Capturing VHS Tape using Pinnacle Rave card

[Mark Warren]

I am trying to capture VHS tapes to my pc in order that I may store the tapes on my pc and not physically have to use the tape any more

I have a Pinnacle Rave TV Card so can some1 please point me in the right direction as to how I do this or offer a link as I could not find what I am looking for

Many Thanks

[deckard8]

I capture vhs to mpeg1/2 successfully using this card. My setup:

3200XP-M running XP
Pinnacle Rave Card
Proline Nicam Stereo VCR (connected to card via scart/composite output.
Powervcr II capture software.

With this card, if you want to capture straight to mpeg1/2 without any a/v sync problems and in the best quality you really need Powervcr II. You need to disable the preset de-interlace via a registry hack first.

Check out Lord Smurf's great guide here :>
http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/nonatimpeg/nonatimpeg.htm

[deckard8]

I forgot to mention, if you're using the original capture drivers that came with the card, you should change them for the ones here. (they are a lot faster and will improve your captures no end.)

http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/

[Mark Warren]

Thanx for the tips deckard , will let you know how I get on!!

[Mark Warren]

I forgot to mention, if you're using the original capture drivers that came with the card, you should change them for the ones here. (they are a lot faster and will improve your captures no end.)

http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/

Which drivers do I need to install from that site?

I have also taken a look at the capture guide and it has just blown my mind.Is capturing vhs not as easy as it would appear ?

Sorry about this sad NooB!!

[thecoalman]

Try the very first file listed under the downloads page.

VHS capture can be a royal pain in the ass. Ever see that commercial where the girl takes the VHS tape coupla clicks then throws the tape in the garbage? The person who made that commercial should be shot.

Once you get it setup and experiment a little you should be OK. If you have a large collection of tapes I suggest getting a DVD burner to author your captures on. Putting them on your HD is fine but if you have a lot of footage yopu will soon run out of room. A 1 hour DVD compliant mpg can run anywhere from 2 to 4.5 gigs depending on the quality settings.

[Mark Warren]

Try the very first file listed under the downloads page.

VHS capture can be a royal pain in the ass. Ever see that commercial where the girl takes the VHS tape coupla clicks then throws the tape in the garbage? The person who made that commercial should be shot.

Once you get it setup and experiment a little you should be OK. If you have a large collection of tapes I suggest getting a DVD burner to author your captures on. Putting them on your HD is fine but if you have a lot of footage yopu will soon run out of room. A 1 hour DVD compliant mpg can run anywhere from 2 to 4.5 gigs depending on the quality settings.

This is really going straight over the top of my feeble NooB head.I have connected my vcr to my pinnacle rave card via a s-video connection.On the vcr end I have had to use a scart adaptor because the vcr does not have a s-video connection.The adaptor has an input/output switch.Do I need to place the switch to input or output if I want to rip the vhs tape to my hard drive.As regards space I have over 100gb available so I dont think that will be an issue.I have power vcr II and PVAstrumento so where do I go from there. I also have virtualdub which has an AVI capture on it. Please help

[deckard8]

Firstly I think scart output from vcr is composite. S-video won't work - At least it's that way on mine.

Output on vcr.
input on capture card.

video phono (from scart) to video-in on capture card
audio phono (from scart) to line-in on soundcard.

Go to 'play control' preferences on computer > options > properties > recording. Select line-in and move slider about 75% up.

Go to 'play control' preferences on computer > option > properties > playback. Make sure line-in is selected and move slider 75% up.

Go to Powervcr II system settings. Select video source composite (or s-video if it works for you?)

Select audio source > line-in (recording & playback).

Go to profiles tab > select profile you want to capture in i.e dvd/svcd etc.

There that should be enough to get you capturing.

One more thing, turn off all software running in the background i.e Antivirus, scanner software, firewall etc. Although with Powervcr II it doesn't seem to affect it's performance, any resources you can free up helps when capturing.

[Mark Warren]

I have installed Power VCR II and whenever I start the application it crashes.Could there be an issue with codecs or something? Plus I get no sound from pinnacle tv when I am just watching normally.I have tested the speakers in the sound setup and two of the satellite speakers are not working.Would the sound utilise 5.1 ?