Help a Newbie Capture Home VHS Videos

[Yeah69]

Hello. I am the nerd of the family and my dad has told me that he has a bunch of VHS videos he wants to put on dvd/youtube someplace...
After reading about it a small amount and watching youtube vids it seems I simply need a VCR and some kind of:

Up-scaler like this: https://tinyurl.com/455rfurk

and some kind of capture device Like this: https://tinyurl.com/2mrzj48d

I could also get a VCR that has a dvd recorder on it and capture them to dvd then rip them from the dvd to put on youtube?

I guess my question is.. are the above devices what you would recommend? Am I coming at this from the right direction.. Do I then need some video editing software? We don't have a lot of money which is why I'm asking first before we buy anything. I thank you for your time and any responses are appreciated.

[dellsam34]

Those are not recommended but you may have some luck with a mediocre video quality, You will know when you face frame drop, audio out of sync and other stability problems. Do some reading in this forum about capture hardware recommendation, youtube is not the place to learn unless you know what to look for.

[Yeah69]

Those are not recommended but you may have some luck with a mediocre video quality, You will know when you face frame drop, audio out of sync and other stability problems. Do some reading in this forum about capture hardware recommendation, youtube is not the place to learn unless you know what to look for.

Hello and thank you for your reply ! I do appreciate it. I have been reading the forums here since last night but it appears none of them quite answer the flat question of .. what to use then? Of course I don't want to spend a lot of money but then again I don't want an unfinished result.

There are some VCR to DVD recorders that include an HDMI out connector... would it be best to purchase one of those instead of a VHS to RCA TO HDMI Upscaler to HDMI Capture? That way I'm not switching cable mediums?

Is it the UPscaler you reccomend differently or the capture device?.. again I appreciate your help and any answers are welcome.

If I purchase a VCR to DVD recorder that has an HDMI output do I no longer require the Upscaler and can go right to capture device?

[Sharc]

....Do I then need some video editing software? We don't have a lot of money which is why I'm asking first before we buy anything.....

As you have seen there are various valid methods for digitizing your tapes. Before going more into details: How did you play the VHS tapes until now? What equipment do you already have to play your tapes and watch on TV? Rough idea about your budget?

[Yeah69]

....Do I then need some video editing software? We don't have a lot of money which is why I'm asking first before we buy anything.....

As you have seen there are various valid methods for digitizing your tapes. Before going more into details: How did you play the VHS tapes until now? What equipment do you already have to play your tapes and watch on TV? Rough idea about your budget?

Thank you for your reply... These tapes have been in cases in an attic for maybe 15+ years at this point I do have a very good computer and possibly a laptop I could use instead. There is also a VCR that was stored with these tapes but it is only a VCR player with only RCA outputs. However I've seen on ebay people selling VCR/DVD recorders that have an HDMI video out. I am willing to purchase.

[dellsam34]

Not all VCR/DVD combos have HDMI output from VHS, so be carful with that assumption.

[Yeah69]

Not all VCR/DVD combos have HDMI output from VHS, so be carful with that assumption.

Thank you so much for your insight. I appreciate your response. I don't mean to disrespect anyone's knowledge as a closely regarded secret. I am and still am watching videos and reading posts It does seem like though there is no simple answer to my question and ' results may vary ' widely. Most of the posts I've been reading are fairly old so I thought I would simply start my own post. I get that the question seems like has been asked and answered but not really It is 2025 I was hoping to get a response here like .. this is the latest technology for maybe the best results.. this is the latest for mediocre results and if you go for anything less than mediocre you probably shouldn't. I thank you for your responses.

[Sharc]

Now as you have a VCR with RCA outputs only ("=Composite") you could start from there. In a first step you could buy a USB capture device like I-O Data GV-USB2 or Hauppauge USB-live2. They don't cost a fortune (something like 50USD) and see what you get out of this setup. It will at least allow to assess the condition of the tapes and your VCR. In a next step you may add a recommended DVD recorder in passthrough to stabilize the picture. Just some buzzwords you may search the forum for. Capturing is a learning process.
If you are hesitant or don't want to spend much time you could alternatively use the DVD recorder to transfer and burn your tapes to DVD and live with the mediocre quality you get. Depends what your ambition is and what target format you are aiming at.

