I want to send my Grandma a video compilation of clips of my daughter. Grandma doesn’t have a DVD player, so the only thing I can think of is to make the video on my PC, burn it onto a DVD and then record it onto a VHS.
Is there any way this will NOT look like ass? The videos are all .avi format - they’re from my little digital camera. I started it using Windows Movie Maker, but stopped halfway through, wondering if the resolution would hold up.
Ideas? Solutions? Thanks!
If she doesn’t have a DVD player, she’ll probably think that your VHS tape looks great.
Do it.
Yeah, definitely do it, I’m sure she’ll love it no matter what- but, though it will lose some quality doing it in the method you describe, it won’t look as bad as you think, though that depends what the resolution is of the AVIs. If they are 160x120 for instance, then there will be noticable pixels as each pixel is blown up 4 times its size to fit a tv screen. However the process of going to dvd and then to vhs will not degrade the image enough to make it look considerably worse, itll just be dulled down a little. When you convert for DVD, use the best quality settings offered, and the shortest final disc time offered.
If the videos are less than TV resolution, they might look better if you drop them into a frame on the screen, then add subtitles - maybe just describing what’s going on (if it’s not entirely clear) - or detailing the location and date of the video, or describing what the subject might be thinking in some cutesy way (difficult to do well, but can sometimes work).
Also, add some subtle/quiet background music.
The frame thing isn’t a bad idea in any case, as many TV formats crop the edges of the input image anyway.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just buy her a DVD player? They only cost about $30.
Be sure to put in lots of unnecessarily elaborate flashy transitions, and titles using the most garishly coloured graphic fonts you can find.
Or, then again, perhaps not.
Check to see if your video card has a composite out. You might be able to go direct to VHS. It will cut down on image quality loss.
Thanks, I was thinking of doing this but my skills are pretty much non-existent. Does Windows Movie Maker have this “frames” option?
Good idea - I’ll get my husband to check. Thanks!