[MacDV] Re: VHS to HD to DVD

[Heather Donahue]

On 5/19/04 7:42 PM, "Richard Brown" <richard at go2rba.com> wrote:

> With only one hour of "quality" video possible on a 4.7 GB DVD-R, you'll
> have to consider dealing with VHS or sub VHS quality to fit a feature
> film on a DVD-R. As you are starting from VHS, the compression could
> compound the already low resolution/quality of your source material.
> 
> One excellent choice to IMPROVE your VHS when digitizing is to
> rent a Time Base Corrector (TBS) for the weekend from a local video
> rental house. Maybe even rent a pro level VHS deck WITH a built
> in TBC. Playing a VHS as processed through a TBC into a DV
> converter will create DV files which are, to say the least,
>   night and day better than ordinary VHS playback.

I don't know if it's cheaper to rent a pro VHS deck vs. buying a new
consumer deck, I can attest to the quality of JVC's S-VHS players.  I have
the HR-S7800 and it has digital TBC and noise reduction.  The difference is
quite startling.  It's also available very cheap these days, S-VHS/VHS just
isn't popular anymore.

I also have a Canopus ADVC-300 analog/digital converter which is a great
choice as well.  I find though that for most VHS tapes the JVC is enough.
The Canopus just allows a much greater range of tweaking.

-- 
Heather Donahue