[Yeah69]

Now as you have a VCR with RCA outputs only ("=Composite") you could start from there. In a first step you could buy a USB capture device like I-O Data GV-USB2 or Hauppauge USB-live2. They don't cost a fortune (something like 50USD) and see what you get out of this setup. It will at least allow to assess the condition of the tapes and your VCR. In a next step you may add a recommended DVD recorder in passthrough to stabilize the picture. Just some buzzwords you may search the forum for. Capturing is a learning process.
If you are hesitant or don't want to spend much time you could alternatively use the DVD recorder to transfer and burn your tapes to DVD and live with the mediocre quality you get. Depends what your ambition is and what target format you are aiming at.

Sir- thank you so much for your reply ... I just opened the chestbox and inside the box are a magnovox vhs to dvd recorder....15 to 20 VHS tapes.... annnnd... to my horror... 30 to 50 ish... small VHS-C tapes... this just got harder.... apparently I need an vhs-c to vhs adapter cartridge thing.. and a lot of time .. hehe.. well right now I have a lot of time. -- Thank you for your assistance.

[Sharc]

Now as you have a VCR with RCA outputs only ("=Composite") you could start from there. In a first step you could buy a USB capture device like I-O Data GV-USB2 or Hauppauge USB-live2. They don't cost a fortune (something like 50USD) and see what you get out of this setup. It will at least allow to assess the condition of the tapes and your VCR. In a next step you may add a recommended DVD recorder in passthrough to stabilize the picture. Just some buzzwords you may search the forum for. Capturing is a learning process.
If you are hesitant or don't want to spend much time you could alternatively use the DVD recorder to transfer and burn your tapes to DVD and live with the mediocre quality you get. Depends what your ambition is and what target format you are aiming at.

Sir- thank you so much for your reply ... I just opened the chestbox and inside the box are a magnovox vhs to dvd recorder....15 to 20 VHS tapes.... annnnd... to my horror... 30 to 50 ish... small VHS-C tapes... this just got harder.... apparently I need an vhs-c to vhs adapter cartridge thing.. and a lot of time .. hehe.. well right now I have a lot of time. -- Thank you for your assistance.

Magnavox ... I just bumped into these tutes which explain how to transfer tapes to DVD. Not my preferred method, but maybe fair and easy enough to start "digitizing".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-NqfazP4bI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au1JOnQ8lK4

By the way this magnavox model seems to have S-Video out as well which would deliver better results for analog video captures, as well as HDMI. Maybe this is something for later ...... Good luck and have fun.

[cholla]

I have a question for Yeah69.
Are these tapes commercial VHS movies?
Or are the VCR or old camcorder recorded tapes?
If they are commercial they probably have Macrovision protection.

[Yeah69]

I have a question for Yeah69.
Are these tapes commercial VHS movies?
Or are the VCR or old camcorder recorded tapes?
If they are commercial they probably have Macrovision protection.

These are all home camcorder videos of mostly family reunions past etc... Thank you for asking.

[cholla]

Since there is no copy protection.
Give the Magnavox Combo unit a try.
Make a copy from the VHS to a DVD.
You can even begin with a DVD RW if you prefer.
Then watch it & see if the quality is good enough.
After that as Sharc posted the S-Video out to a PC capture card could have better quality.
But maybe not.
The "experts" & professionals use some specific models of VCRs for this.
With additional settings & filters.
I do not have one of these models & I will leave it to those that do to post about them.

BTW I have two of these Magnavox combo units stored.
No plans to use them for now.

I do not have any VHS-C tapes.
So I will leave working with those to a member with experience with them.

[lordsmurf]

Sir- thank you so much for your reply ... I just opened the chestbox and inside the box are a magnovox vhs to dvd recorder....15 to 20 VHS tapes.... annnnd... to my horror... 30 to 50 ish... small VHS-C tapes... this just got harder.... apparently I need an vhs-c to vhs adapter cartridge thing.. and a lot of time .. hehe.. well right now I have a lot of time. -- Thank you for your assistance.

