Ulead - EasyCap - codec to use for sport from VHS?

[Laudrup1]

I've just purchased a uLead and I'm using EasyCap as the software.

What I'm looking to do is get all the recordings of football games I have on VHS to the PC.

I've tried using a few different compression codecs but none seem ideal at the moment.

The ffdshow codecs don't provide good enough quality for sport. The XVid Codec seems a bit large (around about 720 meg for a half hour programme with sound based on a 30 second test being 13meg)

Can someone tell me what the best settings would be?

Also, is it best to record it in the highest quality possible and then compress it at a later date. I may have picked that up as the way the like of the guys who upload torrents do it? ...

Cheers for any advice

[Laudrup1]

A wee bump for the midweek folks that might have missed this at the weekend...

[dave_2902]

After about 15 wasted DVD's and days of trying i found the settings that work the best for capturing from VHS. firstly if its an old VHS (only white and yellow outputs, no red) you need an RCA splitter. it just converts the white output into a white and red output (which gives you stereo sound when capturing.) Then i found it best to capture in mpeg2 format (the output file is around 5gb for a 2 hour video) then i converted to avi using 'winavi' which is a fiarly cheap avi converter program and is twice as effective because it will convert the avi to dvd format also, however most video converters will do an ok job as long as u keep the original picture and keep the aspect ratio at 3:4. (the widescreen format can be as good but i have found it to jump a fair bit on some videos such as animations) Then i have used 'winavi' again to convert the avi to a dvd file. The avi usually comes out around about 1GB and the dvd file will fit as long it its no longer then about 2.5 hours. Then i use a recode program (nero recode 8 is what iv been using) to recode the entire dvd file to a dvd. It Comes out perfect quality and u can then delete the mpg and the dvd file so u can still keep original Avi's on your computer in case of scratches to the disc.

If you want specific information like exact program settings, pictures of components and program info etc email me djm998@uow.edu.au

This has worked best for capturing old videos (so your VHS's dont deteriorate), and sometimes even enhances the quality slightly. Also if you want to back up your store purchased VHS videos the card will bypass macros encryption.

[dave_2902]

P.S if your only capturing half hour videos the converted Avi's will only be about 200 mb, and you can then use ulead video studio to create the disc instead so you can put a few games on one disc and the image wont be as jumpy as compressing the mpegs into one disc.

[Laudrup1]

Cheers for all the info Dave. I'd kinda given up the project in the mean time but I'll use all your advice and see how I get on.

If I'm struggling, I'll drop you an email.

[senu]

Or ..stop using Easy cap
and

Use a DVD settop recorder; Evn of editing is desirable you can simple edit off the DVD ( file copied to your PCs HDD)
If you must use a PC in the first place,
Check out "Dazzle"
or
ADVC
Cost a bit more than easy cap but so much less hassle and better quality guaranteed

[scottyboy24]

Originally Posted by senu

Or ..stop using Easy cap
and

Use a DVD settop recorder; Evn of editing is desirable you can simple edit off the DVD ( file copied to your PCs HDD)
If you must use a PC in the first place,
Check out "Dazzle"
or
ADVC
Cost a bit more than easy cap but so much less hassle and better quality guaranteed

hi im trying to find a way to use my easycap as just an av in so i can put my sky box to it and use my laptop as a tv pls help thanks just need sum soft ware to vu not to save