Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (
More info?)
Depends whether you intend to watch them on a stand-alone DVD player or
on your computer only.
If former, it needs to adhere to DVD standard, files need to be
transcoded into MPEG2 and in .VOB file format, certain directory
structure needs to be preserved and .IFO files generated. There are
products that can capture in a native MPEG2 format, which saves in
transcoding time (which normally takes ages), such as Adaptec VideOh DVD
(+/-$200 last time I checked). I think the box also includes software
that creates the DVD automatically, so you don't need to worry about
file formats and directory structure. A word of note: if you get the
external unit, you would need an USB2 port on your computer, because of
high data transfer rate.
If playback on a stand-alone DVD player is not required, any analog
capture device will do. One could get an All-In-Wonder card, or a VIVO
version of GE Force, or an inexpensive no-name-brand TV tuner (going for
+/-$50) - most of them use the same capture hardware anyway. Please
note that in event of an analog capture device the resolution of your
video will probably be quarter of a full frame size (320x240 NTSC or
360x288 PAL), which is not much of a loss in your case, as such is the
VHS resolution anyway.
Another solution, providing you already have a FireWire (IEEE1394,
i-Link) port on your PC, would be to get an A/D converter, such as
Canopus ADVC series, which outputs digital video already compressed in
DV codec, in the same manner a digital camcorder would. The drawback of
this approach is large file size (around 3.5Mb per second) and
interlacing issues. There are ways around, but that is another long story.
Ken M wrote:
> I have a lot of home movies on vhs that I want to transfer to dvd (from my
> vcr to my pc)- what product would be best for this? I would prefer ATI, but
> I would appreciate info about others for comparison.
> I'm running Windows XP.
>
> Thanks in advance-
> Ken
>
>