Video Asylum

Posted by Some Guy on April 14, 2003 at 11:07:53

In Reply to: recording analog video to dvd or vcd posted by H20 on April 11, 2003 at 08:17:42:

You can do this very cheaply these days. All you really need is a video capture card (the ones from Pinnacle are nice, but can get expensive) and some software to do the work. Before you buy, there are some good reviews for many cards at www.dvdrhelp.com that you should check out. There is also a ton of info to explain what to do.

I would suggest using some of the excellent freeware and shareware that is available over the commercial stuff for the simple reason that it works better for simple transfers. In addition to the stuff at the above site, go to www.doom9.org to download a ton of free, reliable, effective software. The sections about converting DVD to DivX are, apart from the ripping of the DVDs, very similar to what you'll need to do to the video files.

Personally I just burn everything as DivX .avi file instead of burning VCDs. This requires that you have a computer (perhaps doubling as a Personal Video Recorder) hooked up to the TV, but you have a lot more flexibility in making files and fitting stuff on the disc (over 2 hours for .avi files as opposed to about an hour per VCD, .avi allowing for a higher quality picture). VCDs do, however, let you play your videos on your DVD player at roughly VHS quality. Both types can be burned using your existing CD burner.

The other option is buying a DVD burner and making them that way, but I think the quality from VHS would be wasted on that format.