[ale] OT converting old videos, cataloging dvds, storing forever

Ron Frazier (ALE) atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com
Sat Oct 20 13:39:07 EDT 2012


JD,

I want to thank you very much for posting all this info.  I read it through once and will be studying it in more detail once my Hauppauge USB-Live2 analog digitizer gets here.  You've got a good point about the quality of old Video tapes.  I'll probably pick and choose what to convert out of my collection and use a combination of capture from the DVR and buying discs for the rest.  My main interest is Star Trek.  They're still broadcasting reruns of the Original series as well as The Next Generation.  Thanks again for all the help.

Sincerely,

Ron


JD <jdp at algoloma.com> wrote:

>Inline ... lots of cuts.
>
>I didn't respond concerning things that google will easily explain with
>2
>minutes of effort.
>
>I've laid out everything here. Sorry there are so many moving parts,
>but it is
>hardly my fault.  You can do everything with VideoRedu Plus, but it is
>heavy on
>manual labor and doesn't run on Linux.  I want most of the work to
>happen
>automatically, do I don't have to do anything, with results waiting for
>me.
>
>>> Don't store the videos in MPEG2 format. Transcode them to either
>h.264/mkv
>>> or xvid/avi and the average size per hour drops to less than 1/3rd
>your 3G 
>
>> I like what you're saying.  A 4X reduction in space used would
>certainly be
>> welcome.  However, that brings up another question.  Can I produce a
>> h.264/mkv based disc that will be readable on a standard DVD video
>player
>> attached to the tv?  Or, will I have to play this disc on the
>computer.  I
>> really need something that just works in an ordinary stand alone
>device.
>
>No, you can't use a standard DVD player. You need a device that plays
>xvid/avi
>and/or h.264/mkv.  There are many of those for $50-$100 these days, so
>figure
>out whether you want 4x more storage or not.  That's a big decision. If
>you
>insist on staying MPEG2, stop reading and seek advice from others. I
>can't help.
>
>Being hung up on DVD/MPEG2 is something that you'll discover most
>people in your
>situation have left behind.
>
>HiDef recordings are usually  h.264/mp4, but I strongly prefer mkv as
>the
>container over mp4 for a number of reasons. Google explains. Android
>4.x and
>later support both, so your tablet with an HDMI output will drive a TV
>nicely,
>if you encode the content correctly.  Most Android devices that I've
>seen, even
>with hardware decoding can't handle 720p with great quality.  On my
>tablet, I've
>always had to re-encode to 592p to get the quality level I'm used to
>seeing.
>Quality and resolution are definitely NOT the same thing.
>In theory, RaspberryPI devices will playback 1080p HD h.264/mp4 with
>the $8
>codecs added. That is another option definitely worth a look.  Someone
>at ALE-NW
>is doing this already. Hopefully, he will respond.
>
>>> Initially, it will take more time to setup your process, but you
>will 
>>> automate much of it quickly.
>>> 
>>> Software list: * $0 - bash * $0 - perl / strawberry perl * $0 - Task
>>> Spooler - get your batch on and under control * $0 - Video Recording
>>> software - most tuner devices include something that is good enough;
>The
>>> only requirement is that MPEG2 files are output. * $0 - comskip *
>$50 -
>>> Video Redo TV Suite (Windows only)
>> 
>> Is Video Redo for killing commercials?
>
>Yes and no.  There is no magic bullet for removing commercials that is
>100%
>accurate, but comskip will create cut markers that many video editing
>programs
>can use as starting points or that some playback software will honor
>without
>touching the video file at all.  I do not trust VRDP to get commercial
>point
>correct and always manually validate the cuts.
>
>>> * $0 - ccextractor (probably doens't work with VHS tapes)
>> What does that do?
>
>It pulls out closed captions and stores them as SRT files. Great if you
>want to
>learn Spanish, but having the English captions can be nice too. 
>Whether these
>are displayed or not is controlled by the playback software.  This
>process is
>very fast, so why not do it?
>
>>> * $0 - handbrakeCLI
>> 
>> Assuming this is for transcoding.
>
>handbrake is the easiest and perhaps the best X to h.264 encoder
>available. It
>will output mp4 or mkv files. If your source material is DVD VOB files,
>it
>handles graphics subtitles and CC, multiple audio tracks, languages,
>chapter
>markers and the quality level is really easy to control.  An RC of 19
>is pretty
>fantastic.
>There is a CLI interface that means no pointing and clicking to do
>almost
>anything. Fantastic for batch processing. I hate P-n-C. HATE, HATE,
>HATE it.
>
>>> * $0 - mkvtoolnix to create beautiful MKV files * $0 - gaffitter to
>>> optimally fit
>> 
>> Tell me more about this.
>
>Google will explain all.
>
>> Can you elaborate on par2.  Do you scan, scrub your discs every 5
>years or so
>> to make sure they're still good and determine if they need to be
