Video Recording Help!

[drey]

Hey Mates,

I need your advice, should I buy a TV tuner for laptop with video recording capability or buy a device that could transfer VHS to Digital video...

I need advantages and disadvantages of the both.

[jedi]

I think mas ok kung tv tuner na lang bilhin mo with video recording feature, parang mas mabusisi kung kokopya ka ng clips sa tv using vhs then convert mo pa into digital format... pero if you have lots of vhs tapes that you need to convert, compare mo na lang price ng tv tuner at vhs converter.

Hey Mates,

I need your advice, should I buy a TV tuner for laptop with video recording capability or buy a device that could transfer VHS to Digital video...

I need advantages and disadvantages of the both.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Hey Mates,

I need your advice, should I buy a TV tuner for laptop with video recording capability or buy a device that could transfer VHS to Digital video...

I need advantages and disadvantages of the both.

If I'm not mistaken, a tv tuner is similar to that other device except it has an analog tv tuner built in.

The VHS-digital device should have more connection options such as FW and usb. But if you're converting VHS, you'll most likely use composite......... a connection the tv tuner should already have. At least I'm sure about the composite A/V input. Not all tv tuner cards have an Svideo In port. So, check to make sure there is an SVideo In.

Main disadvantage of a tv tuner is having capture software but not video-editing software. However, it is the more versatile from my view. Plus, it's generally cheaper.

The main advantage of a pure VHS-digital capture convert device is that many tend to have video-editing software bundled with the hardware. Main disadvantage is that's its only function. Plus, it tends to be more expensive than a tv tuner.

If you're thinking of converting commercial VHS movies, be careful. Many devices can't read the video because of copy protection. This is specially true of the newer devices. Luckily, I have an old Hauppage WinTV PCI (1998) that's not affected by copy protection.

Also, you'll find the quality of vhs to digital conversion isn't going to be that great. But, they're fine if you'll view these videos in an iPod.

I was going to throw my old WinTV away. But now, I find it useful for converting all my old vhs movies to digital and eventually mp4.

[drey]

thanks sir jedi and jun,

gusto ko kasi record yung mga movies sa Tv then eventually might erase them after watching. Ang problema lang ata sa TV tuner is that you have to be there to record diba? unlike VHS recording capability, pwede mo i set ang oras...

can you enlighten me more?

[Jun aka Pekto]

thanks sir jedi and jun,

gusto ko kasi record yung mga movies sa Tv then eventually might erase them after watching. Ang problema lang ata sa TV tuner is that you have to be there to record diba? unlike VHS recording capability, pwede mo i set ang oras...

can you enlighten me more?

Why not just buy a dvd recorder? It functions exactly just like a vcr except the dvd-rw discs don't wear out. It's got a built-in tv tuner so you should be able to set a timer. Some of the better ones can even work around commercials. You can set the quality to dvd quality (1-2 hours), svcd quality (3-4 hours), right down to vcd quality. Erase and choose the quality you want repeatedly. With vcd quality, each single-side dvd-rw is good for 6 hours of footage. Of course, quality will be lower. But, it's still better than vhs quality:
Here's a sample of a vcd-quality footage from my LiteOn dvd recorder:


The recorder will automatically generate menus:


And if you do decide to buy a dvd recorder, avoid Memorex discs like the plague.

[drey]

sir mga how much po kaya?

[Jun aka Pekto]

sir mga how much po kaya?

I bought my LiteOn DVD recorder in late 2004 for $90. There are much better ones for the same price nowadays. Just look around carefully. Some also have a hard drive and TiVo functions which is also probably something you'd want. Of course those features are found only on the more expensive ones.

Add: My LiteOn is the LiteOn LVW-5005XS:
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...emno=CA1546917

[drey]

ok sir, thanks...

19K pala...

[Jun aka Pekto]

ok sir, thanks...

19K pala...

My LiteOn is of course a totally unknown brand among electronic appliances. But, it's well known as a maker of pc hardware. That's why I bought mine.

It's ok, esp for the price. $90 is what.....P4.5k? No TiVo or hard drive. But, it does have a firewire port and progressive scan. The tuner is only analog and is limited to 125 channels. So, I don't use that feature.

[drey]

any plans in selling it sir? hehehe

[Jun aka Pekto]

any plans in selling it sir? hehehe

LiteOn, like many pc brands, is from Taiwan. You shouldn't have any problems finding it over there. This is the only sub-$100 dvd recorder I can find with firewire. I'm hanging on to mine until the TiVo/hard drive-equipped dvd recorders get cheaper.