I've just started the process of transfering my older Hi8 tapes to a digital format (DVD-R). A 2-hour Hi8 tape will create a 2-hour, ~27GB avi file on my PC when I use the Panasonic software DVMotion (or something like that) to capture. When I open up the residently installed Sonic software to burn the DVD (-R, 4.7GB) it says I need ~9GB for SP, and ~4.3GB for LP. To get the 2-hour movie on one disc, I selected LP. I am not pleased with the video quality (or the time to burn/finalize the DVD, almost 3 hours) when played on my stand alone DVD player.
What movie other formats can a typical (I have a Panasonic S35) stand alone DVD player read? Mine reads the AVI just fine.
Is it better to first convert to MPEG (or some other format) to get the whole 2-hour tape on one 4.7GB DVD in SP, or leave it as an AVI and compress more to LP? Obviously I understand I can use higher capacity discs; I'd like to make the best use of the 50 single layer discs that I purchased for these older tapes.
Any recommendations for fully-functional DVD-ripping freeware?
For general viewing: I guess you get what you pay (or don't pay) for - TMPGEnc is terribly slow and the multi-step, multi-program process they recommend here is questionably complicated (AVIcodec, TMPGEnc, IFOEdit, Nero).
Starting with a 2-hour Hi8 transfer AVI file (Sony Digital Video codec), it took 2.75 hours start to finish to create a DVD fully viewable in a stand alone DVD player using ONE program, the Sonic DigitalMedia program that came installed on my Dell. I thought THAT was excessively long. "Nothing takes 5 minutes!" I did not realize at first that Sonic had created on the DVD the VOB files, the TS folder, etc (I thought it had taken 3 hours just to transfer and burn the AVI file), but starting with the AVI, a few clicks and 3 hours later I had the playable DVD.
I followed the advice here, downloaded the 4 programs and installed them. The directions are spot on. I used the AVIcodec and got the file information. I then used TMPGEnc and set up the MPEG2 converstion. 15 hours later I was then ready to author the DVD. After spending time doing that in yet another program, I was then ready to use Nero to burn the DVD, which took an additional 2 hours.
I compared the two videos and I could detect no quality difference (they were both reduced in quality from the original as to be expected) and so all that extra time (mine and the PC's) converting, authoring, and burning in three different steps did not yield a better video. Mind you, the Sonic was transfered in LP, and the TMPGEnc was set to 'High Quality'.
Sonic does it all in one step in about 1/6 the time.