>reburned?
>
>Google will explain all.
>
>>> Buy some protective 330 disk portfolios instead.
>> 
>> Interesting idea.  The portfolios I saw at Frys weren't too
>impressive
>> though.
>
>If you want impressive, open your wallet.  The important part to my
>catalog
>method is that disks be stored sequentially, in order.  Finding a disk
>with the
>specific files we'd like to see is random access this way, after a
>grep/script
>is used to look up which numbered disk the files are on happens.  I
>think it is
>better than alphabetical by title, since you KNOW exactly which disk
>the video
>is on every time. No questions.  It is like a library card catalog
>system, but
>much easier to use and maintain. TEXT is the ultimate in portable
>information.
>
>> The procedure for recording analog from my DVR will be the same as
>with
>> the VCR, although it would produce much higher quality.  As far as I
>know,
>> there is no way to record the HDMI output.  Buying from Hollywood
>(for
>> example Star Trek) is about $ 3 / show.  That doesn't sound like much
>until
>> you consider how many shows there are.  I'd like to get by cheaper
>and still
>> legal.
>
>There are deals on complete series collections from time to time.  For
>example,
>the almost 100% complete version of 2003 Battlestar Galactica on Bluray
>was on
>sale two weeks ago for $80.  Stargate, Startrek and other series go on
>sale from
>time to time.  Have you figured out how much money and time will be
>needed doing
>your VHS conversion?  Time/money/quality.
>
>I'm 100% with you on being legal.
>
>Many people find better ways to get recordings off their DVRs.  I used
>a TiVo
>and was able to pull recordings to a PC, remove the tivo-DRM, clip
>commercials
>and convert those into xvid/avi files with better quality than any VHS
>recording
>or "press play" recording. The S2 Tivo recorded at 480x480 resolution.
>It isn't
>bad, but it isn't HD either.  It is noticeably higher resolution than
>VHS tape.
>
>The analog hole only works well for component cables.  That's  a
>Hauppauge 1212
>device or similar.  A friend uses a different device with AT&T U-Verse.
> It
>requires an IR-blaster to control it.  Previously, he used a firewire
>control
>method to the Comcast digital cable box.
>
>>> Video and audio sync has not been any issue for years, neither has 
>>> macrovision, at least with the recording hardware I've used.
>> 
>> I made a test recording from my cable box dvr using the analog out
>and the
>> digitizer I just returned.  There is a .3 sec sound sync variance in
>the mpeg
>> file between the audio and video.  I can compensate by playing
>through VLC
>> and tinkering with it but I'd rather fix it then save it.
>
>If you are seeing audio/video sync issues, then you've got crap
>recording
>hardware and software or the box doing the work is under powered or has
>too much
>going on.  You have something wrong in your setup.
>
>A cheap Hauppauge 950Q will do what you want for SD recordings just
>fine.  A few
>months ago, I converted an old 6 hour VHS tape with a a few really bad
>late
>night scifi movies - so bad they were good - to h.264/mkv.  I used a
>Core2Duo
>laptop and 950Q connected over USB2.  USB2 is plenty fast, even for
>1080p, but
>the CPU will need to handle some aspects of the recording.
>
>I guess if you are just starting out, you'll want to fight all the
>battles
>yourself that I've already fought.  That's the best way to learn.  The
>abosultely mandatory things are
>* a way to capture the content and store it into mpeg2.
>* a way to transcode the content into h.264/mp4.  You can use
>avconv/ffmpeg,
>handbrake, mencoder, or any of a thousand "not-free" GUIs that are
>based on
>ffmpeg.  Just search for "video conversion" to find all the scam
>artists with a
>"special GUI" just for iphone or ipod or {insert device name here}. 
>These are
>simply GUIs with ok settings over ffmpeg/avconv. Nothing more.
>
>GUIs are hard to automate.  Give me a CLI interface.
>
>If you aren't hung up on being legal, like I am, it is much easier to
>pay for an
>encrypted Usenet subscription overseas somewhere and grab the shows you
>want
>using RSS feeds.  Lots of "how-to" guides out there. Look up sickbeard
>to get
>started. The people producing them are all doing the things that I've
>outlined
>... except they don't usually worry about captions.
>
>Good luck. Do some more research and I'm happy to answer questions that
>google
>won't answer easily.
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--

Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
Please excuse my potential brevity.

(To whom it may concern.  My email address has changed.  Replying to former
messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong
address.  Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
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Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com




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