Thursday, April 12, 2007

Converting VHS to DVD to YouTube


Throughout the mid-1990's, I toured across America with sketch and improvisational comedy group Selected Hilarity. We became friends largely through Student Television (STV) at the University of North Carolina before forming the group and hitting the road. Between our collective years at STV, our 500+ shows in 35 states, and various behind-the-scenes projects, we amassed a large collections of videotape - specifically VHS tapes. I've started the process of converting the tapes to DVD then on to YouTube. It goes something like this:
  • Convert VHS to DVD (real time)
  • Import DVD into Adobe Premiere (real time)
  • Convert Premiere clip into MPEG (slow)
  • Convert MPEG to FLV (surprisingly fast using Riva Flash encoder)
  • Post FLV to YouTube (slow)
Is there a better way? If so, please post your ideas in the comments section. In the meantime, enjoy the fruits of my labor here: http://www.youtube.com/user/selectedhilarity

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hire Grindstone Studios- they will do a great job!

Wackychimp said...

Larry, you can capture VHS directly to MPEG2 to eliminate Steps 2 & 3. This is how I do Kate's videos for SophieK.com (I know, it needs a redesign.)