Re: Software to cleanup VHS video?
- From: "Gary Hendricks" <gary.hendricks.user@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 2 Jan 2006 07:57:18 -0800
Hi Clive,
Assuming you want to convert the captured SVHS video to DVD, here are
some points to keep in mind.
1) Clean the tape heads on your analog VCR or camcorder. Older tapes,
especially, can deposit a lot of residue on the heads, resulting in
dropouts and other picture flaws.
2) If your VHS VCR has a sharpness control, turn it down. A softer
image has less noise and that enables the MPEG-2 encoder to do a much
better job. Some tape players also have an "Edit" button which affects
playback sharpness. Put it in the position that provides less
sharpness.
3) Connect a video processor to the output of your analog tape player
and then connect the output of the processor to your capture device.
So-called "proc amps" and timebase correctors (TBC's) provide tools for
stabilizing analog video, changing brightness and contrast levels and
adjusting color. Just being able to adjust levels and color can result
in a DVD that looks much better than the original VHS tape.
4) If your want to convert Hi8 and 8mm to DVD, one of the best ways to
import it into your computer is with a Digital 8 camcorder. Several
models of D8 camcorders can playback analog tapes and convert them to
DV and have built in digital noise reduction and TBC's to clean up the
analog video before it's converted to DV and sent to your computer via
the Firewire cable.
5) If you transfer two hours of VHS to a DVD it can result in a
significant loss of quality unless you have a high quality MPEG-2
encoder or use methods that encode the video at "half resolution." The
normal DVD video resolution is 720x480 for NTSC, but some encoders and
DVD authoring programs allow you to use 352x480 resolution. When you
convert VHS to DVD this smaller resolution can still deliver very good
results at the low data rates (bitrates) required to fit two or more
hours of video on one DVD, especially if you use an analog-to-MPEG2
encoder or a standalone VHS to DVD recorder that bypasses the
analog-to-DV step.
6) Try to use compressed audio on your DVD's. Uncompressed - PCM -
audio takes up a lot of space on the DVD that could better be used for
higher-quality video. Dolby Digital/AC3 is the best choice for audio
compression.
A warning: if you do convert your analog video to DV before putting it
on DVD, don't be shocked when you see the size of the DV file it
captures to your computer. DV files take up almost 14 gigabytes per
hour and every so often I answer a question from someone who wants to
know how in the world they're supposed to fit a 14GB movie on a 4.7GB
DVD? That's what the MPEG-2 encoder does: it compresses the video to a
much smaller size so that video, audio and menus all fit on a DVD
(which actually holds 4.37GB of computer data).
If the analog-to-DV option sounds likes the best one for getting your
video into the computer when you start to transfer VHS to dvd and you
don't already own a DV camcorder or one of the analog-to-DV converter,
I recommend getting a DV camcorder with analog inputs instead of simple
converter box. The DV camcorder will allow you to save your edited
projects back to tape as a high quallity DV master and, you will have
something to shoot new video in the DV format.
Some DV camcorders cost only slightly more than a converter. If you
have a lot of old Hi8 or 8mm tapes, then consider purchasing a Digital8
camcorder with analog inputs and the ability to playback those older
analog 8 tapes. In addition to "analog inputs," some camcorders also
advertise "analog pass through." This means that the analog signal does
not have to first be recorded to DV tape before being sent down the
Firewire cable as DV. This can save plenty of time and tape if you plan
to do a lot of VHS to DVD conversion
You can also check out this guide which shows you how to convert old
videos to DVD format:
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/videos-to-dvd.html
----------------------------------
Gary Hendricks
http://www.desktop-video-guide.com
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