I am taking baby steps here. I figured out how to capture video on my computer. Using Roxio Videowave move creator. It's what came with my Dell Computer. If this is no good, please let me know of other software. It gives me the choice of saving to quite a few different file formats. I am not sure if I should capture the video in AVI format or MPEG2. Can someone lead me in the right direction. Also, how do I get passed the macrovision thing so I can work with my old VHS tapes.
If you are new to the game of desktop video it is sometimes best to capture/edit video as recommended by the software which accompanies your capture/video card, this based on the assumption that the package has been tested and found best suited to the cards.
In the absence of a recommended format, there are a few basic rules.
If you intend to produce VideoCDs, then the output video format for VCD is mpeg1; for SuperVCD the format is Mpeg2. If you want to do a lot of editing and you are using Adobe Premiere (up to and including Release 6.2), then you are best to work with AVI fles.
Cheers
Dave
I tried capturing in AVI with Microsoft Movie II (the one that comes with XP) and the quality was not good. When I captured in Mpeg with my Avermedia software, the qualty was great. Can I do all of my capturing and editing in AVI with the Microsoft program (which I find easy to use), and then convert it to the other format without a loss of quality? And if I can, how do I do it? My problem is that with the Avermedia, It makes great DVD's with the menu's and all, and is super simple, but when I capture with it, I have fram loss. Picture quality is great though. Hints??
To newflyer
If you convert from one video format to another you will lose quality, simply because of the nature of codecs and the way they compress frames. As you suggest that your captured mpegs are better quality than captured AVI suggests that the preferred format of your card is mpeg. If your card came bundled with editing software, it will probably handle basic mpeg editing reasonably well. I have a Leadtek Ultra 280 vivo which will capture excellent raw AVI, but it will capture much better mpegs. However, I use Adobe Premiere and until recently used release 6 which shrivelled up and folded if you tried editing mpeg files - same for DivX encoded files.
To convert from mpeg to AVI is not a wise move - quality loss would be considerable. If your card can do it, then it is best to capture raw AVI (avi captured with no compression). After editing, the exported file can be either a DivX AVI file (excellent compression and quality), an Mpeg1 for output to VideoCD (VCD) or Mpeg2 for output to Super VideoCD (SVCD).
With respect to frame loss when capturing. Before capturing make sure your disk is in good order by cleaning out the garbage and doing a defrag. Capturing video is not solely dependent on processing power (mind you it helps!!) but what is essential is fast access to the blank areas of your hard drive and if these are scattered and the write head has a lot of movement across the platter, then some frames are just not going to get written.
Sometimes it is not possible to capture without frame loss and if you have the facility to cut your AVI or mpeg file, then the secret is to start the capture early. I sometimes found that it took a minute or so before I saw the "frame drop" counter stop counting. So I would start the 'capture' a minute or so early and then cut out the offending section at the beginning of the file.
As for WinXP's MovieMaker2; well the less said about it the better. It is Microsoft's contender for the video capture/editing market and while it is a vast improvement on Version 1, it falls short of just about everything else on the market - but then I suppose it all depends on how you work with Desktop Video and what you intend to do with it.
Cheers
Dave
To jlm1
Something I forgot in my previous post.....the Macrovision thing. When you try to captured a macrovision treated tape you will experience a broad white band across the frame. I first experienced macrovision, when I tried to extract a short scene from my VHS copy of 'X-files: the Movie'. As far as I know there is no simple way to get around the phenomenon because the security coding is introduced into the encoding during the post processing stage: when the tape/disk is being produced. There is a way to get around it, but it involves a soldering iron, a brave heart and a steady hand - or lottsa lolly!!!
'Fraid you'll just have to go out and buy the DVD of your VHS movie :)
Cheers
Dave
