VHS to DVD

[ihatemycomputer]

I have a ati all in wonder card, that i have been using to get my 8mm to dvd, i would now like to take some of my vhs movie collection and move it to dvd. my problem is the ati software will not render it because of copyright on the vhs. Is there any software that will by pass the copyright so i can render it, to my harddrive.

thanks

[BountyHunter]

Simple answer: No.
More complex answer, ATI cards will detect the Macrovision on the tape and refuse to capture correctly. There is a patch that bypasses this on older AIW cards with older MMC installed. Unfortunately, even though this will allow AIW to capture, you'll still end up with contrast problems and sync problems. The only solution would be to remove the Macrovision signal before it reaches the card. You can do this with a device called a video stabilizer. They're getting harder to find because manufacturers are being pressured by the entertainment industry due to their obvious illegal uses, but for those of us who simply want to back up our VHS collection, you can still find them online. Just do a google search.

ETA: Well, I just did a google search on video stabilizer, seems the pages that come up all have to do with removing jitters caused by shaking cameras. I also tried searching for video demacro which wasn't any help. Seems these things are getting rarer and rarer.

[bbllc]

http://www.facetvideo.com/xcart/customer/home.php

[ihatemycomputer]

hey thanks alot for the help can you tell me how you would hook up a video stabilizer? from vcr to video card

[thecoalman]

It's just a box that goes between the VCR and the card. Has two RCA jacks, s- video..... You need two cables, that's it.

[redwudz]

You might want to do a 'Google' search for 'Macrovision removal'. There are quite a few websites that apply to this subject. I bought a box a few years ago to be able to watch Macrovision video tapes on my monitor TV, which would not be able to show them otherwise. It was $19US. Don't get ripped off by Macrovision removers that are overpriced. If you need a MV remover to see MV tapes on your system, look around a little.

[WaverBoy]

Those $19 boxes won't remove CGMS/A, which prevents you from recording to a digital medium. If you want to record to your hard drive or a DVD recorder, you're going to have to get a device that removes CGMS/A. Some devices that do this are the DVD Red Pro, the Clarifier, and the Zorrilla Video Filter.

http://www.dimax.com.ua/English/dvd_recorder.htm
http://www.facetvideo.com/xcart/customer/home.php
http://home.cfl.rr.com/filter/

The Zorrilla Video Filter is apparently the only filter that can do component video recording.

[presto]

I use the Sima SCC. A friend of mine uses the Clarifier. both seem to work fine.

One warning though. I have an ATI AIW Radeon and an ATI AIW Radeon 7500. Both cards have trouble capturing some older VHS tapes regardless of macrovision. They exhibit what is called flagging. It looks like the frame is tearing loose from the top and flapping around.

Once you have eliminated macrovision you may still find tapes that wil exhibit flagging. You will not be able to copy them with an ATI card.

My solution was to get a Dazzle 150. It's a box that takes the vhs signal and processess it and uses USB to get it into the computer. It completely eliminated the flagging problem.

[alstatr]

Presto when you used the Dazzle 150 did you have any trouble with macrovision? I was just wondering cause I have access to one but I don't wanna get my hopes up if I run into macrovision.

Or do I need that Sima thingy?

Thanks,

alstatr

[presto]

The Dazzle 150 has nothing to do with macrovision. It is just one way to get a video signal into your computer. You don't need to install a card because it uses USB.

In order to remove macrovision you can use a box. Video with macrovision goes in the box, video without macrovision comes out. The box I use is the Sima SCC. Another way around macrovision is to capture with a device that ignores macrovision.

(Boy do we need a macrovision sticky)

[tweedledee]

As a point of interest, do you still have macrovision problems when you do a pass through with a DV camcorder? I was thinking of trying it.

