MPEG Conundrum

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Gene DeMambro
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MPEG Conundrum

Post by Gene DeMambro »

Okay,

So after a lot of false starts, unemployment, more pressing things, malaise and general laziness, I finally have decided to get serious and get on track with my video project. The big question I have is this:

What difference is there between software and hardware MPEG-2 decoders? Is there a difference in performance? I'm trying to decide between the Hauppauge PVR-250 and the Hauppauge PVR-350. Suggestions?

Gene
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Scott Danziger
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Post by Scott Danziger »

Gene,

Check out this website... http://www.dvdrhelp.com/

It will answer all your video questions. Especially about encoding. There is a MASSIVE amount of information. Info on cards, burners, software, reviews, how to's, tutorials, etc....

I take it you will be working with DVD. That would really be the only reason for using mpeg2.

As far as the Hauppauge cards, see the above site for reviews. They have user reviews on a wide variety of video related products.

Before purchasing equipment and software, I recommend you start your process by knowing what it is you want to do and work from there. There are a lot of less expensive wares that may be more than enough for what you want to do and some wares with lots of nice bells and whistles you'll never need or use.

Good Luck

Scott
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Deep Sea
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Post by Deep Sea »

What difference is there between software and hardware MPEG-2 decoders?
The price is a biggie!

Talk to the techs at PCs For Everyone by phone. They'll set you straight.

A Software decoder works well.
Always with an even keel.
-- Allen
Gene DeMambro
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Joined: Sat Dec 12, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Weymouth, MA US of A

Post by Gene DeMambro »

Hi Allen,

Gracias....

What I primarily want to do is convert all of my assorted video into digital, burn it onto discs for storage, distribution (not sale, just give copies to friends and stuff) and web posting from time to time. The idea of going TiVo-like and time-shift recording really intrigues me, as I work nights and sleep during the day. That's what I really want to do.

How's the boy doing?

Gene
Gene DeMambro
Posts: 1684
Joined: Sat Dec 12, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Weymouth, MA US of A

Post by Gene DeMambro »

...and Scott as well. Many thanks. I was hoping you'd answer, as you're the video maven!

No DVD's just yet. The burners are still too expensive.

I have a Hauppauge Win TV-Radio in my old system now, but it only saves files in AVI format, and they are huge when saved. Is there an easy method to convert them to MPEG?

I'll check out the sites, in any event.

Gene
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Scott Danziger
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Post by Scott Danziger »

Ok you are looking to make mpegs for cd's. The best way is the FREE way. You should be able to find a free encoder on dvdrhelp.com. You should use mpeg1 not mpeg2. 2 is for DVD's. You could use it but you'll be wasting your time and disk space.

There is an encoder you can get for free called TMPGEnc. This will convert your avi's to mpeg (or .mpg)

This page: http://www.dvdrhelp.com/tmpgencdvd.htm will give you not only the information you are looking for but also the link to get the program. I still use it and I have pro software for encoding. It's that good. Last I dl'd it it had a 30 day free trial for mpeg2 but mpeg1 is free all the time. If you want to make VCD's to burn to a CD you still would use mpeg1. VCD's will play in a DVD player if the player has that capability. Your source video has to be 352x240. But if you just want to make mpegs to put on CD's for people to play on their computers, any size is ok.

Also, if you really want to save diskspace, convert to WMV files. They compress much smaller than even mpeg and you can adjust the bps (bits per second) for the quality you desire. Microsoft has FREE enocders. ( http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... efault.asp ) use the drop down window to find the encoder. You may also want to get the latest player as well. It works really well. If you notice in the video section, all the broadband files were converted to .WMV format from .MPG format. The quality is close but I saved approx. 60-70% in disk space. Maybe more.

Scott
Last edited by Scott Danziger on Wed Jan 28, 2004 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Deep Sea
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Post by Deep Sea »

How's the boy doing?
He's being deployed to the med.
Always with an even keel.
-- Allen
Gene DeMambro
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Joined: Sat Dec 12, 1998 6:01 am
Location: Weymouth, MA US of A

Post by Gene DeMambro »

Scott,

You are just too cool 8)

Allan,

I don't have anything to say, except good luck.

Gene
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Deep Sea
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Post by Deep Sea »

He's pretty excited, especially about his recent promotion. He left home for base yesterday where his bags, all two of them -- one seabag and one gym-bag, are already packed for his flight.
Always with an even keel.
-- Allen
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