VHS video capture with MM2

[Guest]

Hi

I need to convert VHS tape content to WMV files and am looking for the easiest way. Here are several questions to that end

+ Are there any capture devices (USB, in particular) that are compatible with MM2 (recommendations)?
+ Can MM2 capture directly to WMV format

Thank you
TW

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

My Dazzle 80 works well with MM2, but some people have to pipe their audio
into their sound card during the capture session.

MM2 makes a temporary file during analog capture and then creates the WMV
file from it.... to the user it looks like it's making it directly.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

Hi,

I need to convert VHS tape content to WMV files and am looking for the

easiest way. Here are several questions to that end:

 

[Guest]

PapaJohn

We meet again! You helped me out quite a bit when I first was introduced to all this and MM2 was just coming out

Thank you for your reply. I notice there is a Dazzle 150 that provides better resolution than the '80. Do you know if MM2 can also read directly from the 150

So: |VHS| --> |Dazzle| --> AVI --> WMV, probably takes about 1.5 to 2 hours of process time for each hour of video

This application requires converting a bunch of VHS tapes to either MPEG1 or WMV (preferred) format, and I am looking for the easiest setup for a not-so-technical helper to do at work

Are you at all familiar with Windows Media Encoder, and if so, would it help in this application

Thank you
Tom

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Hi Tom,

I've found that my capture resolution of the Dazzle 80 depends on the system
I use it on.... my most powerful computer today is my 2.4 Ghz laptop (with
USB2 ports - if that makes a difference) and I get high quality 2.1 Mbps WMV
files at 640x480 with it. That's DVD quality, so I wouldn't expect more from
other products.

Check the notes on my Analog Video Capture > Dazzle page. Seems the 150 is
an MPEG2 unit so you'll end up with a highly compressed file with maybe less
quality than a high quality WMV. And you'll have difficulties getting it
into MM2 if you want to do any editing there.

Some higher end analog capture devices give you compressed files in
different formats, and don't work directly with MM2, so I'd be careful if
MM2 editing is part of your process.

The capture from the Dazzle 80 is essentially in real time. The WMV file is
being made from a temporary file... in the CPU's spare time.

The Windows Media Encoder is an option for capturing. I'd expect it to give
the same results as MM2 as they both use the same underlying media 9 stuff.
It's no easier to use than MM2.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

PapaJohn,

We meet again! You helped me out quite a bit when I first was introduced

to all this and MM2 was just coming out.

Thank you for your reply. I notice there is a Dazzle 150 that provides

better resolution than the '80. Do you know if MM2 can also read directly
from the 150?

So: |VHS| --> |Dazzle| --> AVI --> WMV, probably takes about 1.5 to 2

hours of process time for each hour of video.

This application requires converting a bunch of VHS tapes to either MPEG1

or WMV (preferred) format, and I am looking for the easiest setup for a
not-so-technical helper to do at work.

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Another note: MPEG1 is VCD quality, 352 x 240 resolution. That's a lot less
than the 640x480 I'm getting from the Dazzle 80.

--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

PapaJohn,

We meet again! You helped me out quite a bit when I first was introduced

to all this and MM2 was just coming out.

Thank you for your reply. I notice there is a Dazzle 150 that provides

better resolution than the '80. Do you know if MM2 can also read directly
from the 150?

So: |VHS| --> |Dazzle| --> AVI --> WMV, probably takes about 1.5 to 2

hours of process time for each hour of video.

This application requires converting a bunch of VHS tapes to either MPEG1

or WMV (preferred) format, and I am looking for the easiest setup for a
not-so-technical helper to do at work.