[thecoalman]

I would guess that MV detection would depend on the cam, could even be different for each model. Here's a link for a post that sounds like MV using a cam as a pass through: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=193932

I would think any MV detection would depend on whatever device your using. For example I had trouble with a home video tape on my Geforce 5950 Vivo, I installed capture drivers from about 3 years ago and no more trouble (no mv detection). That post is the first one I've seen where the cam could possibly be doing it. Of course another thing is it's a Sony cam so I wouldn't doubt it much.

[alstatr]

Thanks presto,

You answered my question about MV and the Dazzle 150. I'll try that sima thing to try and disable the MV so that I can copy my VHS to DVD. I wish my camcorder had a pass through feature Too bad I didn't know what that meant when I bought the camera. Oh well live and learn i guess.

Thanks again guys,

alstatr

[SatStorm]

A practical solution:
Go to a PC store and buy the cheapest possible bt8xx based card. Nowdays, those cost less than 30 dollars / euros.
Use the btwincap drivers.

Capture those few macrovision protected video tapes with this card. Just capture the highest possible framesize for best quality.

Keep using ATI for all the other projects.

[presto]

I would think any MV detection would depend on whatever device your using. For example I had trouble with a home video tape on my Geforce 5950 Vivo

You think your home video tape had macrovision on it?

[thecoalman]

Nope....wish I had that kind of money. I'll bet it cost a fortune to license. The capture card thought it did.... Long story short, two higher end capture cards (ATI AIW & the Geforce) both produced unusable results. Was able to fix the Geforce with Capture drivers V1.08 which are about 2 or 3 years old and if my information is correct the last drivers produced by Nvidia that have no MV detection. I was also able to fix it with a sima go-dvd with the newest drivers installed. The ATI on the other hand I couldn't get to work no matter what I did and I never got the chance to try any video correction devices on it. Additionally I was able to capture the same video on a Winfast 2000xp right out of the box, another card with no MV if my info is correct. But the quality is lousy on the 2000xp copmpared to the other two.

See the long story and examples here: http://www.nepadigital.com/mv

[presto]

Nope....wish I had that kind of money. I'll bet it cost a fortune to license. The capture card thought it did.... Long story short, two higher end capture cards (ATI AIW & the Geforce) both produced unusable results

I don't think your capture card thought it had macrovision. I think your capture card just couldn't capture the signal. I might sound like I'm nitpicking here but I really think it confused the discussion if we refer to all capture problems as macrovision.

I could be wrong but I think you've mistakenly concluded that if a video cannot be captured it is because the card/driver/box think it has macrovision so the solution is to get a card/driver/box that is not macrovision enabled. I think it is just a case of trying another card/driver/box untill you find one that works.


As with you, my ATI card will not capture some older vhs videos but when I use my Dazzle 150 there is no problem. The Dazzle 150 IS macrovision enabled (meaning it will NOT let you copy a macrovision protected source).

If I were to then say that the Dazzle 150 had solved my "macrovision" problem it would lead people to think the Dazzle 150 is a solution to macrovision. It isn't.

[thecoalman]

I don't think your capture card thought it had macrovision. I think your capture card just couldn't capture the signal.

Nope the captures were consistent with MV, I'd like to point out that all my tests were done using the same video with the same equipment with the only exception being the capture card. Trouble only arised when MV detection was present. Geforce drivers with MV - can't capture, Geforce drivers without MV - perfect capture.....

I might sound like I'm nitpicking here but I really think it confused the discussion if we refer to all capture problems as macrovision.

At no point in time did I refer to all capture problems as MV , I was just giving tweedldee my opinion on MV and using a pass through and the results you can get with different devices or drivers.

I could be wrong but I think you've mistakenly concluded that if a video cannot be captured it is because the card/driver/box think it has macrovision so the solution is to get a card/driver/box that is not macrovision enabled.

No that is not my conclusion it could be any amount of different reasons but in my case it is, again with MV detection-lousy capture, No MV detection great capture. I would never suggest any get a card without MV simply because of the loss in quality.