I don't know why VideoHelp advice has gotten so terrible, and so wimpy, on the subject of capturing.

I'm not going to be wimpy. There is a lot of "new" USB/combo/HDMI Chinese garbage on the market, and it results in a horrible capture experience, and horrible quality.

Those "combo" VCR/DVD players were made for just that ... playing VHS, and playing DVD. Or recording DVD from TV signals. The intention was never to record DVD from VHS, and the experience and quality shows. It's miserable.

VHS-C is a temperamental beast unto itself, and it's so easy to have tapes "eaten" by cheap VCRs and the wrong/cheap adapters.

Ask yourself this: How important are the videos?
- If you don't really care, then do whatever. (That then begs the question: Why even bother?)
- If you really care about the content, then don't screw it up.

Capturing isn't rocket science, and it has a formula. Stray from it, and you risk the tapes, wasted time, and awful quality. Stay on recipe, and it should work brilliantly for you.

HDMI anything = do not use
Combo VHS/DVD units = do not use

Correct/known-good VCRs = use
Some form of TBC = required
Correct/known-good capture cards = use

VCR > TBC > capture card = the recipe

I truly hate the weak advice of "if you think the quality is good enough, then go ahead and do it" because you don't know what "good enough" is. You've never seen what is possible, how it should look. Too often, people think "potato quality" is "good enough" because they don't know any better. They don't know what they don't know.

Hopefully that blunt advice gives you some better ideas of what to do, not all the weak soft language that just adds confusion.

[cholla]

These tapes have been in cases in an attic for maybe 15+ years

I'm going to be blunt also.
For a person that is doing what is probably a one time project.
With VHS tapes of questionable quality.
Maybe the VHS-C were not stored in the attic.
That is converting home videos.
A couple of thousand dollars or more on the "best" equipment seems a lot to spend.
If these tapes are really important then have a professional recovery business do the work.
How good is the quality on home shot tapes with an old camcorder anyway?

I have had good enough results not using all the best equipment.
Unfortunately my DVD recorder with component in died.
It was not a TBC unit but did a good job .
I did use a combo unit to it with component out.
I found this better Than the S-video in & out.
This combo unit was manufactured in 2006.

So my "weak" advice is give the combo unit you have a try.
Try it on a couple of other VHS tapes you do not care about & see if it eats them.
If it also was stored in the attic I doubt it works very well anyway.

lordsmurf I do not have a problem with you selling some of the recommended good units.
You do have some for sale or used to.
So not an unbiased opinion on what to use.

Of course if a person buys all the correct equipment they are going to get a better result.
Kind of like why not have a Hollywood movie studio do the videos for you in the first place.
I bet those would be better than any VHS to digital conversion.

[Sharc]

Those "combo" VCR/DVD players were made for just that ... playing VHS, and playing DVD. Or recording DVD from TV signals. The intention was never to record DVD from VHS ....

... and similarly, VHS was made for recording and playing the tapes, it was not invented or "intended" to be "captured"
Btw, I recently revisited some of my 30+ years old VHS tapes (SP). I was positively surprised to find no clear signs of quality degradation. The availability of playback gear in good working condition is more critical these days than the permanent fear of tapes failing tomorrow.

Ask yourself this: How important are the videos?

Absolutely

Capturing isn't rocket science , .....

It is 90% learning by doing IMO. Do it .... analyze .... collect comments ... learn what to look at ..... improve (if it's worth the effort, a personal decision)

....you don't know what "good enough" is. You've never seen what is possible, how it should look. Too often, people think "potato quality" is "good enough" because they don't know any better. They don't know what they don't know.

Agree, but there is no absolute quality. Quality is always relative. Compare and learn, improve. Get to know what you didn't know before, and experience what eventually matters to you.

Hopefully that blunt advice gives you some better ideas of what to do, .....

