Editing mpeg

[akdanie]

Not sure if I'm posting in the correct forum but I did find another thread here about editing mpeg so I can't be too far off. A friend of mine has sent me 17 DVDs, each about an hour long, that he recorded with a set top DVD recorder. They are transfers from VHS tapes so the quality is nothing to write home about. Add to that the fact that some of the vhs tapes are transfers from 45 year old 8mm film and you can see that I'm behind the curve as far as quality before I even get started. I need to edit these mpeg files and eventually build him a movie. I have been experimenting with different ways to approach this project so I can establish a workflow and then "go for it". I'm working with PE3, which I really prefer but I do have PE9 which I could use if it turns out it's better at what I need to do.
I use the Media Downloader to bring a vob file into PE3, then split up the file into the clips that I will eventually want to work with, apply some effects here and there, time stretch a bit here and there, (some of the OLD film seems to be in high gear), and then export as DV avi files so eventually I can gather up all these avi files, add narration and soundtracks and build a movie. I noticed that if I don't deinterlace the mpeg when exporting, it is a bit jerky sometimes so I tick deinterlace it the export dialog and that seems to cure that problem. Obviously I'm losing some quality from what little I have to start with but "it is what it is". I think the auto contrast and sharpen filters actually make the old 8mm film look better than it was originally although that's rather subjective, I guess.
I'm wondering if I should trim out the sections I don't want from the mpeg, export the remaining as DV and then bring it back in to PE to apply the filters or do everything all at once. For my way of thinking it's better to do it all at once rather than in two steps since it has to be encoded twice in the former case.
I tried to get my friend to send me the vhs tapes he's transfering from so I could just bring them into PE with a DV bridge without going to mpeg first but he doesn't want to part with the tapes, and I really don't blame him.
If someone has a better way to approach this I would LOVE to hear it. I'm open to any and all suggestions.
Thanks,
Dan

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Dan,
The only thing I might recommend trying is to capture the DVDs in realtime with the DV Bridge.
That will bring the video into Premiere Elements as AVI in one step, then you can do whatever to it after.
I truly think that might be better than working with mpeg files.

I have done this many times and this is the way that I prefer. Don't know that the quality is any better but it does make life easier. Takes a little bit to capture but not any worse than if it was the VHS tape. Just my 2 cents

[Helen]

Chuck,
I am also interested in this and which DV Bridge you recommend? I googled it and came up with a couple of different DV Bridges
Thanks
Helen

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Helen,
This is the one I would recommend
http://astore.amazon.com/chuckengelsco- ... B00030ATTO

But it depends on the tapes. If they are very old you might want to go with the higher end Canopus model.

[akdanie]

Thanks Chuck. I've been wanting the 110 for quite some time now and you gave me the perfect excuse to buy one. You even provided a link. I'm sure this will help my workflow in the long run.
Thanks again.
Dan

[Helen]

Thanks Chuck