My camcorder format is Sony Hi-8. Create a quality DVD-Video by performing these steps.
1. Use VirtualDub and PICVideo MJPEG encoder for analogue capture to AVI. Set the encoder quality to 19 which generates a 4 MB/sec filesize. This is approximately a 4 or 5 to 1 compression.
2. In NTSC, 640x480 resolution is just fine for a comsumer camera source. During capture, levels are very important. Preview your audio and video levels before capturing to get the right settings. Capture the audio at 24 KB/sec stereo in PCM (uncompressed) format.
3. VirtualDub can be used to roughly edit and apply filters to the material. The version of VirtualDub that I use, VirtualDub Sync, dynamically resamples the audio to track the video so that no frames are dropped or repeated. If necessary to precisely edit and add effects, then use Premier or an editor that you prefer that can export a quality MJPEG AVI file.
4. To convert the AVI file to MPEG-2, use Tsunami MPEG Encoder in 2-pass mode, 10-bit resolution, and normal motion. Yes, this takes six to eight hours on an average PC to convert one hour of program, but the quality is worth the wait.
5. Use BeSweet or AC3Machine to convert the 48 KB/sec WAV output to 384 Kb/sec Dolby Digital 2.0. Pay attention to levels to avoid distortion.
6. Use TMPGEnc DVD Author to generate the VOB set optionally including menus with or without motion and audio. Use TMPGEnc DVD Author or Nero to burn the DVD-Video.
My OS is Windows 2000 SP4 and these video tools do not crash or hang.
