Video Convertion

Matt, you may get a better response to questions if you post them in the Technical Q&A section.

The discussion forum is meant for topics where multiple viewpoints and responses are needed.

As to your question:

For VHS, you need to convert the video feed to a digital data stream as a first step.

This is a real-time process.

MPEG is a compressed format. That is, it reduces the amount of data required while still providing an acceptable image.

Converting your data stream into a compressed format is a required extra step in the process.

You may be able to find a hardware method that simultaneously converts the video to a data stream and provides a MPEG or other compressed format as the output.
For a PC to perform both functions at the same time, it would need dual CPUS and a true multi-tasking OS.

Now, the DVD video format uses a variant of the MPEG compression.
The problem with DVD video is that most commercial DVDs use some form of copy protection to prevent you from directly taking the data and editing it.

Bottom line, while there may be other methods, it will still be a 2 step process to capture your videos and convert them to MPEG files.

Chas

just pay 20 bucks for a prog called Elecard. you can rename that dat file to an mpeg file extention and the elecard player will play it. Then you don't have to use that VCD Gear.

If the quality is still not up to snuff, then you may want to consider OGM instead of DAT.