OK here's the thing. I am trying to capture the "missing" (not aired in the USA due to censors) episodes of Sailor Moon season 1 from my VHS fansubs to a digital format (Ultimately divx, probably. ) In case you're wondering, my subs are A+ awesome quality, so the source is just great. Well, except for one little problem, and it is the very root of the overall problem. I call it problem #1.
On volume 2, which contains 2 of the "missing" episodes, the video sometimes becomes every so slightly darker than normal. While in the ATI TV program, it won't allow me to hit the record button during these dark spots, and claims that the video is copy protected. Once the dark spot goes away and the video returns to normal brightness, it'll let me hit record again, saying that the source is NOT copy protected. However, if while recording, the video comes to one of these dark spots (And trust me, you can BARELY tell that its gotten any darker.. it's odd.. you really have to pay attention to see it...), the program will keep recording. However, when I view the file later to see how it turned out, during these dark spots in the video, it will loop a half-second section of video over and over and over again, but the audio continues normally. Once the dark spot has passed, the video resumes recording instead of looping that spot. Anyway, that's problem #1.
Problem #2. I found that VirtualDub (I just love this program more and more every time I use it!) has a capture feature, so I decided to try it out. Sure enough, it works just fine. I play around with it a bit, decide that the ATI VCR2 format is pretty decent for capturing. It looks good, and that's all that really matters right now since I'm just gonna be recompressing the video to DivX later on anyway. So I capture with Virtual Dub. When I view the file, the first thing I notice is that it still does the looping over "copy protected" spots on the tape. (How the hell can a FANSUB be copy protected? Would someone mind telling me this? It's a copy itself!) So, that problem has not been solved. Appearently the "copy protection" detection is in my hardware itself or the capture device driver. Next, I notice that virtual dub's audio capture seems to suck hardcore balls. It skips all over the damn place. Things are not looking up for the possibility of capturing this with Virtual Dub.
Problem #3:
OK in the ATI TV program, I can capture directly to mpeg-1, which is damn convenient since it gets way better compression than the ATI VCR, PLUS it looks good. Not to say that ATI VCR2 isn't nice. I hav ethe HD space, so that's no problem. I am mostly wondering what kind of compression settings or formats you guys would reccomend for capturing from fansubs.
If you can help, let me know. And if you want the videos once they're captured, let me know as well.
BTW, I have another tape of the "missing" episodes that was subtitled by a group called "Michi no Anime"... but the tape is kinda bad quality, plus at the top of the video there is a frickin' mac toolbar. It sems they ran the subs thru a mac and didn't bother to hide their toolbar at the top of the screen. I can record these episodes from that tape... but I don't want that.. nobody does.. *shudders at the thought*.
Also BTW, the season 1 fansubs I have are Chikashitsu. If you know about SM subs, you know that name. They're some of the best fansubbed episodes of any anime... Chikashitsu was just that damn good. 8)
