StaxRip
So far, This seems to be the most convenient video encoder I’ve run across. Once you install it, you do have to go through and install the external apps (as with most freeware encoding applications), but it is incredibly easy to do – he provides buttons and checks to make sure they’re properly installed, very nice. It looks like it’s particularly useful for YouTubing things (midnightcoffee, your son might be interested – it’s freeware).
I’ve been really frustrated with the encoding options in Premiere Pro 2. When I install new codecs, it is extremely reluctant to acknowledge or use them.
I haven’t had a chance to really test out the results of Staxrip, but I am much pleased that it works with a number of denoising type filters. It’s really just for those looking to take one type of video (DVD, AVI, whatever) and turn it into an Mpeg4 (divx, xvid, PSP, etc) for distribution (like YouTube, which prefers xvid encoded video).
For those who don’t know, I’ll caution you – Mpeg4-encoded video is NOT good for editing with later. If you’re saving files for those mediums, keep your source files, or save a high quality AVI and burn it to disc.
I mention all of this because finding good freeware for video is incredibly, incredibly difficult. If you’re lucky enough to find something that works and isn’t spyware or crippleware, the instructions are so byzantine, even professionals throw up their hands and pull out iMovie. Anything free, functional and intuitive is a little gem to be shared with other people tearing their hair out.
That reminds me
So, I’ve got these old VHS tapes that I want to transfer to DVD. The media lab on campus has the machines and stuff to do that, so that bit is covered, but… what do I do then? Do you recommend iMovie or Final Cut for playing with it later (’cause that’s what’s already installed in the media lab) or something else entirely? Is there a way to clean up video and audio on a transfer, or am I stuck with old-VHS quality? Got any other tips, or things I really really really need to know before I haul all my crap over to campus?
*grins* Oh, the lengths I’ll go to preserve my Scarlet Pimpernel fan crap.
Re: That reminds me
There’s no “easy” “magic bullet” to cleaning it up and the old rule applies: garbage in, garbage out. Your best tools for that are going to be adjusting the sharpness, contrast, and luminance.
Re: That reminds me
It really depends on what you want to do with them. iMovie is pretty suitable for straight capture and dumping to DVD. Final Cut Pro is incredibly useful, but very likely more than you need. “Mpeg 2” is the actual codec used for DVDs, by the way.
What I imagine you want to do is capture each tape and make chapters, one for each episode. Now Final Cut Pro has a fair denoiser I believe, but I haven’t played much with iMovie, so I can’t say, there. There are some fair third party applications and plugins, but it’s just damned difficult to figure out what’s good and what’s crap.
Some people on my friends list *ahem* may say “garbage in garbage out”, but in the real world, sometimes you have to accept that your input sucks and you have no other choice but to work with it as best you can.
Just start off with one tape, rather than hauling your whole collection. It may take you a bit to figure out exactly what you want to do. These things may help:
NTSC DV is the standard format when creating a new project that you’ll want to broadcast on TV. .9 is the pixel proportion (vs square 1:1)
If you can get me a copy of a clip, I can see whether I can help clean it up a bit. There’s always a bit of a trade-off, but everything can be improved, whether it’s noise or color saturation or something else.
Re: That reminds me
Thankfully, my collection consists of 3 VHS tapes, two of which are compilations of all the guest spots the cast did leading up to the 1997 Broadway run, plus a “making of” show. The copy I have is about as good as the one used for this YouTube clip: both the picture and the sound are somewhat fuzzy.
I figure, I’ll save the original and fuck about with a copy and see what I can do with the programs I have available. If I have issues, or something I want to do that and can’t with what I have, I’ll be bugging the crap out of you.
I assume the iMovie comment means you are on a Mac, and if so it’s really worth it to just buy VisualHub. (And I say this as a legal owner of Cleaner and Compressor). It’s not going to help me make something where I care about the file size (online) but for playing videos over my network on the 360, or in a portable device, it’s aces! (though I can;t get the xgrid stuff to work)
Actually, though I mentioned iMovie, both my work laptop and home laptop are PCs.