The video conversion project.....
Nov. 27th, 2016 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1A few years ago, I purchased a copy of Honestech's VHS to DVD program. The software -- I can't remember if I had version 3.0 or 5.0 -- came with a "dongle" device into which I could plug three RCA jacks (for audio and video) and plug the other end into a USB port of my computer. The program served as the capture device and created MPEG files of the video. I used it to digitize about 100 video tapes I had while I was out of work 3-4 years ago.
Since then, I upgraded my desktop computer to Windows 7. I thought I would have to re-install the program, since it had previously run under XP (and it's a good practice to do so). But I couldn't find the CD or the license key. The path of least resistance was to purchase another copy of the kit. And so I bought the Vidbox Video Conversion Suite, which included an updated copy of the Honestech software and a converter box. (Vidbox and Honestech appear to be two product lines from the same company -- Honestech for PC; Vidbox for Mac.)
Some backstory about my video tape collection: I purchased my first VCR in 1986. It was a Beta deck. I went with Beta because it had superior picture quality to VHS and put less strain on the tape. (I also had a friend in the local Doctor Who club who was big into video and recommended Beta.) I bought a VHS VCR in 1990. Over the years, I'd record a lot of programs over the air, but I never got around to watching them. And so I ended up accumulating video tapes -- around 100 Beta tapes and nearly 500 VHS tapes. The VHS deck died around 2006 due to a suspected power surge. I didn't have the money at the time to replace it, so I stopped recording. I didn't buy another VCR until 2010. By then, VCR manufacturers no longer included TV tuners inside VCRs as US broadcasters switched from analog to digital TV the previous year (2009).
With the earlier version of the software, I could digitize an entire video tape unattended. I'd put in the total recording time -- for a standard T-120 VHS tape recorded at slow speed, it would be slightly over 6 hours. The software would create a set of 70-minute MPEG files. I can't do that with the new version; I can specify a maximum of 3 hours. So now I have to record it into two or three 180-minute MPEG files. (The total file size is smaller, too -- the contents of a T-120 tape now takes up 10 GB of space, instead of 20 Gb.)
Once the tapes are digitized using the desktop computer, I then copy the files to an external hard drive, which is then taken downstairs to the home theater PC. I tried ftp'ing the files, but doing so is slow via the wireless connection. The placement of the two computers, and the layout of my condo, is not conducive to a permanent wired connection. The home theater PC, which runs Mythbuntu, includes the OpenShot video editor and the DeVeDe DVD creator. I use OpenShot to trim the filler content around a program, and to trim the embedded commercials. I then use DeVeDe to import those files, create a menu, and create an ISO file of the video, which can then be burned to a DVD. (Older DVD players will recognize only the DVD-R format, so I'll tend to use those for video DVDs and save the DVD+R discs for data discs.) It may be tedious work, but the end product is worth it, especially for programs that aren't commercially available on DVD or available in Region 1 format.
Last night, I produced the first two DVDs from digitized video -- a four-part BBC miniseries that was broadcast on the Arts & Entertainment Channel in 1986. The miniseries -- "The Consultant" -- was about a computer consultant, played by Hywel Bennett, who was hired by a bank to ensure that the system was secure and foolproof. During the course of his work, he finds data and programs that were corrupted by someone inside the bank, and traces it down. It's an interesting series, and often referred to it during my professional career. This had been recorded on two Beta tapes 30 years ago (in 1986), and there are some audio dropouts in the final product, but the quality of the end product is definitely watchable. This afternoon, I produced another DVD containing a two-part BBC miniseries of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", starring Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes. I'm happy that this long-term project has begun to bear fruit. Now that I have a process in place, I hope to press on with the tape conversion.
This is a multi-year project, and the ultimate goal is to have all the tapes digitized, and a significant number of them burned to DVD. I don't need to burn DVDs of items that are commercially available. What could I do with the old tapes after I'm done with them? I could throw them out, but that seems rather wasteful. I thought about wiping them with a bulk eraser, and donating them to a local agency that specializes is items for non-profit organizations. Or I can try to sell them on EBay in lots of 5 or 10, for about $1 per tape. I've seen some Beta tapes available there for around that price.
