Media Files, VHS > DVD for TV, PC > DVD

it is been months so, re- asking:

Trying to co-ordinate my media. I have hundreds of VHS tapes (TV shows, old
ball games, home movies etc), PC videos in AVI, WMV, MOV format I'd like to
get onto DVD / be 'indexable'.  Also have lots of PC files I'd like in DVD
format for viewing on TV as well as in wmv or mpg format

Any users out there familiar with apps/ appliance that would make this easy.
You have it / use it and like it ?
I have bought a few combo VHS > DVR's and not happy with any.

The LG - was OK but remote works with only 5 models of TV. Not my model.

The Panasonic has the VCR > DVD and DVD> VHS button but too 'fussy' being
searchable ( if I record a 5 hr tape that HAD no index mark on the tape,
then I cannot make an index mark on the DVD) - have to FF thru 4 hrs of DVD
to get to spot - oops too far - resets back to start. World Series tape had
lots of index marks ( commercials skipped) and DVD can only hold 99 of
them - and cannot combine them . ( 1 index every 15 minutes would be nice is
automatic)
And lousy remote - lots of useless buttons but none to do common tasks.

I tried a WDTV - worked fine but no MOV.

I have made a dozen or so with the latest ( Panasonic VHS/DVR) but it is
tedious. AND since it cannot cut/splice , cannot pop in a VHS - press COPY
to DVD. and then return later, cutting out what I do not want - as many model
allowed. With this one I have to start COPY, then press STOP, then record
next video ...

How much fits on a DVD is not an issue for me - priority is ease of use.
Ideally device can CUT , CUT , delete that piece of video. Then record some
more until max time is reached . then burn DVD.

Also would like analog/digital tuner.

Thanks folks.

I can speak to how easy it is -- it is not difficult, but it is tedious.

I can speak to how easy it is -- it is not difficult, but it is tedious. There
are lots of programs and hardware that do what you want.

You can use, among others, Pinnacle Systems products to allow you to connect
your VHS camera or player to a device that turns the audio & video intputs
(red, wht, yel) to USB to facilitate putting the content onto your HDD. You
then select the parts you want to put onto a DVD, and you can intersperse
still photos and other kinds of video files with your VHS movies. You can
add new tracks for narration and background music. You also can create a
menu on the front end that lets you jump around on the DVD that you are
building. Basically, the applications that do this come in a variety of
price points, the higher you go on the cost ladder the more features you
get.

At the end of the day, you can take your VHS tapes of family vacations and
your honeymoon night with your new bride (hehehe) and make them into DVDs.
You can add your still photos that you have on CD, or that you scan to
files, and put in your choice of music and add new narations that might be
missing because it did not occur to the person operating the camera to
announce, "... here she is coming out of the bathroom on that first night.
Get a load of her huge eyes ... " You can explain the Great Ceiling Fan
Fiasco in a whole new way for your audience that will get copies of the DVD.
It will be a very long day, make no mistake, because you have to view your
footage mostly in real time. You can fast forward through some parts, but it
is a long and tedious project that comes from the sheer time frame and has
nothing to do with the program.

Thanks Jeff" It will be a very long day, make no mistake, because you have to

Thanks Jeff
footage mostly in real time."

THAT's the part I can avoid on SOME devices ( Copy the whole tape - go out
for the day. Next day open DVD device recording: cut here , cut later, then
delete the created middle, then SAVE) but those devices had other issues.

If I have to watch it using Pinnacle , then I can do the same by watching
the VHS copy to DVD and press STOP when I want to CUT. That DOES work for me
but tedious ( I have a LOT of tapes - boxes -maybe 100 - 2 hr , 4 hr , some
6 hr tapes)

I'd really LIKE to do the VHS editing on a device that I can edit, rather
than needing so much disk space, memory to get it as a file.

it is the "cut here, cut there" part of the process that is tedious and forthe

it is the "cut here, cut there" part of the process that is tedious and for
the most part unavoidable. If you just wanted to copy a couple of VHS tapes
and paste them onto a DVD, that is easy. The copy process is slow because
with the stuff I have, it cannot be done on fast forward it has to be done in
real time. But you can pot the player on Play and leave it for a while then
come back and Play the next tape. When you get the tapes into the computer,
you just drop them onto the TimeLine and this will create the Menu, and you
name the menu items and click Record.

The real work comes when you want to have clips of different things, and you
have to physically watch the video to decide where to start and stop the
clip, then drop the clip onto the time line, add in a few still photos that
you have to search through your collection to find, drop in background music
and add some narration. This all takes time that cannot be short circuited.
It can be eliminated by not taking these steps, but that just means you drop
the tape into the player and copy it, then paste it onto a DVD. If your
tapes are already good enough to do that, then you have it easy.




I do not know how you can edit, add narations and background music without
using a computer. If you have anything near a current technology HDD and PC
(or Mac), then you will not have any issues using Pinnacle, or the others. I am
not here to sell Pinnacle, and clearly there are other programs and hardware
packages that do the same job and maybe do it better. I just have a Pinnacle
package so my knowledge-base is there. Once you put your final project on
DVD, you can get rid of the file(s) and recover the space.

