out there, some with TV tuners, which I
really do not
want implemented in the device. I really only want the DSPs & some really
good code
to get from AVI to VOB in real-time tape speed.

"If anyone can suggest a good PCI card or USB2 device, I'm all ears :-)"


THANKS,
Gene















"Ken Maltby" <kmaltby@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:SsKdnbgYEL-h80XYnZ2dnUVZ_uOmnZ2d@giganews.com...
>
> <nospam@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:_XVBh.76918$qO4.5069@newssvr13.news.prodigy.net...
>> "PTravel" <ptravel@travelersvideo.com> wrote in message
>> news:53qcdeF1sqq4vU1@mid.individual.net...
>>> "Gene" <genes@wildblue.net> wrote in message
>>> news:W7qBh.36$EP6.44076@news.sisna.com...
>>> > Looks like plugging a camcorder into a
>>> > DVR is a MUCH faster, and from what I have seen, gives as good as, if
>>> > not
>>> > better
>>> > quality than DVD-Rs generated from a PC program.
>>>
>>> Then I'm sure you'll be happy doing it that way. First of all, you're
>>> wrong -- a DVR will not produce as good a DVD as _properly_ transcoded
>>> and
>>> authored DVD produced on a computer.
>>
>> That's more than a bit overstated. It depends on the quality
>> of your source material, and of the codec used on the capture
>> device. E.g. I've done side-by-side comparisons of DVD
>> and broadcast cable TV material captured direct to MPEG
>> with a stock Hauppauge PVR-150, and capturing to AVI
>> (via Dscaler) then transcoding to MPEG. I've rarely been
>> able to duplicate the quality of direct captures. So what's
>> the point of spending hours and days transcoding? It's
>> not a matter of "good enough"; the direct captures have
>> been AS GOOD AS manual transcoding in every case.
>>
>
> PT will never get the point. Do a Google "Groups"search
> with: PTravel "Ken Maltby", and see what you get.
>
> For PT all video must be treated as if it is the DV-25 from
> his 3CCD camcorder.
>
> Luck;
> Ken
>
>

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