direct capture of analogue and DV to DVD

[ramlin]

Hi,

I hope this is the right forum - please forgive me in advance if it isn't....

I have a number of old vhs videos (such as my wedding tape etc), things I recorded from the TV 20-30 years or more ago (mainly anything related to the Beatles) which I want to transfer directly to DVD. Software wise I have just bought Premier Elements 8 (although having just looked at the PE 8 forum, I might just return the software to Amazon). Hardware wise I have advc 100 and a computer running XP with 4 gigs memory and a quad core cpu (can't remember which one).

I have a simple and basic question (remember I am a novice) - what do I do now? What I want to do is to capture the dv signal from the advc 100 (I have firewire) in such a way that it directly captures into a format that I can, straight away or in real time, burn onto a DVD. I don't need to edit the videos (even the wedding video;)). Can this be done and how? Can PS8 assist - or is it too buggy - if so which software would you recommend? Would the quality be degraded - is it recommended to capture in DV first and then convert it into MPEG2 etc - if so - how do I do that (please assume no knowledge on my part....)

Lastly, would your advice to the above be any different regarding the vast amounts of mini dv tapes I have that need to be put on dvd?

Many, many thanks (and if someone could recommend a good dvd for simpletons on how premiere elements works - please let me know).

[Paul LS]

With PE8 you can not burn directly to disc while capturing from a DV source. However some video editors allow this. If I recall correctly Corel VideoStudio allows you to. That said... I still dont believe it is a true real time burn to DVD... I think it converts to MPEG2 in real time and buffers/stores the data and then automatically burns after capture.

I will check it out and confirm.

The alternative is a set-top DVD recorder. For example mine has a DV input and so I can capture directly from the camcorder or ADVC to DVD in real time. Or a set-top VHS/DVD combo... avoid the ADVC altogether and go straight from tape to DVD.

[Bobby]

Derrick, this may sound counter-productive, but if all you want to do is to transfer directly with no editing, there are a number of services that will do this for you - even the local Wal-Mart does it.

On the other hand, there is real benefit to editing. The results are so much better. You will find that a lot of home video content is "junk" - stuff you really don't want or need. Even just weeding this out will provide a much better experience for your viewers - i.e. not boring them.

In my case, I have dozens of tapes. I started seriously doing video editing a number of years ago and now have about 60 DVDs in the collection - each one a full edit. Yes, it took a lot of time but well worth it IMHO.

[Steve Grisetti]

There's also this inexpensive but efficient little device.
http://www.amazon.com/Plextor-ConvertX- ... B0001CJF3A

The ConvertX will capture your analog videos and save them as DVD-ready files, which you can edit before outputting your disc.

It's a great, affordable way to turn old videos into DVDs. Just be sure to only use it with the software that comes with it. It is NOT the device you want to use to capture video if you plan to edit with a program like Premiere Elements.