I have some doubts that one blunt advice is more helpful than some other blunt advice. I do agree though that it is valid to tell what basic mistakes to avoid from the beginning (which goes beyond repeating the "Chinese crap" mantra). Still one doesn't know what hot is before one has "burnt his fingers" - at least once

[Alwyn]

And so here we go again. Buy the best VCR, a real TBC and the best digitiser and you'll have mind-blowing quality that will beat, hands-down, any other lower-priced combination.

Get real.

[cholla]

And so here we go again. Buy the best VCR, a real TBC and the best digitiser and you'll have mind-blowing quality that will beat, hands-down, any other lower-priced combination.

Get real.

DITTO Alwyn.
Kind of the point I was making.
I was too verbose but that is normal for me.
If I'm satisfied with a video:What difference does it make to anyone else?

To the OP (Yeah69) : My apologies if anything I posted hijacked your topic.
Back to helping the OP if possible.

[Sharc]

And so here we go again. Buy the best VCR, a real TBC and the best digitiser and you'll have mind-blowing quality that will beat, hands-down, any other lower-priced combination.

That's not what I said. Not at all.

[cholla]

And so here we go again. Buy the best VCR, a real TBC and the best digitiser and you'll have mind-blowing quality that will beat, hands-down, any other lower-priced combination.

That's not what I said. Not at all.

I will let Alwyn speak for himself.
For me I did not believe Alwyn's post was aimed at your posts or you.

[Darryl In Canada]

Yeah69, welcome to the club. There are a lot of hardware options and considerations. Here's a summary, that will make sense when you re-read it in a few months after reading the forums.

1. Buy an Super VHS VCR (S-VHS VCR). It has an S-Video port in the back, which is better than a regular Composite port (yellow cable). For $300+ you can buy a Super VHS VCR with a special feature called Line TBC. This feature will make wavvy videos get straight.

2. Buy a good capture device. The consensus on the boards is that one of these is a good choice: I-O Data GV-USB2 or the Hauppage 610 USB-Live2. They can be bought new. Others recommend the ATI TV Wonder 600, which can only be bought used. Another option to consider is to buy a MiniDV camcorder, which digitizes the video similar to the other devices. It tends to pixalate the videos with high movement so in that sense is not as good as the capture cards listed above, but it has a great built-in Line TBC that can tame wiggly videos, which the other capture cards listed above are lacking. This method will require a firewire port on your computer, which is the cousin of a USB port. If you don't want to install things to your computer motherboard, then forget the MiniDV method.

3. Capture/digitize the video using the software that comes with the hardware, or else use the free VirtualDub 1.9.11 and install the HuffYUV codec so that you can capture/digitize the videos in this lossless codec (which is good).

4. At minimum, you will need to deinterlace the videos. I like Hybrid, which includes the QTGMC tool. You could also use Hybrid to denoise and degrain the videos, if they require it. There are many more things Hybrid can do, but you would first need to identify the problem with the video but frankly unless you want to spend months and years reading about it all the possible artifacts and how to fix them, it's probably not worth your time. (Save yourself! Run!) You will save the video as H.264 codec (mp4).

5. Upload to Youtube. Create a playlist for your dad. Share the playlist with him. Make the video/playlist either private (your dad will need to sign into his Google account) or unlisted (no sign in required, you just need the exact URL).

[Sharc]

And before you rush and buy some "highly praised" (but possibly worn out, x-times resold) VCR +++ recorder(s) and setups, (re-)assess what you already have, and take look here. Read the first sentence there.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/414871-Best-VCR-opinion#post2738885

Edit: Also, watch out, for some of the devices one cannot access all features and settings without a remote, and be careful with 3rd party "substitutes" for the original remote.

[cholla]

good hint on checking the remote for being original

[lordsmurf]

These tapes have been in cases in an attic for maybe 15+ years

With VHS tapes of questionable quality.
Maybe the VHS-C were not stored in the attic.

Not all attics are the same. My attic is far too hot and humid. Other attics are often cool year-round. Details needed to ascertain.

For a person that is doing what is probably a one time project.
That is converting home videos.
A couple of thousand dollars or more on the "best" equipment seems a lot to spend.

Buy it, use it, resell it.

If these tapes are really important then have a professional recovery business do the work.

Those are variables, but we're not there yet. I rarely assume recovery is needed.

