7 replies to this topic

[Old George]

When transferring VHS tape to DVD the picture quality is poor and video is very dark and not sharp.  Using Toast Basic 9 , Ver. 9.0.7

George

[tsantee]

Are you using version 1.0.3?  The original version was dark but it was brightened in the latest version.

[Old George]

Yes, I am using Roxio 1.0.3.  Do you know if there is a later version of Toast which works with Roxio Easy VHS  to DVD for Mac?  

Thanks for your help.

George from Michigan

[tsantee]

Old George, on 16 September 2011 - 02:13 PM, said:

Yes, I am using Roxio 1.0.3.  Do you know if there is a later version of Toast which works with Roxio Easy VHS  to DVD for Mac?  

Thanks for your help.

George from Michigan

Any version of Toast starting with Toast 7 should work with the Easy VHS to DVD for Mac. But that won't affect quality of the final DVD. Is your copy of Toast "Encoding" or "Multiplexing" the video when you have it create the DVD? If it is encoding then go to the custom encoder settings window and select "Never" re-encode. That way it will remain exactly the same quality as is captured by the device. The custom encoder settings window is accessed by clicking the More... button and then the Encoder tab and then the Custom button.

Judge the quality by viewing on a standard-definition TV and not on a computer screen unless you are viewing at actual size. If you only have a HDTV make sure you are viewing at actual size and not zooming to fill the screen. In other words, compare it as closely as possible to viewing the original source video.

I also find the picture to be a bit dark. I think Roxio's engineers did that to boost the apparent contrast in the belief it will look better. It was way too dark in the original version. If you send it to iMovie then you might be able to apply some adjustments to the brightness. I've done this with QuickTime 7 Pro but didn't think it was worth the effort.

Edited by tsantee, 16 September 2011 - 02:53 PM.

[lodhig]

u have to install the new version of toast
Using Toast Basic 9 , Ver. 9.0.7

[clandise]

The quality is terrible when exported to Quicktime too. (Forget about how annoying it is to not have a preferences section to allow the operation to all be done automatically, after each import, you need to select what to do with the file)
The original MPEG file is pretty good quality (and a much bigger file size) , it only loses quality (lots of loss=unacceptable) when going the the converter. Alas, the original file has no audio though.
Is there any way to play the original file with the audio?
i bought the new Toast in hopes that it's "convert" feature would work, but I can't select the file with the audio.

I haven't had time to try importing into iMovie yet, is that higher quality?

Sorry, but the answer that this is  only good for DVD creation just doesn't satisfy. It advertises output to Quicktime without the warning that it looks terrible.

If this doesn't have a fix, i would NOT recommend this product.

Help!

[tsantee]

clandise, on 25 November 2011 - 08:43 AM, said:

The quality is terrible when exported to Quicktime too. (Forget about how annoying it is to not have a preferences section to allow the operation to all be done automatically, after each import, you need to select what to do with the file)
The original MPEG file is pretty good quality (and a much bigger file size) , it only loses quality (lots of loss=unacceptable) when going the the converter. Alas, the original file has no audio though.
Is there any way to play the original file with the audio?
i bought the new Toast in hopes that it's "convert" feature would work, but I can't select the file with the audio.

I haven't had time to try importing into iMovie yet, is that higher quality?

Sorry, but the answer that this is  only good for DVD creation just doesn't satisfy. It advertises output to Quicktime without the warning that it looks terrible.

If this doesn't have a fix, i would NOT recommend this product.

Help!

Remember that you need to view the video at actual size on the computer to judge its quality. If you are watching at larger than actual size it looks much worse. Sending to iMovie is the same as saving as a QuickTime video as far as quality goes. I'm not sure why you aren't getting audio. Can you hear audio when you are setting up for the recording? If you drag the video into the Toast window (with DVD video selected as the format) does Toast describe the specs for both video and audio or just for video?

[maicoman]

tsantee, on 26 November 2011 - 09:58 AM, said:

Remember that you need to view the video at actual size on the computer to judge its quality. If you are watching at larger than actual size it looks much worse. Sending to iMovie is the same as saving as a QuickTime video as far as quality goes. I'm not sure why you aren't getting audio. Can you hear audio when you are setting up for the recording? If you drag the video into the Toast window (with DVD video selected as the format) does Toast describe the specs for both video and audio or just for video?

I had a similar problem, reboot the Mac in 32 bit. (Restart holding the 32 keys down as it starts) This fixed my sound problem.

maicoman

Macbook Pro, with 8 gig's of Ram running lion. (this does not work in Lion, if only works in Snow Leopard and Leopard).