Is one software better than another?

[Carl_Wisconsin]

Given the same hardware (DVD burner, computer, and DVD player) and apart from fancy menu and editing features will one software do a better job and encoding and burning a DVD? If so what brands are best?

I had problems playing DVDs on my DVD recorder. Large pixels would start up during scenes with lots of contrast (candles on a cake in a drak room). I used DVD Complete to encode and burn my DVD. I repeated the process 4 times using the same disk (DVD+RW). Each time I made new image files from the same mpg. All attempts had the same results. Then I took the same mpg and used Sonic MyDVD4 to encode and burn a DVD. The large pixels did not playback.

 

[The-poacher]

Your question has the answer yes some s/ware is better than others but which one <> matter for U to decide try em & make your pick
me I use DVD2SVCD/Tmpgenc/DVD2One/DVDShrink/DVDlab/RecordNowMax & Alcohol.
Look at the tutorials on this forum U can even do it with free proggies.
Its really ones own personal choice but I would say for encoding DVD2SVCD is the dogs blx!!

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

Your question has the answer yes some s/ware is better than others but which one <> matter for U to decide try em & make your pick
me I use DVD2SVCD/Tmpgenc/DVD2One/DVDShrink/DVDlab/RecordNowMax & Alcohol.
Look at the tutorials on this forum U can even do it with free proggies.
Its really ones own personal choice but I would say for encoding DVD2SVCD is the dogs blx!!

Thanks for your reply,
If I mainly want to convert my analog videos to DVD in the best quality possible would you say that TMPGEnc and DVDlab would be a winning combination? The DVDlab website looked very interesting. TMPGEnc also sells a DVD authoring package. Do you anything about that one?

 

[The-poacher]

Never converted video so cant really help <> what kind of movie file (mpeg avi etc) is the analog video?

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

Never converted video so cant really help <> what kind of movie file (mpeg avi etc) is the analog video?

What I do now is capture video from my tape player to an avi file. Then I make an mpeg. Then I make a DVD from that. Blanchfort just explained to me that I will still need to use the program I have to capture the video. TMPGEnc would then make the mpeg. He suggested I use Sonic MyDVD. I tried it and my DVDs played back without the problems my current software gave me. I am wondering if it would be easier to set up chapters and assign them to buttons in DVDlab.

 

[The-poacher]

I would personally make the DVD files from the avi with DVD2SVCD then author the DVD with DVD Lab (including chapters) but U can also use DVD lab to make the DVD from an MPEG2 which U got from TMPGenc

Tute for DVD2SVCD (Avi to DVD) is

Here

 

[celtic_druid]

I would agree with using CCE, but I wouldn't use DVD2SVCD. Instead I would frameserve with AVISynth to CCE manually so that I could have more control over the script so as to better add noise removal, etc. Experimenting with different combos to get the best results.

Then again maybe your analogue captures don't require any of that? Should also point out that certain filters will have a major impact on encoding speed.

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

I would agree with using CCE, but I wouldn't use DVD2SVCD. Instead I would frameserve with AVISynth to CCE manually so that I could have more control over the script so as to better add noise removal, etc. Experimenting with different combos to get the best results.

Then again maybe your analogue captures don't require any of that? Should also point out that certain filters will have a major impact on encoding speed.

Thanks for your response,
I currently capture 120 minutes of video from VHS tapes, creating an avi file (apprx 35GB). I adjust the brightness during the capturing process because some of the scenes are too light (washed out) or dark. Then I edit out the bad shots and transitions before making an mpeg (apprx 4 GB). I then take that mpeg to make my DVDs with menus. I am planning to keep the mpeg for a backup.

Currently I use MovieStar5 (with a DVC80) to capture, edit and make my mpegs. I then use DVDComplete to make DVDs. I haven't been happy with the quality of the finished DVD (occasional synch problems, choppy video, large pixels). Using Sonic MyDVD to author my DVD seemed to eliminate those problems. There is so much time that goes into this I want to be sure there isn't something else I could be doing (within my budget) that could improve the result before I start up again.

