Ferdinand wrote:
>
> I was wondering how I can play a vhs and record it onto my computer,
> then burn the movie onto a dvd?
>
> I have a general idea, but I would appreciate the specifics from
> anyone who has done this. I am interested in the types of software
> needed, types of cords I needs, and anything else I should know.
>
Assuming you already have VCR and a burner, you'll need a video
capture card such as a Win-TVGo or a video card with a TV tuner
chipset. Most cards include the necessary software to capture,
digitize and compress the images.
The best sources to learn specifics that I know of are these:
http://www.videohelp.com/capture
http://www.doom9.org/
Three things to remember are that initial compression, picture
ratio and rate of capture or the ammount of frames captured per
second, have a lot to do with the quality of the final product.
An analogy to that (not the best, I admit) is how images wind up
looking when you alter the shutter speed and aperture in a SLR
camera. For example, a slow camera speed and wider aperture produces
a better image where there is little light and movement from the
subject. Wheras the same settings produce a blurry, over-exposed
picture in bright sunlight and where objects are in motion. The
opposite is true when a small aperture and fast shutter speed is
applied to bright conditions and objects in motion: the moving
subject seems to be frozen in time and the contrast between objects
well-defined.
If at all possible, try to find out the frame rate of the VCR
and match it as close as possible in your capture settings.
In other words, the principles of photography can almost ("almost",
I said!) be applied to the rules of video transfer. And what is
video if not moving pictures?
It's never a good idea to attempt to capture a VHS straight into
a DVD format; You have little control over the compression ratio
of the transfer and the finished product is often disappointing.
Little or no compression and as large a picture ratio as possible
mean a larger picture and a larger picture means a better image when
compressed. That is, of course, assuming that your VCR reproduces
the vhs tape really well.
But a larger picture also means a larger file and you can expect
to use up a lot--and I mean A LOT--of hard drive space.
Therefore you'll need a dedicated hard drive of no less than
100 gigs to do the job right. Otherwise, you'll have to capture
the video file in segments and compress each segment before
you can capture the next one. Believe me, it takes a lot of
HD space. The HD should be a 7200 rpm or faster and should be
frequently defragmented.
Also, make sure that you have all the memory you can afford as
well as a CPU no slower than 800Mhz.
Once you get all of the necessary hardware installed and lined up
all you need to remember are the issues of compression, picture
ratio and capture speed.
Good luck!
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