I am wanting to transfer my home video tapes to dvd. I plan on using a panasonic table top model dvd that has firewire. I know I can record directly from my vcr to the dvd recorder and get a dvd copy this way, but have been told that I will get better quality by first recording my video to a mini dv or a digit 8 format getting the 500 lines of resolution, and once I do this, I can go out from my mini dv by way of firewire directly to the panasonic dvd. I have heard this way increases the quality of your dvd and creates an archive for future recordings that is digital. I am wanting to hear other opinions about this method or others techniques that may be better.

-- Gary McCormick (mccormickgl@aol.com), April 22, 2003

Answers

It is much easier to just send your tapes to a service and have them do it for you, it will save you lot of time and from tearing your hair out!

-- P Cn (pcn@hotmail.com), April 30, 2003.

Hi, If you find the machine that would do it. i'd like to know. The companies want us to go through them.... I'd rather do it myself. jane

-- Jane (msjaneoly@aol.com), May 26, 2003.

Transfering to mini dv will not give you more resolution. Your VHS recording has already limited the resolution to about 240 lines. What you accomplish by transfering to mini DV is to further compress you signal 5 to 1. It isn't bad but it isn't necessary. Get the best VHS player you can and connect it directly to your DVD burner. Why would you want to create another generation dub?

There is line doubling technology mostly designed to make VHS look better projected; and Elite Video makes a good box for boosting the vhs signal when you transfer. That would be a better investment in improving you vhs transfer.

Just remember that if you digitize a video signal, you digitize it at the resolution it was in the first place. Digitizing cannot magically increase the resolution just because the digitizing format's (ie. mini DV) native resolution is 500 lines.

-- samuel harris (s.j.harris@tcu.edu), June 13, 2003.

Does anyone know of the software needed to transfer from VHS to DVD using Mac OS X for formatting if wishing to DIY? I would be interested to hear from anyone that has done it successfully. Thanks TJ

-- Thelma Joy (whitejade2004@yahoo.com), January 21, 2005.