Re: Digitizing video: VHS vs. Beta

Dave--

You raise two issues: (1) Does higher quality source material improve 
the final product: e.g., a QT movie; and (2) What about VHS vs beta?


I haven't personally done any comparisons with different source 
materials that are digitized. In the analog world, it certainly makes 
a big difference when you begin with a high quality source. You 
mention a 180x240 picture size. The other factor that will have a big 
effect on the quality of the clip is the frame rate. Broadcast 
quality is 30 frames per second. QT often is reduced to half that.

Another consideration is how much editing you do, and whether you 
edit in the analog format or after it's been digitized.

VHS is probably the lowest quality among the commonly used formats. 
Beta is not the alternative to consider--if by beta you meant the 
format that lost out in the vcr wars. Its not that much better than 
VHS, and I think it's been in a state of near extinction for a long 
time. (There actually are several beta formats, and I'm not sure 
which one you meant. Sony's prosumer beta format delivers about 580 
lines, I think, in comparison to the 240 lines of VHS. Then there's 
the professional beta format.)

If you're serious about digital video, take a look at the prosumer 
digital camcorders which record video in a digital format. Sony came 
out with a ditital camcorder (the VX-1000, if I recall the model 
number) a few years ago, for about $4K; and a smaller version (1 CCD 
rather than 3) for half that price. Since then, several other models 
have been released by several companies. These camcorders can hook up 
to a computer via a firewire port (aka 1318), which is now becoming 
available on the new Macs. This format should provide high quality, 
and there's no generation loss, since it's already digital. However, 
you do need a fast computer, fast drives, and lots and lots of 
storage capacity.

If you're not ready to take the plunge into an all-digital world, I'd 
look at the hi8 format. The other alternative would be S-VHS. Both 
are about 400 lines, and both use "S" connectors for the video.


--Jeff




>I find myself digitizing more and more video to place on Web sites, and I'm
>wondering how much difference the videotape format makes. I know that Beta
>is much higher quality than VHS (and I know that you should always start
>with the highest quality original), but I'm wondering whether you can really
>tell the difference by the time the video is reduced down to a 180 x 240
>QuickTime or RealVideo played over the Web. Is it really necessary to go buy
>a Betamax player for this purpose?
>
>Thanks!
>Dave
>
>______________________________________________________________
>David T. Schaller                             david(at)eduweb.com
>Partner & Web Developer                  http://www.eduweb.com
>Educational Web Adventures                        651-641-7566

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