Posted by Mike Richter on 08/25/05 17:55

Jon D wrote:
> I am in the UK.
>
> I want to copy some VHS tape onto CD or DVD. The burners are in my
> PC.
>
> Approximately how much CD or DVD storage would I need for a 30 minute
> VHS recording in order to preserve its quality.
>
> Does it make much difference which file format I use such as MPEG?

Erik has provided sources for specific, detailed analysis. Some rough
numbers may be enough for you and easier to deal with.

Raw capture, usually in MJPEG from which MPEG2 is generated, takes 13 GB
per hour. The highest quality of MPEG2 used on DVD takes 4 GB per hour.
The standard speed requires 2 GB per hour. VHS quality is so limited
that 1 GB per hour is ample, 750 MB per hour is usually sufficient.
(Sufficient means that close comparison with the original shows slight
loss; ample means that the copy looks and sounds just like the original.)

Since results depend on the encoder used as well as the quality of your
starting tape, an experiment or two is worthwhile.

Mike
--
mrichter@cpl.net
http://www.mrichter.com/

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