How good is the quality on home shot tapes with an old camcorder anyway?

Let's be honest: all home-shot videos are lousy quality. The camcorders all sucked.

I have had good enough results not using all the best equipment.
Unfortunately my DVD recorder with component in died.
It was not a TBC unit but did a good job .
I did use a combo unit to it with component out.
I found this better Than the S-video in & out.
This combo unit was manufactured in 2006.

Post a sample. Let's see it.

So my "weak" advice is give the combo unit you have a try.
Try it on a couple of other VHS tapes you do not care about & see if it eats them.

Sure. If you've never stuck your finger in a power socket, give it a try, see if it shocks you. Don't listen to those who know better, make the mistake we're warning you about.

So my "weak" advice is give the combo unit you have a try.
Try it on a couple of other VHS tapes you do not care about & see if it eats them.
If it also was stored in the attic I doubt it works very well anyway.

I do not agree.

You do have some for sale or used to.
So not an unbiased opinion on what to use.

Ridiculous. I was giving advice on VHS/S-VHS, capturing, TBCs, etc, for 20 years before I ever sold anything to anybody. And, in fact, the entire reason I started to refurbish gear was because I saw how bad it was falling into disrepair. I have saved a lot of good gear from going to the dumpster. (And yes, evil capitalism, I sell it, the horrors, because I'm not a charity.) Plus we're only talking 1-3 of anything at any time, and it literally fits in a small cupboard. Some of you people act like I have an Amazon warehouse, which just isn't reality.

Of course if a person buys all the correct equipment they are going to get a better result.
Kind of like why not have a Hollywood movie studio do the videos for you in the first place.
I bet those would be better than any VHS to digital conversion.

As somebody who's worked with "a Hollywood movie studio", you need to realize they are completely inept when it comes to consumer analog formats. They did film, not VHS tapes.

... and similarly, VHS was made for recording and playing the tapes, it was not invented or "intended" to be "captured"

That is correct --- and is why TBCs are required.

Btw, I recently revisited some of my 30+ years old VHS tapes (SP). I was positively surprised to find no clear signs of quality degradation. The availability of playback gear in good working condition is more critical these days than the permanent fear of tapes failing tomorrow.

Yep.
Some exceptions, however, like early 80s BASF. Nasty degradations there.

Still one doesn't know what hot is before one has "burnt his fingers" - at least once

I like that.

And so here we go again. Buy the best VCR, a real TBC and the best digitiser and you'll have mind-blowing quality that will beat, hands-down, any other lower-priced combination.
Get real.

You're being binary.

It's not a choice between:
- best ever
- worst possible

Best is certainly a choice, but there are many choice before worst. No TBC of any kind, cheapest gear available = worst.

If I'm satisfied with a video:What difference does it make to anyone else?

When this is 100% true --- never any sharing with family, with friends, with historical needs -- then I agree with it. But that's actually rare for a conversion to only be viewed by an audience of one.

That's not what I said. Not at all.

Nor I.

The consensus on the boards is that one of these is a good choice: I-O Data GV-USB2 or the Hauppage 610 USB-Live2.

Those are just the "currently available on Amazon" cards. If you must go that route, don't get the Live2. So many issues. Even some of the people here, who suggest it, try to immediately backpeddle the advice, it you look closely.

4. At minimum, you will need to deinterlace the videos.

But only for progressive-display viewing (computers), and not interlace-capable displays (TVs, HDTVs)

but frankly unless you want to spend months and years reading about it all the possible artifacts and how to fix them, it's probably not worth your time. (Save yourself! Run!)

Yes. Board, but don't go overboard.

You will save the video as H.264 codec (mp4).

MKV is actually more often reliable as a container for LAN/offline viewing.

5. Upload to Youtube. Create a playlist for your dad. Share the playlist with him. Make the video/playlist either private (your dad will need to sign into his Google account) or unlisted (no sign in required, you just need the exact URL).

Yes.

