Recording VCR tapes to SageTV

[AndyS]

I'm really liking SageTV and it is extremely likely to replace all my sources for SDTV. I have a number of VCR tapes that I'd like to have available in SageTV but I'm not sure of the best way to go about this.

I tried hooking up the VCR to the composite input of one of my PVR-250s, and using that method I was able to watch the output from the VCR in SageClient (my SageTV server is a 'real' server and for technical reasons I can't use it as a front-end). However this mechanism doesn't allow me fine control over the start/end of the produced MPEG, and obviously the 'show' doesn't have any information recorded for it (such as the show name or its duration etc.).

I'd appreciate some ideas for a solution that will allow me to create recordings from VHS tapes.

Andy.

[krutaw]

Originally posted by AndyS
I'm really liking SageTV and it is extremely likely to replace all my sources for SDTV. I have a number of VCR tapes that I'd like to have available in SageTV but I'm not sure of the best way to go about this.

I tried hooking up the VCR to the composite input of one of my PVR-250s, and using that method I was able to watch the output from the VCR in SageClient (my SageTV server is a 'real' server and for technical reasons I can't use it as a front-end). However this mechanism doesn't allow me fine control over the start/end of the produced MPEG, and obviously the 'show' doesn't have any information recorded for it (such as the show name or its duration etc.).

I'd appreciate some ideas for a solution that will allow me to create recordings from VHS tapes.

Andy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's what the "Sage Recorder" was built for.

[AndyS]

Andy, thanks for the response.

I took another look at the Sage Recorder manual. Recorder is very similar to SageTV - it also uses a hardware MPEG-encoder equipped card to record MPEG files from these cards.

It doesn't seem to offer anything for me over SageTV though. The recording principle is basically the same (without the fancy interface).

I'm looking for something that will record a source but allow me to cut the start/end points so that I can remove the crud from each end of the recording. Is this possible with SageTV/Sage Recorder?

I'm sure there is inexpensive software out there written for just this application. Is anyone using such a solution?

Andy.

[ToonGal]

Any reason you need the record and edit features in the same program? I'd recommend using Sage for brute-force recording and then some MPEG editor to crop out the 'crud'.

My editor of choice is Womble MPEG Video Wizard, but lots are out there. VideoRedo is a popular choice here; never got to test the free version myself to recommend it though.

[AndyS]

I'm just looking for something simple, that's all. I was concerned about how I'd cut the programs in SageTV into different files - when I set up my source it created a 'virtual' program, two hours in length that I could watch/record. I am able to edit the end time of the 'program' but that presupposes I know when that will be. Most of the tapes I need to move to MPEG are kids stuff that I don't know the length of.

I'd like to work it like a VCR: press "Record" on the MPEG encoder and then press "Play" on the VCR. At the end I'd just do the reverse. My vision was that I'd then be able to just tweak the start/end of the file at that point, and then move on to the next tape/file.

Can I do this easily in Sage?

Thanks for the feedback ToonGal.

Andy.

[ToonGal]

Sounds like we're doing similar goals, just different methods. (In my case, I've been bulk transferring my PBS Kids recorded VCR tapes to digital and PVR recording "Between The Lions" to play on my DVD player and laptop.)

Your method sounds like you want concurrent processing with each episode to create an output file real time. Too much work for me.

My method is two steps. Step 1: basically bulk record everything into one (or multiple) large files. Step 2: MPEG edit them down to individual files. It's so much easier to move through the digitally encoded file to get the exact beginning / end of each episode, instead of watching it on the VCR to do this real time.

Short summary of my recommendation: record an entire VHS tape to one/multiple files; use an MPEG editor to crop out beginning/ending/commercial 'crud'; output to desired media format (hard disk, DVD, etc.).

[EncoderHouse]

Andys, you can do! no problem, i do it all the time. just rename your file after you record it and then inport it into your....

[AndyS]

Thank you everyone. I'll give it another try.

Andy.

[njdreamer]

You can capture (record) from your VCR into the PVR-250's composite input using the WinTV2000 program that came with the PVR-250. Works quite well.

You can then take the MPEG file that was created and edit it with either the nanocosmos editor or the Ulead software. Both of these programs also came with the PVR-250. The nanocosmos program is very simple to use. Just select start/stop points of what you want to keep. Ulead is more involved but allows you to make "movies" of your MPEG files. You can put in chapters, titles, backround music, etc. Both programs work well and came with your PVR-250.

[AndyS]

Cool. That's what I was looking for (I think). I'll check it out. Thanks njdreamer.

Andy.

[stanger89]

I'll second the usage of WinTV 2000 for capturing tapes, it's probably the easiest way to just hit record and have the file saved. Plus it's free. As for editing, I've had numerous problems with cutting files with nanocosmos, from the program crashing to bad A/V sync. If you are going to do a lot of editing (cutting) you should really look at Womble MPEG VCR or VideoReDo. They can both do frame-accurate cuts without re-encoding the whole file.