Science fiction and technology writer

Madan

Mon Dec 24 16:24:31 2001

Guys, I have a Mac and a PC. I was wondering, with either, how would I hook up my VCR to the machine and save vhs material as digital movies?
Not even DVD, just to be able to burn them as MPEGs maybe? Eventually on CD? I'm not selling them but I don't feel like shelling out 600 dollars+ for a vhs movie collection that may be useless when VCRs eventually become extinct.

What software would I need? Hardware? Is there any specific format I should use?

Just wondering...

Riso

Mon Dec 24 17:04:08 2001

You need a card with a video input obviously.

DuffMan

Mon Dec 24 17:16:59 2001

TV card would do it. They can be had for like $40 but more features would cost more money. Also there's the issue of good recording software.

Riso

Mon Dec 24 17:25:09 2001

Ever heard of virtualdub? @_@

Madan

Wed Dec 26 15:51:50 2001

Ever heard of virtualdub? @_@

No. If I had, I wouldn't be asking.

Riso

Wed Dec 26 17:43:19 2001

/me smax Mad

Who was talking to you :P

Madan

Wed Dec 26 17:44:27 2001

I heard I can get a WinTV card that would take care of everything.

Anyone explain this?

Mad.

Riso

Wed Dec 26 20:08:26 2001

http://faq.arstechnica.com/

AllYorBaseRBelong2Us

Wed Dec 26 20:33:04 2001

Madan.

i have a haupauge capture card that will do this.

I haven't tried it out as of yet, but I may just give it a whirl for your benifit :)

Madan

Thu Dec 27 15:30:15 2001

Let me know how it goes.

I'm going to buy WinTV Go! since it's cheap. Then, all I need is a spare HD and a CD-RW(virtualdub is free).

Let me know how installation and tweaking go.

Mad.

PaoloM

Thu Dec 27 19:14:49 2001

Ok, I have passed thru the same ordeal this last summer. I got meself a WinTV PCI for, like, $15 US (used), and that was it. I paid $18 US for the MJPEG encoder and I'm using Vdub for capturing and tmpgenc for mpeg encoding.

It's a bit tricky to configure, depending on which OS you have and stuff like that, but after the first week of pain, it's working painlessly.

Check the A/V forum on ars for very helpful people (not like the BF :)) and good tips

DuffMan

Fri Dec 28 20:34:05 2001

I used Virtual Dub a while ago to dub sound on to MPEG, but can it actually capture right off a card? That would be nifty.

Harbinger

Sat Dec 29 02:53:30 2001

I could be pursuaded to give up my ATi All-in-Wonder Pro for the right price. Like $75.

Riso

Sat Dec 29 14:31:11 2001

from DuffMan posted at 9:34 pm on Dec. 28, 2001

I used Virtual Dub a while ago to dub sound on to MPEG, but can it actually capture right off a card? That would be nifty.

1) You need VFW drivers
2) File/Capture AVI
3) faq.arstechnica.com

Robocop Q Einstein

Wed Jan 2 22:07:18 2002

Madman. Stop by http://www.dapcentral.org and check out the FAQ there, half written by me, half written by fade.

We've finished something like 75 percent of the encodable MST3K episodes. Feel free to stop by our IRC channel, #dapcentral on irc.zirc.org.

That encoding FAQ will really help you out.

OSY 1.0 Thread Viewer

An ambitious project with a VCR to PC hookup...