VCR to PC

[driftwood]

Looking at digitizing some VHS tapes.
Been watching some youtube videos on this.
Some say you need an RCA to HDMI converter also a video capture card.
Then I saw this.

Transfer Convert Copy VCR VHS Video Tapes to PC DVD Complete Kit 3656001 | Trade Me Marketplace

Will that do the job ?

[king1]

it should do, i have seen and setup a similar product that seemed to work ok, can't recall the name of that one. The only hesitation would be that one is sooooo cheap....

but PB have a hauppauge if your into brand names
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/TVNHGR1...ure-for-PC

[nzoomed]

My friend uses one of those cheap USB units and it seems to do the job OK, VHS is pretty poor quality to begin with so really alot of it comes down to how good your machine and tapes are plus post processing to reduce noise.

[driftwood]

Thanks guys, I'll just get the cheapie.
lm not sure how good my VHS player is anyway.
It was inherited from mother-in-law.

[Wainuitech]

99% of those cheap versions of Devices come originally from Temu or Aliexpress.  

Same Device Aliexpress


Some of their stuff works OK others no so much.

[Dugimodo]

I used to have a TV tuner card with video inputs and capture capabilities and used that before ditching my VHS tapes however many years ago that was.
Worked pretty well, but then I never watched those files again and couldn't tell you where they are now.

I can't see a need for HDMI specifically, either a capture card with the right inputs or a USB device like you linked should be just fine. I'm guess the HDMI converter was just to be able to connect to a capture card with an HDMI input, but at that point the converter is doing all the work and the capture card is doing almost nothing.

Don't expect great things, it's really surprising to see just how bad even a good VHS image looks today when compared to anything else, even DVD looks a bit low quality after getting used to HD and Blu-ray.

Edit: Commercial VHS tapes can have copy protection that causes many capture cards to blank the picture or it mucks up the colour and audio, just in case that's a factor. There used to be video "enhancers" available that stripped it out.
Macrovision is what I think it was called.

[driftwood]

Thanks Dugi.
I received that gadget and gave it a whirl.
Came with its own software program.
It played the video ok in a small widow.
I tried copying some, but the playback wasn't the best.
Going to do some more experimenting with a DVD player and see how that goes.

[neilmcc]

In the past I've fed my vcr into my Sony video camera which digitizes it and from the Sony into my pc via firewire input..i think it's called that! Been a while since I've done any copying of tapes but they turn out better looking on DVD than the vcr feed.

[driftwood]

That sounds like a plan.
What sort of connection did you use to the camera ?

I had a play round today with a DVD recorder.
I had used that in the past to copy some VHS to it's hard drive and then write to DVD.
I had visions of accessing the hard drive from a PC and getting the files from it.
I was able to do that with a program called Isobuster, but haven't managed to open any files as yet.
It's all getting a bit too hard and frustrating.
At the end of the day, it's probably not worth the effort.
Nearly time for a scotch anyway.

[neilmcc]

I used the cable that came with the camera. I also bought another Digital 8 Sony second hand as a backup !! The cable they come with are RCA plugs -- 2 stereo plugs red and white and a yellow plug that carries the video---to the multi pin round plug that goes into the camera.
I set the camera to record without a tape in it, plugged into the firewire cable to the PC. I use a simple program called WinDV to capture the video on my PC, but I guess any video program would do.
Set the program up to record,set the camera,start the vcr playing. Only trouble with WinDv there's no sound from PC while it's recording. I stop recording and play back a short segment to check there is sound on the captured file.
I haven't bothered getting into splitting the recorded file into chapters, just let the whole thing play through on a DVD. There's always fast forward!
Done quite a few old tapes for friends and my own of family, weddings, funerals and one for a friend of her childhood 60 years ago I think in Holland.
Only problem is I have to keep an eye on recording time as it's all done in real time, so can be a lengthy thing to do. Although I can use another program to cut off the over run. About 1 hour 20 minutes fits on a DVD. Unless you have another program that can reduce it to fit on a DVD. As I have.
Then once it's on DVD how long do they last!! Have a box full of DVD's that I've copied from VHS.Backups of ones I've done for friends and family. One I did for a friend of his wedding,next thing I know he tells me they've separated! Sometimes wonder why I bother!!

[driftwood]

Were you able to get higher than 720x480 resolution?

[Agent_24]

That specific one shown on TradeMe is questionable - not because it wouldn't work - they do - I have one - but because you have no idea which exact one you're getting, if you buy a generic listed one like that.

Some only support mono audio in a rather low sample rate, while others have extra chips inside and support stereo and sound much better. You can't tell from the outside, even if it has two audio jacks. You only know once you plug it in and try to use it, if it's a basic or a decent model.

[driftwood]

You get what you pay for, I guess.
At that price I thought it was worth a punt.
I am trying out a software program called OBS Studio.
It works a lot better than the honestechTVR2.5 program that came with the device.
With the OBS, I converted a couple of commercially made VHS tapes.
The reproduction is quite usable.

[neilmcc]

Were you able to get higher than 720x480 resolution?

I don't think so, but it doesn't bother me as the DVD always looked better than the vcr feed.

[driftwood]

I just made a copy of a family video.
It was 4 hrs. 21 min and came out at 29.6 GB.
It is in MKV format which OBS Studio defaulted to.
I tried to select MP4, but it gave a warning that there could be errors in the decoding.
If the files are going to be that big, I may have to look at another format.
I've got another 3 tapes to do, although they my may be shorter.

[king1]

I just made a copy of a family video.
It was 4 hrs. 21 min and came out at 29.6 GB.
It is in MKV format which OBS Studio defaulted to.
I tried to select MP4, but it gave a warning that there could be errors in the decoding.
If the files are going to be that big, I may have to look at another format.
I've got another 3 tapes to do, although they my may be shorter.

have a look in the settings for the video bitrate, bit of info here
https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/is-...es.173303/

[driftwood]

What a difference.
I changed to the recommended settings and the files are way smaller.
Just did a 2h 32 min, MKV @ 2.83GB

[king1]

that's a bit more normal - it is always a trade off between video size and quality, and some codecs are better than others. But a VCR recording is never going to require or achieve super duper high quality, not without some serious post processing...

[driftwood]

Just about got this under control.
I've copied 4 tapes now.
One of them ran on a bit when it finished.
Been trying to cut about 20 min off the end of it.
Using Clipchamp.
I managed to split the file in 2 and even delete the extra bit I cant find a way to save it.
So it joins up again when I close the program.

[driftwood]

Got it sorted thanks.