And before you rush and buy some "highly praised" (but possibly worn out, x-times resold) VCR +++ recorder(s) and setups, (re-)assess what you already have, and take look here. Read the first sentence there.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/414871-Best-VCR-opinion#post2738885
Edit: Also, watch out, for some of the devices one cannot access all features and settings without a remote, and be careful with 3rd party "substitutes" for the original remote.

Yes.

_______

Now this thread is moving in the right direction.

I think some of the old-timers here are getting burnout, and the advice sometimes comes off like a stoner saying "whatever dude". I've been guilty of this as well, burnout is thing! But the OP came here for advice -- let's give him some actual quality advice. Now he's getting it. That was my only point in posting. Carry on.

And cholla, Sharc -- and others -- please accept friendly vibes in your direction.

[lollo]

The consensus on the boards is that one of these is a good choice: I-O Data GV-USB2 or the Hauppage 610 USB-Live2.

Those are just the "currently available on Amazon" cards. If you must go that route, don't get the Live2. So many issues. Even some of the people here, who suggest it, try to immediately backpeddle the advice, it you look closely.

Bullshit. The 2 mentioned cards are just in line in term of quality with what you sell at 5x their value because out of production.
Just mention/prove or post evidences of what you call “so many issues”. There is a large number of samples of USB-Live 2 captures, many of them in this specific forum.

You can look as close as you want, but the “some of people” you also mentioed never change their advice. If not, once more, then post evidences rather then falsity.

[Yeah69]

Hello and Thank you so much everyone.. I just wanted to pop in and say I really do appreciate everyone's' advice. I have been reading a lot and trying to figure out what I am going to do about a TBC. I think I'd like to get a Retrotink but the price tag seems pretty high. I have also not decided on a capture card but I was looking at this one since it supports USB 3.0. Which is at least faster than USB 2.0. I was also looking at this which appears to be an all in one solution. I have not ' set ' anything up yet because I don't know yet if I am going to be using a laptop to work as the ' computer ' or an older computer to use as a computer. To save/edit/etc. the videos to. Plus since we have not really decided what we need ... I do not know yet what the ' videos ' look like. Someone asked about the VCR .. it was wrapped in bubble wrap and sealed inside 2 blanket plastic containers I am sure it is fine... however I didn't see any controller for it. Thanks again for everyones' posts and their help so far. As I progress further I"ll give updates here when I can.

[Alwyn]

I was also looking at this which appears to be an all in one solution.

Careful, that is just a digitiser. It converts RCA (Yellow Composite video) to HDMI. You'll then need a HDMI>USB converter (unless your PC has HDMI-In) like the box in your first post. It also does not have S-Video In, which is an advantage if using a VCR or stabiliser with S-Video Out.

I have an HDMI>USB digitiser (Startech USB3HDCAP) but its pretty pricey and the quality isn't any better than the USBLive2 and GV-USB2. Cheap HDMI converters output lesser quality.

Likewise, as far as I can tell the new Retrotinks output HDMI. A cost-effective stabilising solution is a DVD recorder in passthrough mode such as the Panasonic ES-10, 15, EH-57 or combos such as the PAL ES-35V and ES-48V, both of which I have and they work great. Other good stabilisers are the Pioneer series such as the DVR-645H. More info in this post.

USB 3 isn't needed for video capture; The Hauppauge USBLive2 and IOData GV-USB2 both run on USB2.

I would not suggest the well-out-of-production Pinnacle 710-USB (mine purchased from Lordsmurf in 2020); I have had nothing but trouble with it and now it won't work for me for video capture at all on Win 11 and the latest version of Win 10.

You'll then need to decide how far you're going to get into the software side of the process. It starts off at the bundled software and progresses through commercial products such as NeatVideo for noise reduction and perhaps others such as Topaz VideoAI (not used it myself) to full-blown restoration via text-based coding that does all the processing using free software but does have a fairly steep learning curve. If you are a nerd, that would be a path worth taking, but it will require a large amount of time to get on top of it.

[lordsmurf]

Bullshit.
Just mention/prove or post evidences of what you call “so many issues”.

In your own posts, you make exclusionary statements along the lines of "but don't use bad source, it will give you problems". It's simply a wimpy capture card. Hauppauge was neve a great card maker, with very few exceptions. Live2 ain't it. (Pinnacle is the same, mostly lousy cards, few exceptions, sub-versions of versions.)