As with you, my ATI card will not capture some older vhs videos but when I use my Dazzle 150 there is no problem. The Dazzle 150 IS macrovision enabled (meaning it will NOT let you copy a macrovision protected source). If I were to then say that the Dazzle 150 had solved my "macrovision" problem it would lead people to think the Dazzle 150 is a solution to macrovision. It isn't.

Which brings us back to my statement that MV depends on the device your using. If you were unable to capture a tape and MV was the source of your trouble then it DID solve your MV problem. It seems some cards are more prone to false detection of MV than others.

At no point have I stated than any of my fixes were for MV detection on a commercial tape, although reverting to V1.08 drivers on the Geforce should work quite nice. The only thing I discusswed was false MV detection on my home video. Please don't try and put words in my mouth.

[presto]

At no point have I stated than any of my fixes were for MV detection on a commercial tape, although reverting to V1.08 drivers on the Geforce should work quite nice. The only thing I discusswed was false MV detection on my home video. Please don't try and put words in my mouth.

Coalman, I just don't see how the problems you describe have anything to do with macrovision. Some cards do a better job of handling out of spec signals than others. It's possible that macrovision enabled devices are the culprits but I don't see how you draw that conclusion.

The dazzle 80 did a better job of capturing bad tapes than my ATI card but still left a slight distortion in the overscan area. The Dazzle 150 captured even better with no distortion in the overscan area. Was the Dazzle 80 "sort of" false detecting macrovision and only the Dazzle 150 not falsely detecting macrovision?

It seems like we both have made our points. You think some of your devices are falsely detecting macrovision and from what you have posted I don't see it. I'm not going to hound you about it if that is how you honestly feel.

One last thing. Re read my post and tell me if you still think I put words into your mouth. Show me the sentence where I did that. Either you misread something or I worded something badly. I believe in fair discussion and would not intentionally resort to pettiness.

[thecoalman]

Coalman, I just don't see how the problems you describe have anything to do with macrovision. Some cards do a better job of handling out of spec signals than others. It's possible that macrovision enabled devices are the culprits but I don't see how you draw that conclusion.

Very simple how I can draw that conclusion. When MV detection is present I can't capture the tape. When it's removed (e.g. driver on the Geforce without MV, Winfast 2000XP) I can capture the tape. I don't see how I can make it any plainer than that.

I think the Geforce example makes my point very well, the only variable is the driver. Older driver without MV detection=great capture, Newer driver with MV detection=junk.

[overloaded_ide]

As a point of interest, do you still have macrovision problems when you do a pass through with a DV camcorder? I was thinking of trying it.

Canon zr 60 DV camcorder with passthrough WILL NOT let you capture protected VHS tapes. THAT is a fact! I had one! Someone said they thought it would that had one, but was either wrong or had an older model and that feature was changed.

When I tried the camera led screen would show the movie fine for a few seconds then it freezes with a blue screen that says protected source or something like that. Then it continues to play a little then freezes with the warning. Needless to say if you view your passthough capture it was garbage!

The pass through feature was the main reason I had bought that camera, which I soon returned for a refund.
I had heard that the DV camcorder pass though would work as both a cheap timebase correcter and to remove/ignore copy protections.

My advice is to buy locally where you can return for a full refund if not happy with the camera if you try DV for this purpose. I wanted the DV camcorder mostly as a cheap timebase correcter and to ignore MV from VHS so I was unhappy when it did not work (also did not record picture as well as I wanted). I had bought it for $500 at the time from a local wal-mart (where I knew I could get a full refund easily) instead of buying it from online store where it cost $380 instead (wasn't sure how hard to get refund, and would lose alot on shipping too)

I got a full refund, out nothing but cost of tapes I bought and recorded on. I kept those for my next camera I get since I don't want to lose my master tapes.

I have a DVD red, ($30) not real happy with it, it works but leaves stripes/bands at the top of some/most tapes. Kinda like scratched glass type lines.

I have Video Facet and it seems to work really well, though I though $100 was alot, it does work and I am happy with it.