[Sheflug] Video Tape to Digital

[Richard Ibbotson <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello there

Don't know if anyone can help with this but thought I might try 
anyway.  I've been having a go at transferring VHS-C video tape from 
my camcorder to my PC.  VHS recorder through a WinTV card into the 
PC.   That's tape to digital format such as .avi or similar.  The end 
result isn't too bad but it's grainy and low resolution.  I'm using 
the script from....

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/BTTV/recording.html

Saved as video.sh.  You can see the script below.  So, the question is 
that I'm a bit confused about which part to change so that I can have 
higher resolution video transfer (better pictures) .  Anyone suggest 
which part of the script to change to make some improvements ?  I 
might be able to filter a finished video through Kino but higher 
quality video before editing makes more sense...



 #!/bin/bash 
 # ================= record-tv.sh  ============================
 # = copyright 2003 by Greg Watson  gwatsonATlinuxlogin.com   =
 # = GPL2 License, minor modifications by Howard Shane        =
 # = hshaneATaustin.rr.com , under same license               =
 # = usage record-tv.sh prefix-filename record-time channel   =
 # = Example:  ./record-tv.sh enterprise 61:00 20             =
 # ============================================================
 # Version 0.9
 # Last Mod: Wed Feb 20 11:27 CST 2005

 # Output directory
 OUTPUT=$HOME/vcr
 # Streamer location
 STREAMER=/usr/bin/streamer
 # Alsa Mixer
 AMIXER=/usr/bin/amixer
 # v4lctl path
 V4LCTL=/usr/bin/v4lctl
 # Capture Volume to ensure sound is recorded (80%)
 CAPTURE_VOLUME=100

 # Tvtime settings file for color/brightness/contrast values
 TVTIME=$HOME/.tvtime/tvtime.xml

 # End of Config
 ###############

 # check if I'm running TV, if so just exit
 if [ `ps -C tvtime | grep -c tvtime` -gt 0 ]; then
         echo "TVtime is running, aborting recording."
         exit
 fi
 
 # If the filename prefix wasn't given, set it to 'recording'
 if [ -z $1 ]; then
         PREFIX="recording"
 else
         PREFIX=$1
 fi
 
 # if time is blank, record for 30 minutes
 if [ -z $2 ]; then
         TIME="30:00"
 else
         TIME=$2
 fi
 
 if [ ! -z $3 ]; then
         $V4LCTL setchannel $3
 fi
 
 # Check for vcr dir
 if [ ! -x $OUTPUT ]; then
         mkdir $OUTPUT
 fi
         
 DATE=`date +%m-%d-%Y-%H:%M`
 
 # Set the AC97 volume to 0 (so we don't hear the sounds)
 # Get mixer values first
 PLAY_VOL=`$AMIXER -c 0 cget name='Master Playback Volume' | grep : | 
sed 's/^.*=\([^,]*\).*$/\1/'`
 CAP_VOL=`$AMIXER -c 0 cget name='PCM Playback Volume' | grep : | 
sed 's/^.*=\([^,]*\).*$/\1/'`
 #  
 $AMIXER -c 0 -q cset name='CD Playback Volume' 100
 $AMIXER -c 0 -q cset name='Capture Volume' 1
 
 # if tvtime.xml is set, then grab settings out of it
 if [ -f $TVTIME ]; then
         CONTRAST=`cat ${TVTIME} | grep DefaultContrast | 
sed 's/^.*value="\([^"]*\).*$/\1/'`
         BRIGHTNESS=`cat ${TVTIME} | grep DefaultBrightness | 
sed 's/^.*value="\([^"]*\).*$/\1/'`
         COLOR=`cat ${TVTIME} | grep DefaultColour | 
sed 's/^.*value="\([^"]*\).*$/\1/'`
         HUE=`cat ${TVTIME} | grep DefaultHue | 
sed 's/^.*value="\([^"]*\).*$/\1/'`
 
         $V4LCTL bright ${BRIGHTNESS}% color ${COLOR}% contrast 
${CONTRAST}% hue ${HUE}%
 fi
 
 $STREAMER -p 4 -q -t ${TIME} -r 24 -q -o 
${OUTPUT}/${PREFIX}-${DATE}-${TIME}.avi -j 90 -f mjpeg -F mono16
 
 # Sometimes streamer doesn't always re-mute audio, mute it again just 
to be sure
 $V4LCTL volume mute on
 
 # Restore volumes
 $AMIXER -q cset name='Master Playback Volume' $PLAY_VOL
 $AMIXER -q cset name='PCM Playback Volume' $CAP_VOL
 #
 # EOF


-- 
Richard

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