I would not suggest the well-out-of-production Pinnacle 710-USB (mine purchased from Lordsmurf in 2020); I have had
nothing but trouble with it and now it won't work for me

You nuked the card when you left it plugged in while running Windows Update. That was your problem. You know this, you told us this. Don't pretend it's related to something else. That's user error. We all have user error at some point. Own it, don't point fingers.

trying to figure out what I am going to do about a TBC.

At bare minimum:
- ES10/15 (for the strong+crippled line TBC, with non-TBC frame sync)
- and cross fingers, pray, salt over shoulder, etc

I think I'd like to get a Retrotink but the price tag seems pretty high.

Zero reason for it. It's a video game scaler card, it does not have TBC (contrary to claims), and is not intended for analog consumer format videotapes. Video games and not video tapes.

since it supports USB 3.0. Which is at least faster than USB 2.0.

SD analog, even compressed, is less than USB2 max specs. USB3 will do nothing here. Worse yet, USB3 capture devices are generally some of the worst garbage around.

Someone asked about the VCR .. it was wrapped in bubble wrap and sealed inside 2 blanket plastic containers I am sure it is fine...

Doubtful. Gear has aged in past decades, used or not, much of it quite poorly.

Thanks again for everyones' posts and their help so far. As I progress further I"ll give updates here when I can.

That's what matters.

[Alwyn]

That was your problem. You know this, you told us this. Don't pretend it's related to something else. That's user error. We all have user error at some point. Own it, don't point fingers.

You sold me a lemon! I since have put it on a completely different computer and it's unusable. Stop your abuse, blame-shaming and ranting will you please.

- and cross fingers, pray, salt over shoulder, etc

I think you live in a parallel universe. I have never come across any issues with the ES series. I got suckered into your ranting about blowouts and other catastrophes with these, none of which present any real issues when you set the levels correctly. You perfectionists can stick with your multi-thousand $$ TBCs, but an ES will do just fine for the vast majority of tapes.

[cholla]

Not all attics are the same. My attic is far too hot and humid. Other attics are often cool year-round. Details needed to ascertain.

I live in Texas & at this time of year my attic is around 140° F.
That is with two turbine vents.
I guess if a person lived in Nome Alaska the attic might be cool.

Those are variables, but we're not there yet. I rarely assume recovery is needed.

Maybe I used the wrong term with recovery.
I meant a business that already has all the correct hardware & software to create as good a DVD,Blu Ray or USB drive as possible from the VHS & VHS-C tapes.

How good is the quality on home shot tapes with an old camcorder anyway?

Let's be honest: all home-shot videos are lousy quality. The camcorders all sucked.

Post a sample. Let's see it.

Most of what I still have are "Home shot" with a VHS camcorder. So never that good.
They looked as good as the VHS they were from.I just wanted to save them to DVD.
For commercial VHS tapes I did some to DVD but as I replaced them with commercial DVDs I disposed of them.
I will see if I can find something.

Sure. If you've never stuck your finger in a power socket, give it a try, see if it shocks you. Don't listen to those who know better, make the mistake we're warning you about.

I did not understand the context of this reply. Not a good comparison.
What is wrong with some practice ?
Or testing even with a new blank VHS tape to see if a VCR works or eats tapes.

So my "weak" advice is give the combo unit you have a try.
Try it on a couple of other VHS tapes you do not care about & see if it eats them.
If it also was stored in the attic I doubt it works very well anyway.

I do not agree.

I must agree or I would not have written it.

Of course if a person buys all the correct equipment they are going to get a better result.
Kind of like why not have a Hollywood movie studio do the videos for you in the first place.
I bet those would be better than any VHS to digital conversion.

As somebody who's worked with "a Hollywood movie studio", you need to realize they are completely inept when it comes to consumer analog formats. They did film, not VHS tapes.

I never wrote "a Hollywood movie studio" uses VHS tapes.
However currently Hollywood uses mostly digital cameras.
The comment was to demonstrate a ridiculous cost for a home video.