Various Topics on CD-ROM

.... ..stalavost..

> >So, my new (untried, but hopefully sound) recommendation is for me to
> >dispense with the Pinnacle Studios MovieBox DV analog-to-AVI &
> >studio-9-to-MPEG2 approach, in favor of the following:
> > - Play any VHS tape out normal RCA composite analog jacks
> > - Connect that composite analog to an RCA-to-mini-phono cable
> > - Into any digital camcorder (e.g., JVC GR-DVL820U) "AV" jack
> > - With the camcorder AV phono output set to INPUT
> > (PowerOn->Manual->Menu->DSC->REC SELECT->to TAPE to M)
> > - Which then outputs a digital AVI signal (just like the MovieBox did)
> > - Into the camcorder firewire output port into a firewire cable
> > - Plugged into the laptop PC firewire input port
> > - With Pinnacle Systems' $99 Studios 9 running
> > - Which converts the digital camcorder avi signal to MPEG-2
> > - Which is saved to the hard disk in real time
> > - And then later burned to DVD out that same firewire port

In testing the above approach (which replaces the Pinnacle Studios
MovieBox DV with a basic digital camcorder) I found a fatal flaw in
the suggested camcorder settings above. The settings above are wrong!

The correct settings (for a JVC GR-DVL820U camcorder anyway) are:
- Turn the camcorder dial to "Play" (not to "Manual")
- Swing open the LCD window (you should see a blank blue screen)
- Depress the "Menu/Bright" dial once (do not spin the dial)
- You should now see the following displayed on the LCD
VIDEO
SYSTEM
DISPLAY
END
- Spin the "Menu/Bright" dial to select the "VIDEO" menu
- To the right of the "VIDEO" menu, you now should see the items
VIDEO SOUND MODE
12BIT MODE
SYNCHRO
REC MODE
TAPE->MEMORYCARD COPY
S/AV INPUT
- Depress the "Menu/Bright" dial, you should now see the items
SOUND MODE = STEREO
12BIT MODE = SOUND 1
SYNCHRO = +- 0.0
REC MODE = SP
TAPE->MEMORYCARD COPY = ON
S/AV INPUT = OFF
RETURN
- Spin the "Menu/Bright" dial to select
S/AV INPUT = OFF
- Depress the "Menu/Bright" dial so you only see the one item
S/AV INPUT = OFF
= ON
- Spin the "Menu/Bright" dial to select:
S/AV INPUT = ON
- Depress the "Menu/Bright" dial to effect the setting
- This returns you to the items
SOUND MODE = STEREO
12BIT MODE = SOUND 1
SYNCHRO = +- 0.0
REC MODE = SP
TAPE->MEMORYCARD COPY = ON
S/AV INPUT = ON
RETURN
- Spin the "Menu/Bright" dial to select the "RETURN" item
- This returns you to the items
VIDEO
SYSTEM
DISPLAY
END
- Spin the "Menu/Bright" dial to select the "END" item
- Depress the "Menu/Bright" dial to effect the setting
- Your JVC Camcorder LCD display goes back to blue-screen normal.

This procedure will apparently affect the following camcorder ports
(please correct me if I make any mistakes below 'cause I'm guessing)
o The "AV" mini-rca bi-directional port is now an INPUT (I think)
o I'm not sure what happens to the "EDIT" mini-rca port (pray tell)
-----
o The "S-VIDEO" DIN bi-directional port is now an INPUT (I think)
o The "DV" mini-firewire port is still an OUTPUT (I think)
o The "USB" mini-usb port is still an OUTPUT (I think)

If my guess is correct above, then the two cables I need are:
- 3 RCA jacks to 1 mini-rca connector
- DV firewire to DV firewire connector

The ***umption is the setup is as follows:
- The VHS tape plays in the VCR unit out the 3 RCA LINEOUT jacks
- That analog signal enters the camcorder via the "AV" input jack
- Note: Make sure the camcorder is set to "S/AV INPUT = ON"
-----
- The AVI digital output signal goes out the "DV" mini-firewire port
- Which goes into the laptop PC mini-firewire input
- Hopefully, Pinnacle Studios 9 (or maybe Ulead Video Studio SE 4.0)
will then help save that digital AVI signal to the hard disk
-----
- Then, if edits are necessary, Pinnacle Studio 9 or Ulead VideoStudio
can be used to edit the AVI file (I now realize nobody edits MPEG-2)
- Once the edits are performed (if any), then Pinnacle Studio 9 or
Ulead Video Studio 4.0 (I think) can be used to convert the huge
AVI file to the much-compressed MPEG-2 on disk.
- Then any DVD burning software (Sonic 6.0 perhaps) can be used to
burn the resulting MPEG-2 file to a DVD disc.
-----

What do the experts think about this suggested approach to
burn magnetic tape (e.g., 8mm, VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, etc.) to DVD
(using an existing camcorder instead of a hardware analog-to-AVI box)?

