Saving Precious Memories
Remember the birth of your first child? His or her first birthday? Their first
steps? Her ballet recital? His football game? The great times you had at
holidays and on those vacations?
What about the great times you had with your parents, grandparents or great grandparents?
Aren't you glad you captured all of those special, precious moments on videotape?
You've got dozens of taped memories stacked in a cabinet or tucked away on a
shelf in closet.
These family videos are probably the only reason you still hang onto your VCR.
Disappearing Past
The problem is consumer VHS tape isn't be best format to use for long-term storage.
Every time you play one of those tapes you wear away part of the image, you scratch
the video, you destroy small portions of the memories. If you haven't played
those family celebration tapes for years you may even be in for a rude awakening.
The magnetic film may have aged and the images have disappeared. The coating
may mysteriously peel away or flake off when the tape is played.
The memory images are suddenly…simply memories.
Signs of video quality degradation can become apparent after five years and even
sooner if the tapes aren't stored properly.
Before those precious videotaped moments disappear, transfer them to DVD. The
new low-cost DVD burners and low-cost, easy-to-use hardware/software products
like InstantDVD Xpress make the task of transferring your footage to quality
brand name DVD discs and saving them for generations to come is a snap.
When the job is done you have videos that:
* Won't deteriorate no matter how much you play the disc because the laser never
touches the media
* Will play on almost every DVD player, recorder or drive, especially if it
has been purchased in the past two years
* Will last over 100 years
* You can copy again and again and each copy will be as clean and crisp as the
original
* Lets you add menus so you can quickly move from video clip to video clip
* Take up almost no space on your shelf or in your drawer
Basic System
Almost every computer sold today is "video-ready."
But to do the job properly, the system should have a Pentium III 800Mhz or AMD
Athlon processor, a minimum of 256MB of RAM, USB 2.0 port and at least 10GB of
hard disc space for video capture. For best results we'd recommend at least
a Pentium 4, 1GB of RAM and two high capacity (80GB) hard drives. You can capture
your analog video with the USB 1.1 port but the video quality will suffer.
Depending upon how you want to store and replay your digital video you'll also
need a CD or DVD Burner. Because DVD burners and media are so economical, you'll
probably want to save your video project to broadcast quality DVD.
For your video capture, the Instant DVD product family includes an external video
capture device (breakout box) that can be plugged into your computer's USB port
without opening the case and adding cards and connecting cables. The ADS Tech
breakout box also contains a very high performance hardware codec (encoder/decoder)
that does all of the hard work of converting your analog videotape content to
today's digital format.
If you simply want to preserve the existing VHS content you can use your computer
to copy your video direct from tape to DVD. If you'd like to improve your videos
you can copy the content to your hard drive and use editing/authoring software
to add chapters, transitions, special effects and music.
While it is true that Windows XP comes with a program called Windows MovieMaker,
it only covers the basics. The software included with Instant DVD is much easier
to use, lets you produce a better quality video and makes the entire procedure
a fun project rather than a grueling job.
ADS Tech (www.adstech.com) offers a complete family of DVD video production solutions,
but let's focus on the extremely fast, low-cost and simple solution for turning
videotape movies into quality, long-lasting DVD movies -- DVD Xpress.
In addition to the breakout box, DVD Xpress includes a unique program called
CapWiz that combines screen shots of the hardware connections and corresponding
software choices to make the entire process quick, easy…almost foolproof. In
no time at all you can capture your taped video and burn your movies onto brand
name DVD media such as Verbatim.
If you want to do more than straight archiving, DVD Xpress includes video editing
and authoring software - Video Studio SE -- that allow you to get very creative.
DVD Xpress also incorporates the latest in video conversion and filtering technology
to reduce noise on your old VHS tapes. It also includes unique "Audio-Lock"
technology to provide perfect lip synch throughout the capture, edit and disc
burning process.
Direct to Disc
To make an exact copy of your tape to DVD without any edits simply use the direct-to-disc
feature. In this mode the software automatically captures the video, converts
the file to DVD format and burns it to disc.
