Once i save a vhs tape to my pc how can i clean it up?

[allsmiles42240]

Hello once i save a vhs tape to my hard drive is there a program that can clean it up to make it near dvd quality?
Any pointers would be apprcaited.

[daamon]

Hi allsmiles42240,

The resolution of VHS is much lower than DVD, so the picture will never be as sharp.

Also, you'll have to define what you want to clean up - what's the problem that you want to solve? Be more precise, provide a screen shot etc.

[laspis59]

Hello once i save a vhs tape to my hard drive is there a program that can clean it up to make it near dvd quality?
Any pointers would be apprcaited.

I just use VirtualDub.There are loads of filters out there for it,but you cannot make vhs quality look as good as DVD,its impossible.

[thecoalman]

Hello once i save a vhs tape to my hard drive is there a program that can clean it up to make it near dvd quality?
Any pointers would be apprcaited.

Although noise reduction filters used sparingly can clean up a good amount noise they have the bad affect of removing detail. The way they work is to seek out colors that don't match the surrounding ones. Sometimes it should be there sometimes it shouldn't, the filter has no way of knowing what does and does not belong so not only do they remove the noise but also remove a lot of detail.

The best way to "clean" VHS is to do it befor it gets converted to digital format. This usally involves hardware such as a TBC, color correction devices. Even the VCR you use can make a big difference. Try the restoration forum for some ideas.

[allsmiles42240]

The little sparkles in the video is what i was trying to clean up

[daamon]

The little sparkles in the video is what i was trying to clean up

They sound quite nice - adds a kind of "Wonderland" feel to the film I'd imagine...

[thecoalman]

The little sparkles in the video is what i was trying to clean up

They sound quite nice - adds a kind of "Wonderland" feel to the film I'd imagine...

..... anyhow I know what you mean by those sparkles. What editor are you using? For removing something like usually requires a high end editor. Yopu can also try virtualdub or avisynth. Both are free and have hundreds of filters, I'm sure there's one just for your needs. Someone else will probably be able to suggest one.

[DereX888]

...and to add to all previous answers: don't forget general rule about garbage (garbage in = garbage out).

Personally, unless its some really very valuable video, I don't bother with cleaning "original VHS' flavor" and I keep the captures in their "original" quality. The best you can do with source lower than output resolution is to preserve its quality, you can't 'enhance it' to higher resolution with any filters. Obviously VHS source will stay VHS quality, even if transferred to a HD-DVD. Any picture filtering always results in picture quality deterioration, be it loss of sharpness (details), fluidity of movement , etc etc... "quid pro quo"

The only "cleaner" I use when transferring VHS to DVD is standalone TBC (look it up, might be a good investment if you do alot VHS>DVD, otherwise don't bother).

[thecoalman]

The little sparkles in the video is what i was trying to clean up

I did a search for sparkles because I remebered seeing a post about this before. I couldn't find the one I was looking for but came across one mentioning that this can result from splitting an s-video cable. Having said that, it could just be your problem lies in playback from either crappy cables or a crappy VCR. If you have access to a different VCR you might want to give that a try or even purchase some better cables.

Now that I've looked I do remeber viewing some of my own tapes on an old VCR with junk cables that had these "sparkles", I hope we're referring to the same thing. These weren't evident on my capture VCR.

[jyn999]

The little sparkles in the video is what i was trying to clean up

Sparkles may indicate dropouts in your VHS tape i.e. the tape has deteriorated with gaps in the iron oxide coating.