Packed it up and returning the Panasonic Dvr in AMI previously had used an LG

Packed it up and returning the Panasonic Dvr in AM
I previously had used an LG but the remote only worked with a few brands.
THIS  one turns my TV on/off but the rest of the product is the clumsy to
use
Usually Panasonic has pretty good interfacing. This one is awful. Also Tuner
is poor . I will be watching ch 205 and change to 204 and although the front
panel changes the TV show does not. Tonight 204, 205 and 207 all had same NBC
show ! Then it hung .
And to do  other than record the entire show from VCR to DVD, ( MOST
options, create chapters/edit video,etc) you need DVD-RAM ! anyone even know
where to BUY one now ? Not at Wal-Mart,Staples,bestbuy,radio shack, Target,
or any of the other 10 stores I tried. and this box WAS made in April so not
on shelf for 3 years. Just as well they did not have any .
Going in the AM to get my money back before 14 day window expires
Although their remote did not work with my TV, the LG was MUCH easier to
use/edit etc.
New store - Ultimate Electronics - just opened near me I will check what they
have.
thanks

I think yo are barking up the wrong tree, Bobb.

I think yo are barking up the wrong tree, Bobb.

You hsould be looking to a computer-based solution that gives you greater
flexibility and control. Some of the stuff (one might argue most of it) that
runs for several minutes tell a story that can be told in 45 seconds. The
computer-based solution allows you to add interesting affects such as sound,
page transitions, and you can build menu items to display on the main
screen.

The VHS to DVD players simply drag the VHS presentation to DVD and do not let
you add sound or narration. I suppose you can clip the portions you want,
but this is not very interesting for your viewers.

Hi Jeff,My intent was not to make it fancy, but merely migrate 20 -25 yr old

Hi Jeff,

My intent was not to make it fancy, but merely migrate 20 -25 yr old VHS
tapes to DVD and IF I could edit it even better.
Nieces, nephews have no VCR - need on DVD.
I found that using PC for video took MANY hours to get it off tape, then
into a file format, then into DVD format, lots of disk space ....  going
from 4 hr tape to 4 hr DVR I can do while I got out for the morning or even
while sleeping - literally - just press VCR->DVD, and go to bed.
Or if old VHS-c tapes , load them during the day and then cut/edit unwanted
material, click Make DVD button before dinner. Dinner over - so is DVD. PC
took HOURS to do that.

BTW, just back from store- got a refund. I wanted to look at others but no
other DVR/VCR combos. Without Circuit City, Tweeter, etc , electronics
buying in Boston area is either Best Buy ( they have 2 - I tried both) and
Ultimate Electronics ( new store - only had the Panasonic as DVR/VCR).
I guess I will have to read more reviews/ buy online - but would prefer
retail ( so easy to return if a problem, as has happened  twice in this
case).

oldtoeasy.DVDhadismodelsomeI have done a fair bit of this, Bobb.

old
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easy.
DVD
had
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I have done a fair bit of this, Bobb. You're asking two different things (I
think!): How to capture analog audio/video to a PC and how to process PC
audio/video files so that they can be written to a commercial-style DVD with
menus and chapter-marks. Actually, the first leads into the second, and
maybe inbetween, you want to know how to edit the material, too - things
like getting the sound in sync with the video and chopping out breaks in a
captured TV programme.

The first thing to buy is a good analog-capture video card. I have tried a few
and think that, comparing video-capture quality and supplied software,
Leadtek products are head and shoulders above other cards in the sub-$100
range. By the way, the following notes assume that you want, and are ready
to spend the cash and time to obtain, good quality. Any fool can make a
slapdash transfer which only he/she can bear to watch.

Having obtained and installed then configured a capture card and its
software, you connect your player to the card, video lead to capture card,
audio leads either to the capture card or to the PC's Audio Line In. The
common video/audio cables are Phono-to-phono, so you may need to buy
adapters. it will depend upon your player. You then play with the setup,
getting used to starting the player then the capture card's record
function - and vice versa, making sure that you capture BOTH sound and
video, etc. etc..

When you are happy that you are competent, the next thing to choose is the
recorder software codec. Codecs trade off picture and sound quality against
space taken up on your hard disk - and your PC's processing ability. Raw
capture codecs require very little of the PC's processor and provide the
best audio/video quality - but require about 75 Gigabytes Hard Disk space
per hour of recording - and that means a pretty high-performance HD. At the
other end of the scale real-time mpeg2 codecs produce files which are ready
to be authored (I will explain that later) to a DVD, can be adjusted to
provide a range of qualities ranging from just adequate to pretty close to
raw - and will only require about 1 to 5 Gigabytes HD space per hour. They
do require more processing power, though. I just scrape by in high-quality
mpeg2 mode with a 2.0 GHz processor.

