Uprgading VHS capturing hardware

[Legge]

Hi all,

I have been capturing VHS tapes for a while but as I keep getting more tapes, some of which unique and with cultural value, I want to upgrade my gear for better results. Any advice on the points below would be greatly appreciated.


VHS deck

I've been looking at the buying guide for PAL models at https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide.html#post37136. It states that the picture quality of Panasonics "is generally not as clean as JVC VCRs". Is the difference that noticeable?

I might get a Panasonic NV-HS 1000 since I found one locally. Quite a bit more expensive than what can be found on ebay but it was serviced recently and buying from abroad is usually quite expensive. Is that still a good model to get?


Capture hardware

I have been using a micomsoft sc-512n1 for various capturing tasks and am satisfied with it. However I don't know if that is suitable for tapes and if I need to get another card.


Storage

I am all for capturing lossless footage with huffyuv, but was wondering how you store and backup your files. HDD storage is getting cheaper but tens of multi-hour tapes fill up space quickly.

Thank you

[lordsmurf]

JVC and Panasonic decks act different. More noise passes on the Panasonics, and the unity/0 sharpness is false (which enhances the noise). But the tradeoff is the Panasonic can work better when you have EP tapes (ie, not really a PAL issue), or upscale is a concern (the false boost sharpening may assist, in tiny incremental use). In PAL lands, I don't really see much need for Panasonics, unless it's just a bargain (and condition equal to the JVC at the time).

That's a video game card, not meant for analog videotapes. That is especially the wrong item/toy to use for archiving "cultural value" tapes. Wrong tool.

Huffyuv for archives, especially for archiving "cultural value" tapes. After this capture, if 50% space reduction is simply that important, than 4:2:2 MPEG-2 @ 20mbit may minimally suffice. Never DV. But we now live in an era with a 22tb drive is about $375. A 22tb drive has about 91% usuable space, so 20tb actual. With Huffyuv being about 35gb/hour, you're looking at 625+ hours, generally at least 310 SP mode VHS tapes. When I started to capture, 100gb was a huge drive, you could capture a whole tape to it!

[Legge]

Thank you!

So I'll go with a JVC then. I would rather avoid buying on ebay but that's my only option it seems. I'll probably pay more in import fees than the deck itself
If anyone knows a good seller in the EU feel free to let me know.

I had a feeling I needed another capture card since it was originally bought for game capture as you said. I saw that ATI cards are usually recommended here but I'll need to do more research on the different models. Would appreciate any resource that explains which are best and why, if anything has already been written.

I agree with everything regarding storage, except that you didn't mention backups. Following the 3-2-1 backup rule means at least 3 drives, more if a NAS is used. Those drives should be replaced every few years so it's not a one-time purchase and quickly adds up. But I know the importance of having master files that represent the source as accurately as possible so there's probably no avoiding it.
I should make a quick inventory of the tapes to evaluate how much "potential" recording time there is (not all tapes will be full).
There's also many U-matic, VCR and beta tapes but that is a problem for later

[lollo]

So I'll go with a JVC then. I would rather avoid buying on ebay but that's my only option it seems.

Go for the deck in better condition, and from trusted seller. The difference between JVCs and Panasonics are small (cleaner and softer picture for the first, sharper and higher "contrast" for the second), and easily overridden by the specific working conditions of the VCRs.

There are excellent PAL machines for both JVC and Panasonic, search for users Bogilein and oln posts to also detect Panasonic hardware sold under different brands.

Always archive the raw lossless capture, if possible in 2 different external hdds stored in 2 different places.

To reduce size for additional archive copies or distribution you may use h264 at low crf, i.e. 16 and slow preset. In standard viewing conditions the differences with the original are minimal.

[Bogilein]

here is an overview of all Panasonic PAL devices:
https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide-16.html#post77079


here is an overview of all JVC PAL devices:
https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/1567-vcr-buying-guide-17.html#post84039

and a revised version of both overviews in my native language:
https://gleitz.info/forum/index.php?thread/48526-%C3%BCbersicht-%C3%BCber-alle-jvc-pan...r-deutschland/

[oln]

List of SVHS ones that is. Panasonic list is missing the AG-5700 and possibly AG-7400 if there is a PAL variant of it. (Not that those are very favoured models)

[Alwyn]

If anyone knows a good seller in the EU feel free to let me know.

Have a look at VCRSHOP.COM.

[Bogilein]

List of SVHS ones that is. Panasonic list is missing the AG-5700 and possibly AG-7400 if there is a PAL variant of it. (Not that those are very favoured models)

Yes it's about SVHS Recorders. There are a few missing from the professional AG series & also devices from the MD series of Pansonic video recorders. A few models from the BR series of JVC video missing, too. I have only listed the most interesting devices from the professional and medical series. However, the consumer devices should be complete, at least what was available for purchase in Germany.

I would not recommend VHS recorders for VHS capture.
If you are interested in getting a rough overview of VCRs, you can have a look at the Audio-Video spare parts list for the various video devices. The list should be up to 1999.

[Legge]

Thanks for the resources!

There are excellent PAL machines for both JVC and Panasonic, search for users Bogilein and oln posts to also detect Panasonic hardware sold under different brands

Are the rebranded ones same quality and as reliable as the "main brand" ones? It seems they are easier to find and generally cheaper.