video editing software / hardware

On Sun, 23 Apr 2006 19:31:03 GMT, no RemoveThis @spam.invalid (sam araji) wrote:

>I am looking to try video editing and conversion from VHS to DVD
>can anyone advice me on what is the best software and hardware.
>I have a dell GX 260 with a 1280 x 1024 res 18" lcd monitor
>thanks

I have had a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 for about a year and have been
very satisfied with it. It appears that that model is no longer
available but I assume the -350 is a worthy replacement. It contains a
TV tuner but also has inputs for a VCR (composite and S-Video). It is
an internal card. I plan on purchasing a WinTV-PVR-USB2 for use with
my laptop. Setup was no worse than other things I have done. I do
recommend that, as soon as you install it, download the current driver
package from Hauppauge and install it. The instructions are very good.

The unit records in MPEG-2, with a choice of quality. The higher the
quality, the more disk space required. If you want to edit the
results, I have had the best luck with VideoReDo. By editing out
commercials, I can cut a 2-hour TV program down to 1-1/2 hours, almost
exactly what will fit on a DVD at the best quality.

For burning to DVD, I use the Nero suite. I've also tried Roxio. In
fact, I still have it on my computer and use it for certain specific
tasks. However, it has given me an unending series of annoyances. When
it works right, its fine. But I just got tired of unpleasant
surprises.

Good Luck
Vino