Thread: Computer - copying VHS to DVD

if the camera can display a picture on a tv it is simple [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

you need as a minimum a tv capture card and a decent bit of software to capture it with such as virtuadub . then you can import it direct into your burning software such as nero or you can use the like of movie maker to set it up etc...

Hi Ace, sound like 8mm or Hi8 tape. It will have one of those labels printed on the side of the tape cassette.

If so then the video camera will most likely have the standard RCA output plugs on the camera. Depending on how old the video camera is, there will be one video output ( yellow RCA plug ) and one or two audio outputs ( red and white RCA plugs ).

If your computer does not already have it, you will need a video input card.

Incisor can tell you more about that.

One more point about the tape, it could also be Digital8 tape, they are all the same looking tape but if the camera is a Digital8 video camera then it will have a Firewire output ( NOTE if it is a Sony video camera, the firewire output is called iLink but is exactly the same as Firewire )

Your computer, depending on how old it is will most likely already have a Firewire in/out port, but again you can get a Firewire card fairly cheaply for your computer and again Incisor can give you more info on that.

Cheers

Thanks everyone for the replies.

To answer some of the questions - burning to DVD not SVCD or VCD - when capuring to MPEG 2 the video and audio is always in sync- it is the process of converting the MPEG 2 to DVD is the problem - and sometimes using the same procedures it does work with th audio in sync.

Unfortunately I don't believe analogue can go through the DV port to be burned straight to disk.

I think I will borrow a mates DVD recorder to copy the VHS - it seems to be quicker and easier.

Thanks for the help.

Gazzz

Another tack at the same problem. Is it based on what your computer is doing when you're buring DVD's?

Depends on how old your burner is and your computer.

My old dog, P3 and slow Burner with no onboard ram would trash disks at a great old rate if I was running anything else.

If that were the case, amount of ram, speed of hdd, processor, all of that guff could be the culprit.

hth

cheers
Simon.

Originally posted by abaddonxi
Another tack at the same problem. Is it based on what your computer is doing when you're buring DVD's?

Depends on how old your burner is and your computer.

My old dog, P3 and slow Burner with no onboard ram would trash disks at a great old rate if I was running anything else.

If that were the case, amount of ram, speed of hdd, processor, all of that guff could be the culprit.

hth

cheers
Simon.

Computer should be up to it - P4, 3 ghz - 512 dual ram, serial 7200rpm 120g hard drive - the burner is a new LG dual layer burner. when burning the CPU is never over 20% usage.

I know what you mean about trying to do this on old systems - even on my system when I have bumped the frame rate over 30fps it starts to struggle.

Cheers

Gazzz

Originally posted by garrycol

Computer should be up to it - P4, 3 ghz - 512 dual ram, serial 7200rpm 120g hard drive - the burner is a new LG dual layer burner. when burning the CPU is never over 20% usage.

I know what you mean about trying to do this on old systems - even on my system when I have bumped the frame rate over 30fps it starts to struggle.

Cheers

Gazzz

Hmmm.

Sounds like that isn't the problem.

Oh, another old chestnut like that is do you have the burner and the hard drive on the same ide channel?

Shouldn't make enough difference but does affect speed when you're trying to access both heavily.

Cheers
Simon

Serial ATA hard drives do not run on the IDE channels - they have their own special SATA channels - so the DVD drives have their own individual IDE channels.

If I burn the DVD files to the hard drive rather than to a disk - the voice is still out of sync.

I think that this is one of those things that are in the lap of the gods!

Yeah, I thoght you might say SATA. Think your right, mystery of the universe.

Cheers
Simon