Analog Analog Analog

[John Smith]

Ok, let me rephrase my question?

I have an ANALOG VCR.
I have a computer.
I have WindowsXP Home.
I have Windows MovieMaker 2.0.

Is there anyone out there who captures video from an Analog VCR, edits
the captured content using MovieMaker 2.0, and makes a VHS tape of the
edited content?

How are you accomplishing this?

Analog VCR tape --> Computer --> edit with MM2 --> Analog VCR tape

I do not have a DVD burner on my computer.
I do not have a DVD player that is compatible with VCD.
I do not have a DV camcorder.
I do not want to spend any more money on this than I must!

 

[John Smith]

I can find a few usb video capture devices for the video in, but I'm
having trouble finding devices for the video out to analog Vhs tape
task. Replacing my video card is not an option.

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

I have just done a deep search of the net looking for someone selling the
appropriate gear for you. I can post the sear results if you wish....its
massive and most of it is not relevant.

It seems that you can get a breakout board (must be an American term) which
will feed analogue to your VCR or you can purchase a new video card with a TV
out option (I am not clear on whether this means TV-video out or TV-RF out).
The breakout boards come with software for editing video. You might still be
able to get one from your local CompUSA or Circuit City (Look for Dazzle or
Pinnacle). I would be careful though...I have seen the results of some of these
and all of them were awful.

RF-Converter (Converts output to a signal that you tune your VCR to as if it
was coming from your TV aerial) My own experience with RF converters left me
feeling that never again would I waste my money. You can of course purchase a
"proper" RF converter....if you have deep pockets.

Question
=======

Do you have a DVD player that will play video CD's If so your cheapest and
perhaps best option would be to let MM2 create a video CD for you...play that
on your DVD machine and record the output from DVD machine with your VHS tape
deck.

 

[jquiet]

I looked around a little and it looks like TV out is pretty much delegated
out to the video cards. If you don't want to replace your current video
card, can you add a second PCI video card along with the card already in
there?

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Hi John,

Welcome back.... I agree with all you said, but want to clarify a point for
John Smith...

You say:

Do you have a DVD player that will play video CD's If so your cheapest and
perhaps best option would be to let MM2 create a video CD for you...play that
on your DVD machine and record the output from DVD machine with your VHS tape
deck.

The CDs that Movie Maker creates are great in quality, but they have WMV
files on them, and the new DVD players that can read those files are not out
yet.... and using other software to burn a standard VCD or SVCD would result
in much lower quality to feed to the VCR tape.


PapaJohn

 

[John Smith]

John,

You mention Dazzle and Pinnacle (I think Pinnacle now owns Dazzle).
Breakout board is not an american term I've come across in my research;
maybe it's a Holland term or a non-consumer technical term.

I'll stay away from the RF option.

The computer I'm trying to use is my laptop and adding a video card with
TV out is not an option.

I'm looking at Pinnacle's MovieBox USB and DVC 150 products as possible
solutions. They are both external usb analog video capture cards with
analog out capability. Unfortunately I can't get Pinnacle to make a
direct statement that these capture cards also contain the hardware that
will send the analog data to my VCR. Lots of answers from Pinnacle
and I'm starting to get used to the email only support, but they keep
coming up short on telling me what I need to know.

My DVD/VCR deck that I just got for christmas says that it does not
support vcd or svcd.

We have kids on our youth teams that can't afford DVD players, so I
wanted to keep my edited instructional videos in VHS format for them.

If anything on that massive list you mentioned has something that seems
appropriate, feel free to post it; if you would rather email it let me
know and I'll give you my real email address.

Thanks for all your help with this. I think we're getting closer to a
finish.

JS

 

[John Smith]

That's an interesting option. I can't replace my existing video card;
my laptop does not have open slots and the current video card is not
removable.

I use my external PCI slot for my wireless card, but I could remove that
whenever I wanted to send video out and plug the PCI Video out card in
for each project.

It would be my second choice of ways to go, but at least it sounds like
a possibility if my first choice is a no-go.

Thank you.

JS

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

I missed that....I did come across a laptop card that did analogue
out...................I will see if I still have the search stored anywhere

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

I did come across one...and here is the link...

http://www.fieldworks-direct.nl/daq/pccard/da8p12.htm

and there address seems to be...

Fieldworks Direct
Veemarktkade 8 , Unit
5222 AE 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH
Netherlands

and because it is in Holland you should have no real problem with the language,
its been my experience that they speak better English than we in England!!!

Whether or not the card is going to be of any use or not...I don't know. But at
least it is a starting point

 

[jquiet]

I missed that you have a laptop. That does make it harder. Good luck.

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

Maybe there is more than one sort of Video CD. The first I ever saw was at a
private showing of Star Trek The Movie at a video shop in the Black Country.
The quality over VHS was awesome. They tried to sell me the player, I can't
remember how much it was...my Bank Manager would have had a heart attack
though, and the films themselves were very very expensive.

 

[John Smith]

My vcr/dvd deck will play cda format cd's, but not vcd/svcd formats.
There are several cd formats according to my vcr/dvd manual, but only
the cda format is supported.

I think I may have found a solution; dazzle dvc 150 or pinnacle moviebox
usb (see alternate thread). The enlargement of the dazzle dvc 150
device shows video in and video out ports! Now to check the system
requirments a little closer and I might be off to the store.

Thanks for everything,

JS

 

[Harry]

This device may be what you need:

http://www.canopus.us/US/products/ADVC-100/pm_advc-100.asp

I have one of these, but am just now starting to use it.
It's called the Canopus ADVC-100; connects to the PC via
an IEEE-1394 "Firewire" port; allows bi-directional
passage of both digital and analog signals; has IN/OUT
ports for both RCA and S-video connections.

Harry

 

[Steve House]

Looking for the opposite - the problem is not to feed video from the
computer to the VCR but the reverse, how to capture analogue video coming
FROM a VCR and store it on the computer as an editable file. Have been
reading this thread this morning and find I'm in the same boat as the
original poster. I have a new computer with both USB 2.0 and 1394 ports. I
do not have a digicam and the video card (ATI Radeon 9800XT) does not have
any video inputs. I'd like to find an inexpensive external device that will
take analogue video - composite and preferably s-video (and dare I hope RGB
component video) as well - from a VCR, cable box, or tuner and convert it
into a digital format to store and edit on the computer via either the USB
or 1394 ports. That is, without adding another capture card.

 

[Steve House]

If your video card has s-video out you can get a very inexpensive
s-video/composite adapter plug at Radio Shack that will let you record
directly to tape via the regular video input on the VCR (assuming your
recorder doesn't have s-video in, which seems to be a real rarity these
days). Some TVs and home theatre receivers have an s-video input that is
coupled to the composite video line out as well.