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Posted by redflag on 08/05/07 11:28
This is how I would approach that project:
Your PC should be as powerful as you can afford.
If you have or can afford a dual-core pentium 4
or higher system with at least 2 gigs of DDR2 memory,
you'll have a solid base on which to work.
Although from personal experience I can tell you
that you can do video wonders with a PC as slow as
Pentium 3 800mhz with 512mb of PC133 memory and
a 100 gig dedicated HD, the above system specs will
ensure the best possible results.
Obtain a video capture card for the PC.
You have two options; video card with TV capabilities
or stand-alone capture card such as a Conopus or a
Hauppauge:
http://www.videoguys.com/vidcap.htm
http://www.hauppauge.com/
In my experience, Hauppage is the least expensive way to
go as far as individual capture hardware is concerned.
The other option, a video card with TV is preferrable
if your PC's PCI slots are all taken up with other
devices.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=28
Also, if the vid card is powerful (i.e., has alot of
ram) you may circumvent the usual memory issues that arise
when handling video. Interlaced Video/audio files are memory
consumptive and, assuming you capture the video at its
largest format and resolution, it takes up alot of hard drive
space. Soooooooooo,
You'll also need a large capacity dedicated HD. Think 200gigs
and higher. That way you can avoid to some extent having to
edit and splice too many small segments. Although it is important
to remember that the longer the video segment, the longer it
takes to mux (multiplex) and demux (demultiplex) and render
it to its final, printable format. BTW, mutiplex simply means
that the video and audio portions are contained in the same
file and can be separated and united at different stages of
editing.
So far, the best source for guides and free software for
digital video editing that I've seen is is doom.org:
http://www.doom9.org/
After you capture your first few minutes of VHS video
onto your hard drive and play them back, you'll notice
how bad the sound is. As you probably know, video tape
works on the basis of friction, that is, the magnetic
signal on the tape rubs up against a metallic doo-hickey
in the flip-flop over-drive and sends it careening into
the rivoflavic converter, etc., etc. HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
That is, you'll likely experience a loud and persistent
hiss accompanying your video. Well, you get the
point. And the point is that you'll also want to have
available in your PC an audio editing program whose
output files will be compatible with your video editing
and rendering software.
For that I use an old version of CoolEdit Pro. CoolEdit Pro
no longer exists. That is, it no longer exists as a
separate piece of software; Adobe bought it and intergrated
it into its last version of Premiere. However, at doom.org
you can obtain an audio editing freeware that will do the
minimum require to clean up the audio portion of your captured
video.
I know I left out about a zillion important details
end steps but if you're slightly smarter than me (which
is usually the case with everyone I meet), you'll
figure it out as you go along.
Just these few points are very important to remember:
A lot of memory and very fast CPU are a must.
Size matters. Video takes up alot of HD space; have a big
hard drive; she'll thank you for it.
The larger the video format, the less compression and the
higher the resolution of your initial capture, the better
the quality of your final product.
mail3277198@gorillaswithdirtyarmpits.com wrote:
> I was wondering how I can play a vhs and record it onto my computer,
> then burn the movie onto a dvd?
>
> I have a general idea, but I would appreciate the specifics from
> anyone who has done this. I am interested in the types of software
> needed, types of cords I need, and anything else I should know.
>
> I'm going to be transferring over some VHS movies I made back in
> college.
>
> ----------------------
> www.basement-flooded.com
> www.tawny-kitaen.com
>
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