Bay of Isles Computers Support and Technical Tips

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Moving VHS Movies to DVD

(From Jarrod Spiga in the APC Mag.)

DVD+R or DVD-R? What is the difference?

Are your old home movies still on VHS? Here is how to bring your collection into the digital age.

Many people purchase a DVD writer with the intention of copying their entire home movie archive recorded on analog video tape to a digital format. But burning the end product is only the final step - before you can burn, you need to capture the video.

Step 1 - Capture Card
Getting video onto a PC is more difficult than many people realise. Firstly, you need to have a video capture device on your PC. A number of video and TV tuner cards feature analog video inputs - if you have such a card, chances are that it also came with video capture software. Otherwise, you'll need to acquire a video capture card or shell out for a new video card. Keep an eye out for cards that feature both video in and video out (sometimes referred to as VIVO).

Step 2 - Connect Video
The second hurdle is that of port type. Most capture devices feature S-Video inputs, and if your camcorder or VCR doesn't have an S-Video output, you may not be able to transfer the video. If your card has RCA inputs, video can be captured from just about any source but the quality won't be as good as that captured with an S-Video connection.

Step 3 - Connect Audio
The final hardware consideration relates to sound. To minimise audio quality loss, a dedicated sound card should be used. For the best results, be sure to disable any audio inputs on the card before capture.

Owners of DV camcorders have another trick up their sleeve. Provided that your PC features a FireWire 400 port, most video editing software should be able to capture directly from the camcorder. You may even be able to connect other devices to your camcorder, using it as a video relay device. But do keep in mind that quality is slightly reduced with every device the footage passes through.

Step 4 - Avoid Frame Drops
The trouble with analog capture is that the system must have enough resources to capture every single frame as it's displayed - generally it isn't possible to slow down the player to allow your PC to catch up. For instance, if another application on your system accesses your hard drive while a capture is in progress, frames may be dropped. Similarly, if there are insufficient CPU resources at the time of capture, more frames will be dropped.

In some cases, the capture software may be to blame - try an alternate capture package to eliminate this. In most cases, however, you'll need to identify the system bottleneck and rectify the problem. Some steps you can take in order to minimise dropped frames include:

Rebooting your system just before you start a capture session.
Minimising the number of applications running when capturing.
Defragmenting hard drives before a capture.
Make sure the machine is free of spyware by running Spybot or Adaware first.
Turning off the capture preview function from within the video capture software.

Step 5 - Burning to DVD
Now that you have copied your VHS tape to your hard disk, the next step is to burn the footage to DVD using an authoring application. Not only do they copy the files to a DVD format readable by a standalone DVD player, but they also allow you to edit the footage and add menus and themes. Most likely you received your software with your DVD burner.

DVD+R and DVD-R - What is the difference?

DVD-R/RW DVD-R is write once, DVD-RW is rewriteable. DVD-R/RW are the most compatible formats for standalone DVD players (ideal for distributing home movies). DVD-RW can be rewritten up to 1000 times in ideal conditions. Supported by the DVD Forum, which included companies such as Pioneer and Apple. The Apple SuperDrive is a DVD-R/RW drive.

DVD+R/RW DVD+R is write once, DVD+RW is rewriteable. DVD+R/RW was formulated to be more compatible across computer drives, hence it has technical features that make it better for storing computer data. DVD+RW can be rewritten up to 1000 times. The DVD+R/RW format is supported by the DVD Alliance which includes Philips and Sony and most of the major computer companies such as Dell, HP and Microsoft.

DVD-RAM DVD-RAM was the first rewriteable format and was created primarily for computer data and applications, although it's just as good at storing movies (Panasonic's DVD recorders use it). Unlike the other formats, it can be rewritten up to 100,000 times, so it's a true alternative to traditional magneto-optical backup drives.