vhs to dvd question

[makicr]

I am transferring some old vhs video to my computer via my dv cam (through standard av cables) and was wondering if anyone knew of any tips to help increase the quality of the end video.

Thanks for any tips.

[Jason Dunn]

If you have a post-processing tool, you can adjust the brightness/contrast, and there are probably some filters in things like Adobe Premier to help you clean up the noise, but in general there's nothing that you can do on your camera to make it better - it's a passive analogue to digital passthrough...

[makicr]

I am actually transferring the video using the camcorder as a conduit only, it isn't being written to tape, just going in the AV and out the firewire. The file that I am "downloading" is huge given the limited quality of the video and want to either decrease the size of the file (by means other than compression) or in lieu of decreasing the file size, tweeking the quality through software FX or compiling methods.

Ultimately, I am trying to get rid of, or lessen, the static.

[Jason Dunn]

Don't take this personally, but I'm going to correct you a few times here...

The file that I am "downloading" is huge given the limited quality of the video

Actually, the file size is exactly the same regardless of the video quality - it would be the same size if you were transferring off a MiniDV tape. :-)

and want to either decrease the size of the file (by means other than compression)

Video file sizes can only be decreased through compression - video isn't like a GIF where you can drop the number of colours and get a smaller size. ;-)

or in lieu of decreasing the file size, tweeking the quality through software FX or compiling methods. Ultimately, I am trying to get rid of, or lessen, the static.

If the static is the problem, what you're really looking for is some sort of post-processing filter that will clean up the video footage. I was looking for something that like myself, and haven't had much luck. I've been told that there are some filters in Adobe Premier that will help, but I don't have that software so I'm out of luck...

I wish I could be more help, but at least you know what you need to focus on now. ;-)

[makicr]

Jason, Don't take this personally, but I'm going to correct you a few times here...

Video file sizes can only be decreased through compression - video isn't like a GIF where you can drop the number of colours and get a smaller size.

Actually, you can also decrease the video bitrate to decrease the size of the file. Given that the source was analog and the new file is digital, I am unsure of the effect of decreasing the bitrate on the ultimate appearance of the video. I was hoping that someone had experimented with bitrates and had a preferred bitrate that would not decrease the quality substantially. Given that the digital file contains much more information than the original analog images, I thought that someone would have advice as to how to reduce the extraneous information from the files.

My experience is in creating VCD's and downgrading video to play on PPC's.


Actually, the file size is exactly the same regardless of the video quality - it would be the same size if you were transferring off a MiniDV tape.

Nope. The creation of the original file from the dump from the camcorder can be modified by changing the settings in the capture software.

***

I have tried to use the Dynamic Noise Reduction MMX filter by Steven Don and Avery Lee, the noise filter in TMPGEnc, the 2D cleaner from Jim Casaburi and a sharpening filter, but cannot get the results I want.

I know that the framerate from the analog source is different from that of the digital file, maybe if I capture at the analog framerate, then recompile the video to a framerate appropriate for dvd . . .

I know that it is best to limit the number of times that the video is compiled (due to quality loss), but I am just thinking aloud.

Does anyone else have any experience with other filters or methods to modify the digital file.

[Jason Dunn]

Wow. This feels more like an alt.desktop.video thread than a Thoughts discussion. :worried:

Actually, you can also decrease the video bitrate to decrease the size of the file. Given that the source was analog and the new file is digital, I am unsure of the effect of decreasing the bitrate on the ultimate appearance of the video.

Decreasing the bit rate is compressing the video, assuming you don't change the frames per second. ;-) The more you constrict the bitrate, the higher the compression.

I see what you're getting at though - your real question is whether or not the default DV bitrate that you captured at is more than you need for VHS. The answer is yes, absolutely, but there's no hard and fast rule to what it should be - it depends on the footage you have, the amount of motion there is, etc. The only thing I can suggest is that you do a few small tests to see what the quality looks like.

Nope. The creation of the original file from the dump from the camcorder can be modified by changing the settings in the capture software.

Ok. But if you're changing the stream to anything other than a DV-AVI at 720 x 480 (say, by using a different codec), you're compressing the video and it's no longer a pass-through as you originally indicated. When I do analogue captures, I just capture it full stream and worry about the compression later - it's not a good idea to compress the incoming stream, then alter it using filters, then compress it again.

Articles like this make me want to scratch my eyes out, but perhaps it will help you in your quest:

http://www.arstechnica.com/guide/audio-visual/video-cleanup/cleaning-1.html