[stryker23]

Hello all, I have been using the ADS DVD Xpress capture device for sometime now. I've had it since it was first mentioned in this forum a pretty long ways back. I've used it to convert numerous home videos (VHS & VHS-C), but the quality is not all that great. The picture is faded and somewhat washed out once it is on the computer. Some tapes appear to be more noticeable than others. Has anyone else who used this device noticed such a problem? Another misfortune i have with this device is that the computer will periodically stop recognizing that it's connected. The only way to fix this is to completely uninstall and reinstall it. As for the bundled software I find the Ulead Movie Factory software a bit cumbersome and sluggish.

I'm looking to find a better capture device, but I don't want to be disappointed by purchasing something that also does not stay at least close to the original picture. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not even sure what I should be looking for. What delivers the best quality a PCI card or an external device? Any suggestion would be much appreciated. I'd like to keep this under $200.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by stryker23

but the quality is not all that great. The picture is faded and somewhat washed out once it is on the computer.

You can't judge a made for TV video on a computer. How does it look once you get it on disc and view on your TV?

[stryker23]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

You can't judge a made for TV video on a computer. How does it look once you get it on disc and view on your TV?

It appears the same on the tv as it does on the computer. I've have also tried changing the quality settings and that also does not improve the color of the picture.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by stryker23

I've have also tried changing the quality settings and that also does not improve the color of the picture.

Before or after you capture the file? The device you are using is aMPEG capture device, as such you should avoid extensive editing or reencoding the material.... In other words once it's on your computer besides cutting or trimming using a editing or authoring tool that will only reencode the parts you have changed it you shouldn't do anything to it.

Anyhow do you have a digital video camera? Most have a passthrough feature, you would usae the cam as you would the converter you are using now. If you have one with that feature it would be very easy to give it try.

Analog conversions are tough but if done properly with good equipment you can expect about what you see on the original tape. Sometimes even better with some light filtering.

[stryker23]

When i said "it looks the same on the tv as on the computer" I mean't that after I had captured it and burnt it to a disc it looked the same as it did on the computer (not like the original). That's with no editing besides what the authoring program does.

I do have a digital video camera. I don't know if it has that capability, I'll check it out.

[sameerM]

TEMPenc3.0 Express Encoder takes almost 24 hours for 4GB MPEG-2 encoding.

[thecoalman]

Encoding times vary depending on a lot of factors suchs as the speed of CPU, the settings you have used in the enecoder, etc. 24 hours is exessive but not unheard of.

Try dropping the quality settings back a little, you'll probably see little difference between the highest and 75%. What CPU do you have?

[sldwaa]

I use a SONY VRD-VC20 external (USB 2) video recordable DVD drive. It will accept a variety of inputs and burn directly to a DVD+R disc. The quality is excellent. You can then subsequently edit the content and reburn. I use DVD+RW as I always edit the content... Just my 2 cents worth...

[sameerM]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

What CPU do you have?

Toshiba Qosmio E15-AV101
Processor number 735
Clock speed 1.7 GHz
RAM installed size 1.5 GB
RAM Technology DDR SDRAM
Hard Disk : 120 GB
CD / DVD read speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
CD / DVD write speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R)
CD / DVD rewrite speed 10x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW) / 3x (DVD-RAM)
OS provided Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, Service pack 2

[hotskates]

I have a Liteon DVD player/burner which I use to mainly burn edited videos onto. The past few months, I just went through 6 "TDK" DVD-R dvds and I was able to burn the videos onto the disks with no problem. Then I tried "SONY" DVD-R and I am unable to burn onto these disks? Could it be the Sony brand has something to do with it being incompatible with the Liteon burner? Or should I mess with the configuration of the Liteon burner?

[craigwp]

I'm about at wits end. I can copy a dvd I've bought or one a friend gave me and it always plays 100% in my stand alone dvd player.
However,
if I take an avi file and reencode and burn it to a dvd it always seem to hesitate and skip. They play fine on my computer which is a mystery.
I've tried just about all the software I can find to no avail.
The software I use to copy a dvd is either Nero or avi divx to dvd.

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

[hansy_han2003]

Dear Mulder,
Thanks for the suggestion.Hope to receive more help from U.
Nima Dorji Tamang
Thimphu,Bhutan
nimadtamang@yahoo.com

[go4saket]

I had some home shot video which I saved in my computer in DV AVI format at 25 FPS. Later I converted the same to MPEG-2 @ 6000 Bitrate & 25 FPS using CCE SP. The problem is that where the video runs absolutely smooth in AVI DV format, as soon as it is converted, it starts kind of skipping frames. What I mean here is, when I see the converted video, it is not smooth as the original. Whenever any object in the video moves, it gives a jerked kind of feeling. I tried to convert the video with a few other softwares like Ulead Video Studio, Windows Movie Maker etc, but all gives the same result. Now, why does this happen and what can I do to overcome this.

[Spop]

I have an old vhs video camera and an usb artec tv tuner with an coaxial input. I planning to use an video editing program in Linux called cinerella. My question is how to get my videos on my computer, so I can edit them the old cheap way?

[Deathblow]

Should be able to input them to the card through the coax and then use a capture program. Usually the cards come with one.