VHS to DVD Transfer Advice at DVinfo.net

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 08:49 AM

Hi everyone! I'm a broadcasting student in Ontario, Canada. I'd like to start a small side business doing VHS to DVD transfers of home movies. At my school we use a Mini DV/S-VHS deck with firewire ports. I've been trying to buy a used one online, but I'm really not able to find one in my price range(under $400). Does anyone have any advice on either where to find one for purchase, or perhaps other ways to capture from a VHS machine onto an iMac? I should mention that I do not yet own a Mini DV camera that I can use at my leisure. Thanks for your help!

Tom Hardwick · March 28th, 2008, 09:04 AM

I do a lot of this work for people Matt. I feed S video and audio into my editing pc, timeline the lot and MPEG2 compress. Then I author a DVD, design the print face and case insert sheet, choosing frames from the timeline as stills.

Takes a lot of time but gives the best results. Quickest way is to use a set-top DVD box with analogue in - that way a DVD with minimal menu page pops out in real time.

tom.

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 09:11 AM

Thanks Tom! Would you be able to tell me what type of convertor I would need? My iMac only has Firewire and USB.

Tom Hardwick · March 28th, 2008, 09:23 AM

Ah, if your Mac doesn't have analogue in you're stumped. But many camcorders will convert on the fly, so feed the S + audio from the VHS VCR into your switched on camcorder in VCR mode and take the Firewire cable into the Mac.

tom.

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 09:28 AM

Ok...I'd have a buy a dv cam then...which is a bit out of my price range for now. How much of a difference does the camera quality make?

Tom Hardwick · March 28th, 2008, 09:31 AM

The camera doesn't really effect the video quality as it's simply being used as an A/D converter. An old Sony TRV900 would do just fine and should be well under $400.

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 09:42 AM

I know I've run into problems with artifacting on the mini dv/s-vhs deck in our dub/transfer suite at school...would that still be an issue if I'm simply routing a VCR through a mini dv cam?

Tom Hardwick · March 28th, 2008, 09:46 AM

Explain in more detail the 'artefacts problem'. Using the cam as an A/D converter should give you no problems whatsoever. My old Canopus Raptor system used the camera as just such a converter for hours on end (to feed a proper TV as a monitor) with never a hitch.

Dave Stern · March 28th, 2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

..... Quickest way is to use a set-top DVD box with analogue in - that way a DVD with minimal menu page pops out in real time.....

tom.

yes!!, and if you rip the encoded video from the disk (use a re-writable), then you can pull that mpeg into something else and re-author with your own menu template if you like.

basically you use the DVD recorder as a real-time encoder, but can add value with your own menus, etc.

note I also trim the mpeg with mpeg video wizard so it's cleaned up in the front and back. (and you can keep it in mpeg - no editing, so mpeg video wizard is fine b/c it just re-writes the mpeg, no re-encoding).

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 09:53 AM

Multicoloured blocks appeared in the final copy of the transfer. I'm sure its not actually "artifacting" as that would be bits of past recording being visible on the tape, though it looked quite similar to it.

Tom Hardwick · March 28th, 2008, 09:59 AM

You do indeed describe artefacts. All the connections ok?

Matt Ratelle · March 28th, 2008, 10:43 AM

I think so, but the engineers don't really like you messing around with their patch bays! lol

Allen Plowman · March 28th, 2008, 11:04 AM

what is a good VCR to use for the conversions? or will any good VCR suffice?

Matt Ratelle · March 29th, 2008, 12:31 PM

I was wondering that myself...I've been pretty disappointed by the quality of most VCRs...any suggestions?

Tom Hardwick · March 29th, 2008, 02:08 PM

I use an S-VHS Panasonic NV-HS900 machine, The better the playback, the better the final product.

March 28th, 2008, 08:49 AM	#1
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	VHS to DVD Transfer Advice Hi everyone! I'm a broadcasting student in Ontario, Canada. I'd like to start a small side business doing VHS to DVD transfers of home movies. At my school we use a Mini DV/S-VHS deck with firewire ports. I've been trying to buy a used one online, but I'm really not able to find one in my price range(under $400). Does anyone have any advice on either where to find one for purchase, or perhaps other ways to capture from a VHS machine onto an iMac? I should mention that I do not yet own a Mini DV camera that I can use at my leisure. Thanks for your help! Last edited by Matt Ratelle; March 28th, 2008 at 08:52 AM. Reason: additional information

March 28th, 2008, 11:04 AM	#13
Allen Plowman Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Paradise, california Posts: 353	what is a good VCR to use for the conversions? or will any good VCR suffice? __________________ "What I need is an exact list of specific unknown problems we might encounter."

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March 28th, 2008, 09:04 AM	#2
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	I do a lot of this work for people Matt. I feed S video and audio into my editing pc, timeline the lot and MPEG2 compress. Then I author a DVD, design the print face and case insert sheet, choosing frames from the timeline as stills. Takes a lot of time but gives the best results. Quickest way is to use a set-top DVD box with analogue in - that way a DVD with minimal menu page pops out in real time. tom.

March 28th, 2008, 09:11 AM	#3
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	Thanks Tom! Would you be able to tell me what type of convertor I would need? My iMac only has Firewire and USB.

March 28th, 2008, 09:23 AM	#4
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Ah, if your Mac doesn't have analogue in you're stumped. But many camcorders will convert on the fly, so feed the S + audio from the VHS VCR into your switched on camcorder in VCR mode and take the Firewire cable into the Mac. tom.

March 28th, 2008, 09:28 AM	#5
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	Ok...I'd have a buy a dv cam then...which is a bit out of my price range for now. How much of a difference does the camera quality make?

March 28th, 2008, 09:31 AM	#6
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	The camera doesn't really effect the video quality as it's simply being used as an A/D converter. An old Sony TRV900 would do just fine and should be well under $400.

March 28th, 2008, 09:42 AM	#7
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	I know I've run into problems with artifacting on the mini dv/s-vhs deck in our dub/transfer suite at school...would that still be an issue if I'm simply routing a VCR through a mini dv cam?

March 28th, 2008, 09:46 AM	#8
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Explain in more detail the 'artefacts problem'. Using the cam as an A/D converter should give you no problems whatsoever. My old Canopus Raptor system used the camera as just such a converter for hours on end (to feed a proper TV as a monitor) with never a hitch.

March 28th, 2008, 09:53 AM	#10
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	Multicoloured blocks appeared in the final copy of the transfer. I'm sure its not actually "artifacting" as that would be bits of past recording being visible on the tape, though it looked quite similar to it.

March 28th, 2008, 09:59 AM	#11
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	You do indeed describe artefacts. All the connections ok?

March 28th, 2008, 10:43 AM	#12
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	I think so, but the engineers don't really like you messing around with their patch bays! lol

March 29th, 2008, 12:31 PM	#14
Matt Ratelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: St. Catharines, ON Posts: 63	I was wondering that myself...I've been pretty disappointed by the quality of most VCRs...any suggestions?

March 29th, 2008, 02:08 PM	#15
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	I use an S-VHS Panasonic NV-HS900 machine, The better the playback, the better the final product.