If you have a large number of VHS tapes you want to convert to DVD this can be
a tremendous time saver.
If you don't mind giving up some creative control, the software will also automatically
add DVD menus and chapter points by detecting scene changes. While there are
a number of variables, it takes between 10-20 minutes to capture, encode and
burn a 5-minute video clip to DVD so you can see you'll have plenty of time for
dinner or reading the paper during the process.
But when the process is complete you will have rescued your family video from
certain loss and will have a disc you can play forever, again and again without
damaging the quality. You can also make copies for other members of the family
and they can enjoy reliving the events in the same high quality.
Editing Your Video
While all of the action, scenes and events were undoubtedly gems at the time
you shot the video; viewing the work later probably makes you question your good
taste.
Once you've captured your taped video to the computer you can edit it to remove
embarrassing segments, unsteady camera action, dull periods or material which
is simply better off forgotten. Here is where the DVD Xpress editing software
will help you turn a migraine-producing home video into a family treasure.
Switch to the story board mode by clicking on the appropriate icon. Now you
are ready to edit the movie by dragging video from the index area onto the storyboard.
This is your opportunity to mix and combine video clips from multiple files
to tell a better, more complete and more exciting story. Simply move the segments
around and arrange them so they will play back in the proper order.
During the process you'll also want to add those special transitions, voice over,
music, titles and unique effects that can almost magically turn a mundane home
video into a great family movie.
One of the most common mistakes people make in their production of personal and
family videos is overdoing the creative process.
When you first scroll through the editing software your creative heart will probably
leap with joy. The editing software includes tons of fancy transitions, snazzy
filters and eye-popping special effects. Just because they are there doesn't
mean that if you don't use them all you're not getting your money's worth.
The minimalistic approach is not only more effective but it will also enable
you to finish your production faster.
Authoring Your Movie
Once you are satisfied with your video editing and final movie, you're ready
to export it (write the final creative work to disc). The exact exporting method
will depend on whether you're making a video CD or DVD.
Your video can be written to disc in two format standards -- MPEG (Moving Picture
Experts Group)-1 or MPEG-2. MPEG-1 is commonly used for video CDs (VCD) storing
data at 1150kbps. This is 30 frames per second (fps) or similar to the quality
of your VHS tape storage. An 800MB capacity Verbatim CD for example will hold
about one hour of MPEG-1 quality video. SVCD (super video CD) provides medium
quality video storing and playing your video at 2400kbps providing about 30 minutes
of video capacity. DVD quality is high quality MPEG-2 video that stores data
at 6000kbps and plays back in near theater quality at 60 fps. A 4.7GB capacity
Verbatim DVD (+ or -R) will hold up to two hours of video memories and highlights.
The lower quality settings will allow you to store more video on a disc but the
viewing quality suffers. Use the eyeball test (watch the video yourself) and
you'll quickly see the difference. Because we are so conditioned by high quality
movies and television, it is best to stick with the highest quality family movie
possible.
Use the video production software and click on the MPEG button to select the
settings you want or use the presets.
The software's wizard will quickly guide you through the complete creation process.
Arrange the video segments in the order you will want them to play back, set
up your menu and click the correct icon to burn or write your movie to disc.
Conclusion
Depending on the speed of your DVD burner and the length of your movie memories,
the process can be completed in 15 minutes to an hour. Remove the disc from
the burner, pop it into your set-top DVD player, grab some popcorn and relive
your memories now and for years to come.
If you aren't completely happy with the movie, want to add or delete video clips
or change the sequence and transitions simply go back to the editing software
and make the necessary changes.
If you like the finished movie and want to send a copy to friends and family
copy the finished work of art back to your computer's hard drive and make a second,
third or more copies. Put the copies into protective jewel cases and send them
to others so they can enjoy the finished movie.
Regardless of your age…you'll find the videotape memories you saved to quality
DVD are worth their weight in gold.
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