Convert VHS to DVD

Introduction

I've been trying to convert old VHS tapes of family events to DVD, so they would remain intact in the future. It is maddeningly difficult to get everything working under Linux, and there doesn't seem to be a "point-and-click" solution which works completely. This page is a guide to how I solved that problem in a manner satisfactory to me.

Requirements

You don't need a lot, but you will need:

1. A VCR player with audio/video output. Most VCRs will work.
2. An analog-to-digital converter. Mine is "Firewire" connected, which is recommended for capturing video streams.
3. A DVD writer, and DVD-R media
4. 'ffmpeg', with patches
5. 'dvdauthor'
6. 'mkisofs'
7. 'growisofs'

Example script

I call this script 'dvd'. Invoke it with the name of the ISO image you will want to create (without the .iso extension). Start playing your VCR, put a blank DVD-R in your writer, and after a bit you'll have a playable DVD of your VHS tape:

#!/bin/bash

if [ -z "$1" ]
then
	echo "Syntax: dvd DV-file-name"
	exit
fi

echo "Generating mpeg from raw DV"
ffmpeg -f dv1394 -i /dev/dv1394-0 -target dvd -t 7200 -qscale 10 $1.mpg 

echo "Turning the mpeg into a video DVD file system"
dvdauthor -o $1.fs -t $1.mpg
dvdauthor -o $1.fs -T

echo "Making ISO"
mkisofs -dvd-video -o $1.iso $1.fs

echo "Burning DVD"
growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/hdc=$1.iso
echo "Done!