How easy is the whole process?

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I've learned I need to get a video capture card in order to convert movies from a VHS tape then use Adobe Premiere to compress it.. but now another question arises... I don't want the process to take longer then needed...So should I convert the files to .ram or .mpeg? The quality & resolution doesn't need to be very high. What I want to do is make clips around 4-5 minutes in length. Also is this something I could do fairly easily? I've taught myself html, ftp, and flash...so i'm thinking I could get the hang of it? The process is this if I understand it... get a capture card..plug it into my computer with my vcr and the use Adobe Premiere to add clips and encode? Any feedback is GREATLY appreciated! Sonja -Southern California

-- Sonja (lakingshockeygirl1978@yahoo.com), April 10, 2002

Answers

Yes, you do need a capture card, but you don't HAVE to use Premiere. Premiere is pretty darn expensive and I get along just fine without out. For example, if you bought the Dazzle DVC II card, it comes with Movie Star editing software - no need for Premier. The DVC II is a really nice card too, but it only does MPEG-1/2 captures. I don't really recommend converting to Real Media, although it certainly meets your requirements of not needing high quality or resolution. Real Media is probably the worst way to store video in terms of quality. The only thing it has going for it is that it produces really small files. I would suggest you read everything you can about making VCDs. Good web sources for info are http://www.vcdhelp.com, http://www.doom9.net, and http://www.digital-digest.com. The more you read about this, the better off you will be when you start. It can be overwhelming when you start, but after you do it a few times, you will easily get the hang of it. There are other capture card options besides the DVC II such as various ATI cards, but ATI cards don't come with editing software. Buying a good software editor can be expensive, although probably still cheaper than Premier. If you go to http://www.pricewatch.com and search for "Dazzle", you can find some good deals on the DVC II. The DVC II does not come with a TV tuner like some cards do (you have to plug a VCR video output into it to record TV) and it only records MPEG-1/2 video, but it does it extremely well. It comes with VCD, SVCD and DVD templates and Movie Star is a fine editor. The only caveat I have about it is that the DVC II does not play nice on some AMD CPU systems and it works best if you can install it in a PCI slot that does not share IRQs. Despite what some people claim, it will work if it shares IRQs. If you're not real good technically with PCs and you have problems with the DVC II, you may simply have to return it. Some people have no problems getting it to work and other people never get it to work. If you don't have problems getting it to work, I do think the Dazzle DVC II would be a good solution to your requirements.

-- Jason (Jason.Shumate@equant.com), April 10, 2002.

"...longer than needed." How long is it then that you think is needed? If it's exclusively VHS that u need to capture then u take any of those many video cards based on the nVidia GeForce 2 or 3 that double as normal AGP cards as well as analogue video capture. Some that come to mind are Asus 8200 and 7100. Then experiment with TMPGenc, where I think you'll find the encoding tediously long (overnight for an hour's worth, mostly) so you may find such flotsam like WinVCR (a s/w direct-2-MPEG capture program) more to your preference (u did say quality wasn't paramount, right?). Adobe Premiere doesn't encode; you normally need a plug-in MPEG encoder to do that, such as the lackluster (but faster than most) Ligos LSX, or if u can figure out, free and superb TMPGenc (here we go) allied with AVISynth. More from www.vcdhelp.com and www.geocities.com/aussie01au. If u figured out html, flash,and ftp then u can wend your way around this one just as easily. U will sooner or later have to deal with CD- burning and let me be the one 2 tell u 2 STAY AWAY from that entity known as Roxio Easy Coaster Creator if u value your sanitee.

-- Mehmet Tekdemir (turk690@yahoo.com), April 10, 2002.

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