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General discussion

Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?

Nov 25, 2004 11:07PM PST

I have a Dell Dimension 4600, 2.4GHz, with 256MB RAM. The machine is equiped with a TI IEEE 1394 Host Controller and Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator.

When copying either VHS or 8mm analog tape media to the hard drive, I notice several 'frame drops' during the transfer process which appears as occaisional and annoying jerking motion during playback which is also apparent on the finished DVD.

Any ideas on how to overcome this problem? Could an upgrade to 1GB of memory perhaps imporove video transfer quality? Thank you for your response.

Discussion is locked

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Re: Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?
Nov 25, 2004 11:56PM PST

This area is one that you may not be able to do much about. Here's why. The analog frame that dropped may actually be corrupt in some way.

I have a VCR that lets me advance frame by frame and in every case, the dropped frame shows some defect if I find it on the VCR.

You can try another simple cheap video capture such as an ATI or Hauppauge TV card to see if it does a little better or worse. About 50 bucks.

Bob

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Re: Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?
Nov 26, 2004 12:15AM PST

Thank you for your analysis but perhaps I need to provide you with an observation. Whenever I rewind/replay a 'defective' scene, I note that the frame drops occurs in a different location, hence, my thoughts regarding computer RAM. I suspect digital regarding media will resolve the issue but I'm stuck with analog tape conversion for my archive.

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Did you?
Nov 26, 2004 1:28AM PST

Did you try an ATI or Hauppauge TV card?

or were looking for me to solve this on your existing setup?

I do this a lot now and in short, found the above to be just dandy at capture. I also keep the PC at about 1GHz, about 512M RAM, a hard disk that is not problematic and of course, no spyware. I also know not to bother the machine during capture and all current drivers are up to date.

Hope it helps,

Bob

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Re: Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?
Nov 26, 2004 12:24PM PST

I doubt it's your memory. I do my video and DVDs on a notebook with 256 RAM and 900 MHz, use an analog/digital converter via IEEE 1394 in for capture using Ulead Video Studio. No dropped frames. Works every time.

I also turn off my screen saver and everything else unneeded, set the display to 16 bit and disconnect from the Internet, so the PC can concentrate on the capture. You might want to try that.

If repeated attempts show dropped frames in the same place, it could be something in the video itself.

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Re: Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?
Nov 27, 2004 7:50AM PST

Thank you! Your advice seems to have remedied the situation. After turning everything off including disconnecting from the internet and disabling the Microsoft Office Toolbar, my dropped frame rate is at a minimum. It still occurs but I suspect that may be attributed to the analog tape recording.

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Re: Analog tape (VHS or 8mm) conversion to DVD--Frame drops?
Nov 27, 2004 9:16AM PST

Good. Digital video is very jealous. It wants 100% of your PC's attention or it makes a stink.

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(NT) (NT) A defragged and/or dedicated hard drive will also help.
Nov 27, 2004 12:23PM PST