How to capture VHS & 8mm analog tape to MPEG 2 (under $300)

Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?

On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?

All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.

Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.

All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
(Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).

Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
Please help me.

Linda Donovan

Linda Donovan

"Linda Donovan" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
> On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
> All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
> Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
> All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> Please help me.
>
> Linda Donovan

this is really easy

can you connect your camera to your computer with a firewire cable?

JR

> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
> On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
> All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
> Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
> All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> Please help me.
>
> Linda Donovan

I am not a big fan of consumer hardware MPEG2 encoding, so I hate to say
this... the Hauppauge PVR cards can be picked up for a lot less than $300,
typically from $100-200 depending on the model, and they produce an...
uuurrrggg... acceptabe quality MPEG2 encode you can burn straight to DVD.

Adam H

Linda Donovan wrote:

> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
> On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
> All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
> Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
> All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> Please help me.

I don't think you're going to find a hardware device made for the purpose of
converting AVI to MPEG2. That's normally done with software and the
software works fine.

It sounds like you'e looking for a device that takes an analog input and
captures direct to MPEG2. If that's what you're looking for then the
Hauppauge PVR-250 would be your best bet I think. However be aware that it
is MPEG2-only, it cannot be made to capture uncompressed video--the chip it
uses has compressed output only.

If you need an external box, rather than a board then take a look at the
WinTV-PVR-USB2.

> Linda Donovan

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

J. Clarke

"Linda Donovan" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
> On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
> All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
> Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
> All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> Please help me.
>
> Linda Donovan

If you have a digital video camera it should be able to output via Firewire
or i.Link or IEEE 1394. Then you can transfer from your camera to your PC
via a Firewire or i.Link or IEEE 1394 cable ($20 to $30) with free software
such as WinDV or Microsoft Movie Maker (Do you have an XP system?). That
will leave you with an AVI file. Assuming you have a firewire card in your
PC, if not you need one ($20 to $30). Now you need to determine if you want
to edit that file or just make a DVD. The DVD authoring program will take
the AVI file and burn it to DVD.

Here's the Sonic my DVD and Power DVD sites:
http://estore.sonic.com/enu/mydvd/mydvd5.asp?lang=enu
http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/p....jsp?ProdId=28

There is plenty of software and many opinions. Power DVD has a free trial
download, I'm not sure about Sonic.

I would not reccomend trying to use USB

Rich

Rich

In article <>, (Linda Donovan) wrote:
>Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
>On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
>is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
>my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
>and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
>All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
>into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
>MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
>Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
>to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
>All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
>(Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
>create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
>Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
>Please help me.
>
> Linda Donovan

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPa...26&Langue_ID=7

GMAN

"> > Linda Donovan
>
> http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPa...26&Langue_ID=7

This is absolutely the LAST thing she wants to look at!! It has no DV
input, is USB2 and flakey. Avoid Pinnacle and Dazzle.

luminos

> > http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPa...26&Langue_ID=7
>
> This is absolutely the LAST thing she wants to look at!! It has no DV
> input, is USB2 and flakey. Avoid Pinnacle and Dazzle.

I second that. Pinnacle and Dazzle products should be banned from store
shelves.

Adam H

"Linda Donovan" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
>
> On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
>
> All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
>
> Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
>
> All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
>
> Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> Please help me.
>
> Linda Donovan
There is an external box available which takes analog video (S-Video, or RCA
connectors), connects to USB2 and produces MPEG2 files or burns directly
DVD. It also includes software to edit (cut, add titles, author) the MPEG2
files.
It is AverMedia's EZ-DVD Maker USB2 and costs about $50. If USB2 is not in
the PC a card can be bought for about $8.
Fred

Ingeborg Mann

"Adam H" <> wrote in message
news:calos0$b69$...
> > Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter for $300?
> >
> > On the consumer (not commercial side) say under 300 dollars,
> > is there a hardware conversion box existing that I can connect
> > my 8 mm camcorder & digital (USB DV in/out whatever that means)
> > and VHS tapes (so I can convert my entire collection to DVD)?
> >
> > All I want is to play from the VHS deck or camcorder and hook
> > into this hardware thingey which would then output streaming
> > MPEG-2 audio/video digital compressed files suitable for DVD.
> >
> > Once I have MPEG2, I think I can figure out how to save it
> > to my ThinkPad disk to then burn on to my new Yamaha DVD burner.
> >
> > All the boxes I looked at so far at Good Guys & Best Buys
> > (Pinnacle Studio MovieBox DV, Avermedia DV, etc) seem to
> > create AVI files (but I want the hardware to create MPG2).
> >
> > Where can I find an AVI-to-MPEG2 hardware converter?
> > Please help me.
> >
> > Linda Donovan
>
> I am not a big fan of consumer hardware MPEG2 encoding, so I hate to say
> this... the Hauppauge PVR cards can be picked up for a lot less than $300,
> typically from $100-200 depending on the model, and they produce an...
> uuurrrggg... acceptabe quality MPEG2 encode you can burn straight to DVD.
>


I AM a big fan of consumer hardware MPEG2 encoding. Unfortunately
the OP also wants to "capture" and convert Digital Video, I know of no
card or box that will do hardware MPEG encoding from both an analog
and a digital source (at the consumer level at least).

For the analog captures any Philips A/D and Broadcom Encoder
based card or box, like the older (not now in production) Adaptec
VideOh! AVC-2000 or the Snazzi Bali III (early ones used that chipset);
can produce excellent results, with Movie Mill software.
(the Broadcom Chip is the one used in the Series 2 Tivo units)

There are settop DVR DVD recorders that will input both analog
and DV. In terms of ease of use that may be your best bet. The
main drawback is that they lack editing capability ( at least those
I've seen), certainly the ones without a hard drive (those closest to
your $300) couldn't provide any editing capability.

Luck;
Ken

Ken Maltby