What would you recommend to capture the video, adjust brightness, edit out bad sections, make a dvd+R with menus (titles and chapters), and end up with an mpeg for backup? I'm willing to spend another $200 or so to improve what I have already have.

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

I would personally make the DVD files from the avi with DVD2SVCD then author the DVD with DVD Lab (including chapters) but U can also use DVD lab to make the DVD from an MPEG2 which U got from TMPGenc

Tute for DVD2SVCD (Avi to DVD) is

Here

Thanks for your help as I stuggle along,
I looked through the tutorial. It seemed to indicate I would need to get my video onto the hard drive as an .avi file.
Next, use DVD2SVCD (& CCE somehow?) to create .mpv and .AC3 files.
Next, use TMPGEnc DVD Author to create VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS files.
Next, use Nero to burn the DVD.

But does your suggestion above say to use DVD2SVCD (and CCE?) to make .mpv and .AC3 files that would be imported into DVDlab where menus can be created and the DVD burned? Isn't CCE expensive? Where can I edit out bad sections of the movie? Since there is no mpeg created could the mpv and AC3 files be saved as a backup?

 

[celtic_druid]

The editing can all be done with AVISynth as the video is frameserved to CCE, which yes is kinda expensive. CCE that is, AVISynth is free.

Most DVD authoring apps take elementary streams as input rather than mpg's, hence the m2v and AC3 output.

To edit with AVISynth simply use the trim() command, looking up frame values in say VirtualDub. AVISynth can also be used to adjust colours, brightness, denoise, add grain, crop, add borders and all that kind of stuff.

What codec are you using for your captures?

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

The editing can all be done with AVISynth as the video is frameserved to CCE, which yes is kinda expensive. CCE that is, AVISynth is free.

Most DVD authoring apps take elementary streams as input rather than mpg's, hence the m2v and AC3 output.

To edit with AVISynth simply use the trim() command, looking up frame values in say VirtualDub. AVISynth can also be used to adjust colours, brightness, denoise, add grain, crop, add borders and all that kind of stuff.

What codec are you using for your captures?

Thankyou for your reply,

I use a Dazzle DVC80 device to capture my VHS video in MovieStar. I don't know what the codec is that makes the avi file but the resolution is NTSC 352 x 240.

The MPG file that MovieStar makes is according to the following:
Codec: MPEG-II Video
Format: MPEG-II DVD NTSC
Compression: Audio Layer II
Sample Rate: 48000
Frame Rate: 29.97
Width x Height: 720 x 480

Several people have told me the DVC80 is not very good. What do you use?

I'll get info on AVISynth and take a look at it. Why do you like this program instead of others that integrate more functionality into one package?

 

[celtic_druid]

AVISynth includes a huge amout of functionality in one package, even more so if you include all of the plugins available.

You mean why do I recommend it over say Vegas or Premiere which can both edit and encode? Well for a serious editing job, I wouldn't. However for something like this AVISynth is perfect.

352x240 is part of the DVD spec, so you could just leave it that res if you wanted or capture at 720x480 if you want full res.

Yeah, I seem to recall hearing bad things about dazzle cards, especially their software.

 

[Carl_Wisconsin]

AVISynth includes a huge amout of functionality in one package, even more so if you include all of the plugins available.

You mean why do I recommend it over say Vegas or Premiere which can both edit and encode? Well for a serious editing job, I wouldn't. However for something like this AVISynth is perfect.

352x240 is part of the DVD spec, so you could just leave it that res if you wanted or capture at 720x480 if you want full res.

Yeah, I seem to recall hearing bad things about dazzle cards, especially their software.

Greetings from Wisconsin,
The program I use to capture (or perhaps the DVC80) doesn't allow me choices other than 352 x 240. Does that mean if I can find a way to capture at 720x480 my avi file would be 4 times as big? My avi files now are about 25 GB for a 2 hour VHS movie.

I looked at AviSynth on the web. It really hard trying to understand how all the various programs fit together to make the finished product. I would greatly appreciate it if you list in general terms the major steps and software you would use to get from a VHS tape to a DVD.

I've explained my situation in "Just Joined?"
http://www.dvdrbase.com/showthread.php?t=34227

Thanks again for your help.