Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 19:38:29 +0200 From: Roland Smith <rsmith@xs4all.nl> To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: VHS to file codec recommendation Message-ID: <20100529173829.GA81061@slackbox.erewhon.net> In-Reply-To: <20100529104753.ba23e2c2.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <20100529104753.ba23e2c2.freebsd@edvax.de>
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On Sat, May 29, 2010 at 10:47:53AM +0200, Polytropon wrote:
> Dear list,
>=20
> I've built a system to digitize content from VHS video tapes.
> The setting consists of a 2 GHz P4 with a BrookTree based
> video grabber card (supported by bktr driver) and a C-Media
> sound card (supported by cmi driver). The video card does
> only have mono sound input, so I'm using the sound card's
> line in for stereo audio. A proper cable from a SCART to
> a Cinch connector and a 3,5mm TRS connector has been created.
>=20
> I can already play on screen and through speakers with this
> command:
>=20
> mplayer tv://0 on:driver=3Dbsdbt848:device=3D/dev/bktr0:norm=3DPAL:noaudi=
o:input=3D2
Use the '-dumpstream' and '-dumpfile foo.dump' options to save output to di=
sk.
=20
> I am intending to use mencoder for the whole process.
>=20
> Which codec would you recommend for encoding?
If you want to stick to mencoder, use x264 with mp3 audio. I've got the fol=
lowing in
~/.mplayer/mencoder.conf:=20
[hqmovie]
profile-desc=3D"High-quality movie encoding."
ovc=3Dx264=3D1
oac=3Dmp3lame=3D1
x264encopts=3Dsubq=3D6:partitions=3Dall:8x8dct:me=3Dumh:frameref=3D5:bf=
rames=3D3
x264encopts=3Dweight_b:qp=3D18:threads=3Dauto
idx=3D1
Ecoding the movie is done with:
mencoder -profile hqmovie -o foo.avi foo.dump
=20
> I'm searching for a solution that doesn't introduce too
> much loss of quality (as the tape's quality usually is
> considered "bad enough"), and the resulting files should
> not be too big.=20
Bad tape quality will mean bigger files, I'm afraid. You could try some of =
the
filtering options of mencoder. See the VIDEO FILTERS section of
mencoder(1). Which filter to use is a bit of trial-and-error depending on t=
he
quality of the material you've got. Use mplayer to cut a short but relevant
section from your material, and experiment on it with different filter
parameters. Start with e.g. '-vf pp=3Dde/-al' or '-vf hqdn3d'. Using the
'decimate' filter might reduce filesize as well. Using the 'unsharp' filter
might help as well.
> If possible (but not needed), they should
> be playable by hardware DVD players (given the situation
> when a digitized video is put into a ISO-9660 image on a
> DVD).
In that case you should stick to MPEG2 video with AC3 audio. This will not =
be
the smallest file, though. This combo should work on all players, I
believe. Other than this, the capabilities of hardware players varies great=
ly.
Using Ogg Theora video with Ogg Vorbis audio in a Matro=A8ka container usua=
lly
gives the smallest files for me, when encoding good quality material;
ffmpeg2theora -v 8 -a 2 foo.dump
mkvmerge -o foo.mkv foo.ogv
rm foo.ogv
Hope this helps. :-/
Roland
--=20
R.F.Smith http://www.xs4all.nl/~rsmith/
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