Converting VHS to DVD

[007]

Looking to put some VHS tapes to DVD and maybe even do some editing.

I need some advice on what to do. As I see it my options are buy the equipment required and do it myself or get it done by a company that deals with this (I assume they exist!?)

What what be the pros and cons of each?

[achos]

By far the easiest/cheapest is to send it to a professional video convertors, Cost approx £25.

DIY= new graphics card to input video into and digitize on PC, software to edit and save suitable filetype, new dvd burner if you don't already have one. All in allcost about £300-£400 approx.

[Unclegrump]

not too sure about the costs.

My USB2 WinTV thingy cost under £100 and can save on the fly in MPG2. It did come with some Ulead editing software in the box. DVD Burners are around £50 now .... bit short of your £300-£400!!!

As for professional convertors, for £25 all you would get is it dumped onto DVD with no editing or menu's ...

[sjg1]

Arstechnica have a couple of great articles on the subject, using only a basic TV card and freely downloadable software.

Part 1 (capture): http://arstechnica.com/guide/audio-visual/videocapturing/vidcap-1.html

Part 2 (cleanup): http://arstechnica.com/guide/audio-visual/video-cleanup/cleaning-1.html

There was meant to be a third part covering compression, but I don't think it's been done yet. http://www.videohelp.com/ has some excellent guides for the whole compression and DVD side of things.

[007]

Ok thanks for the replies.

I have a DVD burner. I've also got a WinTV pci card in an old computer that died ages ago. Problem is (if it even works) that it's really old (model 406) so I think it can capture VHS but I don't know if it'll be any good?

Also how much would I be able to get on a DVD? I've probably got about 5 hours of footage that I'd like to edit to about 3 hours.

I wouldn't really mind getting a company to chuck the stuff onto DVD and then I can work out how to edit it afterwards once it's on digital format but then for the cost involved I'd probably be better off just buying the capture card (if my old one doesn't work) and doing it myself.

Cheers for the links, I'll check it out.

[ganan]

Ive tried previously with capture cards and software and following guides, and found that I was messing about with settings, and it was very time consuming.

I used the Belkin vhs -> dvd gadget recently and that was great, its very straight forward, and is simple to use. I would recommend you get that. Its called Belkin Hi-Speed USB DVD creator.

[stuart cracknell]

To edit from DVD .vob files in Editing software, I use

1. TMPGenc DVD > copy files in MPG format to HDD.
2. Canpous Procoder 2 > MPG to AVI for editing in Premier Pro (or other editing software). Might be other ways, but that works for me.

[Choccy]

The easiest way and is around £110 is a Hauppauge PVR 350 and you can scart the VHS to the PC and then edit easily.

There are other ways and they are cheaper but this is one of them and you could fleabay the card after usage and then even if you lost a bit it would not be that much and might work out the most cost effective.

[StewartMc]

My method: Leadtek WinFast TV 2000/XP Expert - £40
DVD Burner - £50
Capture card comes with basic editing software, great results, and at £90 a lot cheaper than the £400 quoted above.

[BigH]

I would have no chance doing it myself, and I need to convert my wedding video onto dvd

can anyone recommend a company that could do it ?

[bigb]

I have used www.ontodvd.com to convert my old home movies from vhs to dvd. Basic price starts from £10 for 2 hours (special offer until 31 July). Quite impressed with the finished product :thumbs: