[Drinky-Crow]

So I have a short VHS clip that I would like to turn into a .wmv or .mpg or something that I can e-mail out to a few people.

What hardware & software do I need? I just have a real old VCR with RCA out jacks, and I have a relatively new PC that has a FireWire port somewhere. Clearly I need something in between, or a new VCR with FireWire (do they make those?).

I have Microsoft MovieMaker, the free one you download from their site.

What else?

 

[forthelove]

do you have a camcorder?

 

[Drinky-Crow]

No. Used to, but don't any more. I see, I think... RCA jack the Camcorder to the VHS deck, then FireWire the camcorder to the PC... ?

 

[WA//M]

how bout a TV card? you *could* get one of those video importer cards that connect via USB2, buy it, rip the vid and then return it...

 

[viper1158]

get a TV card, then hook up the VCR to it. i have a TV card but dont have a VCR

 

[twest17]

VIVO video card...

 

[viper1158]

Drinky-Crow said:
No. Used to, but don't any more. I see, I think... RCA jack the Camcorder to the VHS deck, then FireWire the camcorder to the PC... ?

run a cable tv-cable from your VCR to ur TV card....easy

 

[aarons6]

yes, you need a capture card of somekind.. i know a place online you can get one for under $20..

then you need a FAST computer and a very large hard drive..
you also need somekind of video capture program..
i would use one of those nice free ones you can get online everywhere.. i wouldnt purchase any of those comercial ones they are usually junk. i use virtualDUB..

then you basically push play on the vcr and start recording on the computer.. once you have the raw file on the computer you will need to either compress it or change it to a vcd format so you can view the movie on a dvd player. i would use TMPGEnc


i have done a few. they dont look bad, but not best..
if its some home movies its worth it, if its something you recorded on tv its not.

 

[Drinky-Crow]

For under $20 I'm in! Yes, it's something I recorded, but I used the high speed so the quality's a bit better. And it's not anything super special, so I'm not gonna cry if the quality's iffy.

So where do I go for these $20 capture cards?

 

[WA//M]

*cough* best buy has a good return policy *cough* :redflip

 

[aarons6]

Drinky-Crow said:
For under $20 I'm in! Yes, it's something I recorded, but I used the high speed so the quality's a bit better. And it's not anything super special, so I'm not gonna cry if the quality's iffy.

So where do I go for these $20 capture cards?

www.softwareandstuff.com

get that wintvgo capture card, for $20 with free shipping..
if your computer has less then 20g hard drive id get one of those 40g 7200 rpm drives too..

one thing to note tho, the conversion from raw avi to svcd takes about 2 or 3 days with no computer usage..

if you want look me up and ill show you how to do all the stuff and where to get the programs. if you want i can even show you how to do dvd too, if you have a dvd writer.

i do have a computer all hooked up here at my house, i live in puyallup..

 

[Drinky-Crow]

Cool! But dang, I had no idea it was so hardare-intensive. I have about a 2-minute clip I want to capture, it shouldn't be too hard, I hope.

And shit, I only have 23G free...

Someone sent me the raw footage of last year's ride to St. Helens, taken from his onboard cam, total was 20-30 minutes, and it only filled one CD. I was able to burn it to a DVD easy enough.

Guess I got some playing to do...

 

[aarons6]

yeah 2 minutes shouldnt take much.
its that raw file that takes the most space.
mostly cause computers arent fast enough for mpeg2 on the fly compression. and hardware cards are very expensive.

 

[WA//M]

hardware compression cards run for ~$120. never converted raw direct to .wmv, but i've noticed that .wmv compression via WM encoder 9 is quite a bit slower then DiVX compression (though quality is higher). Still i don't think it should take 2-3 days though (DVD's which are mpeg2 take ~8 hrs for me on a AMD 1500, 512 megs). 2 minute clip should take less then 100 megs. reduce the size to something like 320x200 and it should be really quick.

(note: i haven't analog ripped since college, but previously the hardest thing about it was actually sync'ing the sound and vid :confused)