Topic: ConvertX PX-M402U VS PX-AV100U Would I gain or lose that much?

[MaraudingDemon]

Ok I have alot of old movies on VHS that I would like to transfer to DVD.  The price differents between these 2 items is almost $70 but when you read spec they both sound much alike.  I know this item was review but was hoping you could tell me if I should go with cheaper one or would it be worth just getting better version.  Any help would be very helpfull.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-144-502&depa=1  ConvertX PX-M402U

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-144-503&depa=1  PX-AV100U

[Zeus]

The ConvertX PX-M402U uses a built-in hardware video encoder, and puts much less stress on your system.  The PX-AV100U is a software encoder.  The more quality you want, the more it will choke down your system.

The system specs of these two units are much different - The AV100U requires:
Pentium® 4 1.8 GHz minimum (SIF resolution) - Pentium® 4 2.4 GHz recommended (D-1 resolution)
HDD: 5400 RPM minimum (SIF resolution) -  7200 RPM recommended (D-1 resolution)

While the PX-M402U requires:
CPU: Pentium® III 800 MHz (minimum) - Pentium® IV 1.6 GHz or above(suggested)
and 10GB of HD space - no minimum spindle speed.  The data will be compressed by the time it hits the drive and doesn't need as fast a speed.

I've never used or personally seen the AV100U so that's really all I can say.

[MaraudingDemon]

Well you did help me didnt relize the smaller one was software encoding I want hardware so I will go with better one.  It has 30 mail in right now anyways, thanks for the info.  I will end up order later this week.

[Zeus]

Make sure you snag the latest drivers, and software updates for WinDVD Creator 2 when you get it.  The updates have fixed a lot of bugs.

[Brikk]

Zeus -

I too recently purchased a Plextor PX-M204U ConvertX.  Easy to hook up and start the conversion from VHS to digital.  The question I have relates to quality.  I had read somewhere else that since VHS is equivalent to MPEG-1 at 240 x 352 you shouldn't waste your hard drive space by saving to to a higher quality setting such as MPEG2, 4, etc. 

However, as I have tested this devise, the higher the conversion import quality setting, the better the image quality is at playback.  Am I missing something here?  I have also observed that MPEG-2 HQ still doesn't seem as crisp as my when I play back my VHS tape on my VCR.

Finally, is the beauty of MPEG-4 the fact that you can obtain MPEG-2 quality at greater compression and thus smaller file size? 

As you can tell I am very much a rookie but eager to learn the ropes.  Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks,
Pete

[Zeus]

Hey'a Pete welcome to the forum,

The higher quality setting you choose the better the playback will be regardless of the resolution of the input video resolution.  I'm not familiar with VHS resolution, but I do know that if you try to capture it at 640x480 or higher, you get better results with the final product.  Keep in mind that the highest quality setting - 720x480 is not a standard VHS or 4:3 aspect ratio.  If you try to capture VHS at 720x480 things will not look right as this is not a native aspect ratio when it comes to VHS.

Any time you convert video, you lose some quality.  This is common with any capture device.  The higher quality capture device, the less quality you will lose.  It's normal that your captured video quality won't look quite as good as the original.  You will always lose some quality.

MPEG-4 allows you to capture close to MPEG-2 quality with a smaller file size.  If you're planning on keeping the files on CD in DivX format, MPEG-4 is the way to go.  If you have a DVDRW and plan to make DVD movies, it's best to stick with the DVD Video format of MPEG-2.  If you are looking for space, then go with MPEG-4.

I hope this is helpful.  If you have any more questions, please ask!

[Brikk]

Thanks Ben -

I think everything is probably operating okay.  I will use MPEG-2 HQ for my conversions.  I see that Plextor has added as a download something called GoCap that appears to offer more options for fine tuning your video capture.  I will have to check it out.

Thanks for your help!

Pete