The above notes outline the first steps, so, before writing more, does this
seem to fit with what you want/are prepared to do? I have interpreted your
original in a different way from your other correspondent, and if it is me
that is wrong, particularly about investing the time, cash and care to get
it right (or that you are ready to spend thousands rather than tens of
dollars!) - I do not want to waste your time, or mine, barking up the wrong
tree  ;-}

PA

Actually to clarify the things I am trying to achieve:tapes are getting pretty

Actually to clarify the things I am trying to achieve:

tapes are getting pretty old so want to save it.)

** NOT trying to go from VHS to PC  ** I think it would use WAY too much
disk space. I have a LOT of VHS.

Target for playing is DVD media - in living room.

Objective - get all my stuff / family stuff onto DVD so can burn DVD's and
just hand them to all family / watch on any DVD player. Making chapter
slides of stuff currently on PC would make sense but right now no need for
background music, fancy transitions etc . I can just write an inventory /
time stamp on the DVD label. So if ' Mike's soccer match ' is 45 minutes in
, I COULD just note that as it is recording  and write that on the label.

A lot of this is old VHS stuff ... 20-30 years ago , the kids on the local
news, sporting events , Pro sports -  Super Bowls, NBA Finals, Playoffs,
All-Star games, World Series etc  . I have a LOT of VHS and often while
recording I'd have some concert on ...  tape #5 , other concerts on tape
the middle. So, for some DVD's I could press VHS-DVD and it would be fine
as-is :  4 hrs of related programs ( maybe World Series Games 1 and 2). For
others I'd need to pop in a VHS tape - record to DVR, eject VHS , pop in
another etc until I got all concerts I could onto that one DVD. Others I'd
record the whole tape , then delete the unrelated files.
If I can get it all onto DVD, then no need to duplicate all VHS - no need
at all family to have VCR for viewing VHS sourced stuff. ( younger ones have
never owned a VCR)

As for PC stuff,

trips, trips with friends, family, fishing, etc and trying to get app to
take all of that and get to DVD easiest way.  I would have to do a lot of
homework to organize .... do I want by year, by category - Europe, USA ,
Cruises, Fishing etc ? Then pictures AND video of each or just a slideshow ,
then the video ...

directly, jpg slideshows, travel movies, home movies ... AVI, MOV, MPG, WMV
.    I found WDTV worked ok except for Apple QuickTime files. I have a lot
of them ( a few cameras I have owned recorded in MOV and of course not a
problem in the past - but  to watch on TV/DVD is something else.
IF WDTV  DID play MOV files then that would work for me. I checked into
Apply box, spoke to Apple rep ... he said "Our Apple TV box will do it ..
but you need to convert all MOV files to H264 format". I looked at him and
said, If I wanted to do THAT, I could convert to another format and use the
WDTV box - I don;t need your box at all. Why does not APPLE TV box support
APPLE QuickTime ? I got a quizzical look. I thought it would be OBVIOUS to
anyone at Apple that the DIFFERENCE between them and others is APPLE
formatted media and why they would make a box that DOESN'T support it was
beyond me.

I tried a few "movie maker" apps/programs and found that they took  f o r e
v e r  to compile the material, (AVI, MPG, WMV) then burn onto a DVD ( like
the good part of a day on a 2 ghz PC). Task mgr shows CPU pegged and nothing
else going on.

So - to put it in " Nero Burning Rom " app equivalent, I'd like to grab
Pictures folder and drag to new DVD - burn - done.

Then grab files in My Videos folder and drag to new DVD until shows full -
burn - done.

But for me, the conversion from "whatever format" to DVD VIDEO_TS formatting
takes way too long.

Bobb

You can stuff the VHS tapes into the VHS/DVD recorder and walk away.

You can stuff the VHS tapes into the VHS/DVD recorder and walk away. At the
end of the day, you get your VHS tape on a DVD. Period. No edits, no
narration, No new audio tracks. What you have is what you get. End of story.
Not very exzciting or interesting.

For the same time invested, you can put the tapes onto the PC, then (this is
where the extra time demands build) do your edits, add narration and
background music, and create an interesting DVD to play on your TV. Once the
DVD has been created, you can delete the source files because they do not
hold much interest anymore anyhow. And, you have still got the source files on
VHS, if you care.

You are stuck on the VHS/DVD player machine. What you really want is a
computer based solution that lets you put your soundtracks and narrations
into old, boring family movies. The machine will copy the tapes to DVD, but
it will not facilitate making the tapes interesting.

(VHSIf you only want to copy A/V data from ageing VHS tapes to DVD, work

(VHS

If you only want to copy A/V data from ageing VHS tapes to DVD, work with
your VHS/DVD machine, Bobb.

If you want to convert A/V files on your PC to something that could be
distributed then played on any domestic DVD player:, you will have to get into
format conversion and "authoring".

Anything much more than that in the way of presentation, quality and/or
enhancement, you will need to follow Jeff's and my solutions.

PA