Since then, I upgraded my desktop computer to Windows 7. I thought I would have to re-install the program, since it had previously run under XP (and it's a good practice to do so). But I couldn't find the CD or the license key. The path of least resistance was to purchase another copy of the kit. And so I bought the Vidbox Video Conversion Suite, which included an updated copy of the Honestech software and a converter box. (Vidbox and Honestech appear to be two product lines from the same company -- Honestech for PC; Vidbox for Mac.)
Some backstory about my video tape collection: I purchased my first VCR in 1986. It was a Beta deck. I went with Beta because it had superior picture quality to VHS and put less strain on the tape. (I also had a friend in the local Doctor Who club who was big into video and recommended Beta.) I bought a VHS VCR in 1990. Over the years, I'd record a lot of programs over the air, but I never got around to watching them. And so I ended up accumulating video tapes -- around 100 Beta tapes and nearly 500 VHS tapes. The VHS deck died around 2006 due to a suspected power surge. I didn't have the money at the time to replace it, so I stopped recording. I didn't buy another VCR until 2010. By then, VCR manufacturers no longer included TV tuners inside VCRs as US broadcasters switched from analog to digital TV the previous year (2009).
With the earlier version of the software, I could digitize an entire video tape unattended. I'd put in the total recording time -- for a standard T-120 VHS tape recorded at slow speed, it would be slightly over 6 hours. The software would create a set of 70-minute MPEG files. I can't do that with the new version; I can specify a maximum of 3 hours. So now I have to record it into two or three 180-minute MPEG files. (The total file size is smaller, too -- the contents of a T-120 tape now takes up 10 GB of space, instead of 20 Gb.)
Once the tapes are digitized using the desktop computer, I then copy the files to an external hard drive, which is then taken downstairs to the home theater PC. I tried ftp'ing the files, but doing so is slow via the wireless connection. The placement of the two computers, and the layout of my condo, is not conducive to a permanent wired connection. The home theater PC, which runs Mythbuntu, includes the OpenShot video editor and the DeVeDe DVD creator. I use OpenShot to trim the filler content around a program, and to trim the embedded commercials. I then use DeVeDe to import those files, create a menu, and create an ISO file of the video, which can then be burned to a DVD. (Older DVD players will recognize only the DVD-R format, so I'll tend to use those for video DVDs and save the DVD+R discs for data discs.) It may be tedious work, but the end product is worth it, especially for programs that aren't commercially available on DVD or available in Region 1 format.
Last night, I produced the first two DVDs from digitized video -- a four-part BBC miniseries that was broadcast on the Arts & Entertainment Channel in 1986. The miniseries -- "The Consultant" -- was about a computer consultant, played by Hywel Bennett, who was hired by a bank to ensure that the system was secure and foolproof. During the course of his work, he finds data and programs that were corrupted by someone inside the bank, and traces it down. It's an interesting series, and often referred to it during my professional career. This had been recorded on two Beta tapes 30 years ago (in 1986), and there are some audio dropouts in the final product, but the quality of the end product is definitely watchable. This afternoon, I produced another DVD containing a two-part BBC miniseries of "The Hound of the Baskervilles", starring Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes. I'm happy that this long-term project has begun to bear fruit. Now that I have a process in place, I hope to press on with the tape conversion.
This is a multi-year project, and the ultimate goal is to have all the tapes digitized, and a significant number of them burned to DVD. I don't need to burn DVDs of items that are commercially available. What could I do with the old tapes after I'm done with them? I could throw them out, but that seems rather wasteful. I thought about wiping them with a bulk eraser, and donating them to a local agency that specializes is items for non-profit organizations. Or I can try to sell them on EBay in lots of 5 or 10, for about $1 per tape. I've seen some Beta tapes available there for around that price.
