I finally got the cheap VCR I've been looking for so that I can keep it permanently attached to my PC so that I can begin the project of transferring old VHS family videos to DVD. As Premiere doesn't support analog input, I'm using Ulead Video Studio 6.0 SE that came with the Belking Hi Speed USB DVD dongle that I'm using to interface the VCR to the PC. Now, I know that the Belkin dongle at less than £50 is going to deliver less than perfect image quality, so I start at a disadvantage (for <£50, it's surprising it does anything at all...) But I transferred a short piece of video from a shop-bought VHS cassette to DVD last night, and the quality was pretty disappointing: no dropped frames or anything, just rather soft and fuzzy with some 'shimmering'. So the question is, does anyone know what would be the best settings to capture from VHS, acknowledging that the desired output is to DVD for viewing on a TV? Cheers, Ian. (Oh, and see my parallel thread...)

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Premiere Pro, Encore, Photoshop, Ulead VS6, WXP Pro, Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 2 x 250GB SATA3 drives, 2 x 250GB USB 2 external drive, DVD writer, GeForce 7300 GS 256MB

The biggest fool can ask questions that the wisest man cannot answer...

You should set your capture settings to DV Type 1 and Your Output Settings (for DVD) to PAL DVD. Although I suspect that the USB capture method could present problems.

Good Luck!

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IBM A51p with 160Gb Boot Disk, 160Gb external Firewire Disk, 2Gb Memory and a super duper sound card, 17\" TFT Monitor etc etc etc
Sony TRV33e : Sony TRV310e : Canon XM2
ULead products mostly including Mediastudio Pro (V8.0), Video Studio 8, Movie Factory 2.0, Premiere Elements

Remember, there is always more to learn than there is to teach.

Thanks Purejammy. I've looked but can't find where to specify DV Type 1. Any clues? Cheers, Ian.

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Premiere Pro, Encore, Photoshop, Ulead VS6, WXP Pro, Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 2 x 250GB SATA3 drives, 2 x 250GB USB 2 external drive, DVD writer, GeForce 7300 GS 256MB

The biggest fool can ask questions that the wisest man cannot answer...

Sorry about the delay in getting back Ian. I am now on version 8 of VS and I can't remember if v6 (and I can't find an online manual either) uses the old interface or not.

If I am correct v6 uses the old version and the capture settings are set under the Global Preferences (G) button. I also seem to recall that the Output options are dealt with in 'Finish' step at create movie stage. I wil lsee if I can unearth an old manual and get back on this.

If I am wrong and v6 uses the newer interface then capture settings are set in the capture tab by selecting 'DV' on the Format dropdown box, click the 'Options' button > 'DV Type' (select DV Type 1). On the newer interface the output settings are set from the File menu ... File > Project Properties > Set 'Edit File Format' to MPEG and click the Edit button > Select the Compression tab > Set media type to PAL DVD > Set the Video Data Rate to Variable > Set the bit rate to 8000 (if your video is under an hour) or 6000 (if your video is more than an hour)

Hope that helps a little.

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IBM A51p with 160Gb Boot Disk, 160Gb external Firewire Disk, 2Gb Memory and a super duper sound card, 17\" TFT Monitor etc etc etc
Sony TRV33e : Sony TRV310e : Canon XM2
ULead products mostly including Mediastudio Pro (V8.0), Video Studio 8, Movie Factory 2.0, Premiere Elements

Remember, there is always more to learn than there is to teach.

PJ, many thanks. I'll take a look over the weekend.

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Premiere Pro, Encore, Photoshop, Ulead VS6, WXP Pro, Core 2 Duo, 2GB, 2 x 250GB SATA3 drives, 2 x 250GB USB 2 external drive, DVD writer, GeForce 7300 GS 256MB

The biggest fool can ask questions that the wisest man cannot answer...