Q: Does this latest approach look like it stands a chance of working?
(because the Pinnacle Studios MovieBox DV was a dismal failure)

Orak Listalavostok

.... ..stalavost..

"Graham Hughes, MVP Digital Media" <graham@simplydv.co.uk> wrote in message news:<uOEUgbHVEHA.3944@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl>...
> Could use the dvd authoring software to do the mpeg2 conversion as well.

I'm getting closer by the day; but I still have some 'issues'
(like how to burn 8 Gbytes of MPEG-2 to a DVD with Studio 9.1).

Here's where I'm currently stuck:

I successfully played my store-bought 2 hour 35 minute VHS "Gladiator"
original from the VHS output into the JVC miniDV camcorder and out
the JVC digital camcorder firewire into the IBM A31p firewire using
Pinnacle Studio 9.1 (with MPEG encoding enabled) to save the resultant
AVI file (30,719,448 KB) onto the laptop WinXP NTFS second hard disk.

The first try, half way through capturing of the movie, the WinXP IBM
ThinkPad crashed; the second attempt, just minutes from the end of the
movie, MPEG-2 rendering of the AVI began without me doing anything!
It (Studio 9.1) automatically created (seemingly on it own agenda)
a 7 Gbyte MPG file; then it (Studio 9.1) removed the 30 Gbyte AVI file!

All that AVI data (30 gigs worth) was lost in an instant.

I fussed with Studio 9.1 settings (realizing my original error in
allowing MPG as the final output) and then 'captured' a smaller
AVI of just the last few scenes of Gladiator, creating a 3 GB ending
AVI (3,128,824 KB) of the last few scenes until the credits completed.

I now had (only) a 7 GB MPG plus a 3 GB AVI of the Gladiator archive.

Using the Pinnacle Studio 9.1 "Edit" GUI, I pasted together the first
7 GB MPG plus the final scenes' 3 GB AVI and then re-rendered (if
that's what it's called) to a single MPG2 (again).

The result (which took forever) was an 8 GByte MPEG2 file.

QUESTIONS:
My first question concerns the mixing of the MPG & AVI file.
Did I have to re-render the WHOLE THING to MPEG-2 (which took forever)?
Could I have just rendered the much smaller last few scenes' AVI to
MPG 2 and then simply COMBINED the two MPG files (large + tiny)?

How?

My second question revolves around how to burn this final 8 Gbyte
MPEG-2 file to a normal DVD (about 4 1/2 gigabytes). Studio 9.1 says
the file is too large to burn to DVD. Is there a way to tell it
(Studio-9.1) to squish (compress) the MPG-2 file by 50%?

I have Sonic RecordNow version 6.7.0 (which, I think, squishes to fit
on DVD), but don't I need Studio-9.1 to first put the MPG2 file into
a DVD 'image' before using Sonic RecordNow to burn to DVD?

If you understand my newbie VHS-to-DVD dilemma, please advise.
If you need clarifying information of the stumbling block, please ask.

Orak Listalavostok

..m.. ..rre..

Orak Listalavostok wrote:

> My first question concerns the mixing of the MPG & AVI file.
> Did I have to re-render the WHOLE THING to MPEG-2 (which took forever)?
> Could I have just rendered the much smaller last few scenes' AVI to
> MPG 2 and then simply COMBINED the two MPG files (large + tiny)?
>
> How?

Pinnacle Studio 8 is clever enough to know whether a movie needs
re-rendering. Presumably this applies to Studio 9 as well. The trick is
to make sure that the output bit rate is the same as the input bit rate
- if it is then the software will simply copy the input to the output.

If you are really worried about the time taken then maybe you should
consider buying a hardware capture/encoder system like the Plextor
ConvertX.

Cheers.

James.