Need help with capturing

[GrassyGlide]

Hey,
I have a Sony CCD-TRV23E with a lot of old footage I'm trying to digitize.
My friend gave me a (probably crappy) EZcap 180 capture card in order to capture the video.
I connect the camcorder to the EZcap through a RCA to 3.5mm and record it on a flash drive.
As you probably have guessed, the captured video quality is really bad and much worse than the original footage.
What can i do with my current setup to improve the capture quality? Obviously i can't get a new camcorder, but i can purchase a different capture card.
My camcorder doesn't have a firewire port so i guess getting a different capture card is my only choice(?)
Will using the Elgato or Dazzle cards produce significantly better results? Any different suggestions?
Thanks a lot!

[Subtitles]

Best capture cards are internal PCI Express. Do you have a free slot in your computer?

[GrassyGlide]

Best capture cards are internal PCI Express. Do you have a free slot in your computer?

Yes.
Any recommendations? and would it make a big difference from what i have?
Also i should have mentioned that i'm not looking for something too expensive, my budget is around 100$ max.
Thanks!

[Subtitles]

Well another member here had capturing problems even with a very good capture card, and in the end he bought AverMedia Live Gamer GC573 and it solved his problems. It is over your budget so perhaps the lower price one Avermedia Live Gamer, Blue GC570 (1080p) might be good. With a little effort perhaps you can afford it. If not, take a look at AverMedia products
https://www.avermedia.com/

[Subtitles]

You will need HDMI to RCA adapter, if you haven't got it already

[lollo]

Capture analog video with a RCA to HDMI adapter and then a HDMI card.

Am I am missing something or is the approach from our old friend Technology Connections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC5Zr3NC2PY&t=669s back in action?

[Alwyn]

You will need HDMI to RCA adapter,

Wrong way. Look at his camcorder. It's RCA OUT. Not that I am supporting that method.

I am surprised that Ezcap gadget doesn't produce better video. It's a pretty flash unit that is obviously not easycrap. That needs more investigation.

Subtitles, you say:

Best capture cards are internal PCI Express.

and then

Well another member here had capturing problems even with a very good capture card, and in the end he bought AverMedia Live Gamer GC573 and it solved his problems.

Are you speaking from experience? If it's the one I think it is, we never saw any of their captures and so I wouldn't be recommending their gear/workflow, especially if they were using a cheap RCA>HDMI converter. Those things ARE junk; I have one.

[lollo]

Alwin, the card Subtitle proposes accepts only HDMI input. A digitizer is then needed.

Are you speaking from experience?

I suspect he has none, just providing generic comments

[GrassyGlide]

Wrong way. Look at his camcorder. It's RCA OUT. Not that I am supporting that method.

What is the best method i should use then? which also won't break my bank account 😅
Is it what lollo suggested?
I would also appreciate if you guys could suggest me some model names(including the adapter), i can look in amazon but i'll probably end up getting a crappy one since i'm not as knowledgeable as you

[Subtitles]

Alwyn I appreciate the correction.
Do you have any recommendation to the OP?

[GrassyGlide]

Will this combo be ok?
Converter: https://www.amazon.com/Converter-ABLEWE-Composite-Supporting-Blue-Ray/dp/B07RX69KR8?th=1
HDMI Video Card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097DKNS1M/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A1P1OHB2JFMIPI&psc=1

[lollo]

Is it what lollo suggested?

That links shows one the worst method!

Search the forum for a recommended worflow; essentially good player with lineTBC correction and Y/C output, a Hauppauge USB-Live 2, or IOData GV-USB2 or similar; a specific dvd-r recorder in pass-through mode if player not as before specified

[MrKool]

hey i have a TRV23E as well we were just talking how this camera is 27 years old now and it still freaking works

I just got done capturing footage from 96-97 era and there was alot of interlacing and stuff but once you process through virtualDUB the footage came out great. I am using Dazzle capture which is not the best solution out there but SD video is not very high resolution to begin with.

[lollo]

With a different card than a Dazzle and a different workflow than VirtualDub (AviSynth/VapourSynth) you could achieve even better results. But if you are satisfied is all that matters.

Not very high resolution for VHS is not an excuse to do not get the best from it.

[GrassyGlide]

Is it what lollo suggested?

That links shows one the worst method!

Search the forum for a recommended worflow; essentially good player with lineTBC correction and Y/C output, a Hauppauge USB-Live 2, or IOData GV-USB2 or similar; a specific dvd-r recorder in pass-through mode if player not as before specified

Thanks for all the help, i will look it up.

hey i have a TRV23E as well we were just talking how this camera is 27 years old now and it still freaking works

I just got done capturing footage from 96-97 era and there was alot of interlacing and stuff but once you process through virtualDUB the footage came out great. I am using Dazzle capture which is not the best solution out there but SD video is not very high resolution to begin with.

Wow that's actually super helpful that you have the same camera! Thanks for that reply!
So you're saying most of the quality control is done with virtualDUB and less with the hardware itself?
And yeah i get what you're saying about the quality, the thing is - the quality played directly from my camera actually looks alright, only when i record it with the EZcap it gets super pixelated and the FPS drops by like 40%. Do you not get that severe degradation with the Dazzle?

[lollo]

The capture software (VirtualDub/AmarecTV) has nothing to do with the “intrinsic” quality of the capture.

On the other hand, a bad capture software can do damages like bad deinterlacing, bad resolutions, resize, etc

A postprocessing after capture may improve the quality of the video

[GrassyGlide]

The capture software (VirtualDub/AmarecTV) has nothing to do with the “intrinsic” quality of the capture.

On the other hand, a bad capture software can do damages like bad deinterlacing, bad resolutions, resize, etc

A postprocessing after capture may improve the quality of the video

When i captured the video with the EZcap, i just used the internal recording function and it recorded it directly to flash drive. There was no 3rd party software involved(it wasn't even connected to my PC). Could this also contribute to the low quality?

[lollo]

Recording to a flash drive? Then is not the classic EasyCap that we don’t love, but some hybrid with a sort of ClearClick device, that we do not love as well. Potenzial on the fly destruptive video manipulation, yes

[GrassyGlide]

Recording to a flash drive? Then is not the classic EasyCap that we don’t love, but some hybrid with a sort of ClearClick device, that we do not love as well. Potenzial on the fly destruptive video manipulation, yes

Alright you have convinced me to prioritize a cam with TBC over a capture card. Any model recommendations to look for on eBay?🙏

[Krazern]

Will this combo be ok?
Converter: https://www.amazon.com/Converter-ABLEWE-Composite-Supporting-Blue-Ray/dp/B07RX69KR8?th=1
HDMI Video Card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097DKNS1M/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A1P1OHB2JFMIPI&psc=1

You don't want to go this way...
I tried it very early on my family vhs capturing project and results were disgusting.

I still have some samples to show what i mean. With first capture i used Samsung DVD-V6500 combo from 2005 (horrible) and the devices you linked on amazon. Second capture is made with that trashy vcr as well but with a PCI Conexant CX23881-19 capture card (PixelView Play Ultra under Win XP) and Panasonic DMR-ES10. Third is the capture i settled with for now with differenct vcr- JVC HR-J668 + Panasonic DMR-ES10 + Hauppauge Live 2 USB + AmarecTV with HuffYUV compression. Differences are unimaginable to me personally.

[lollo]

Alright you have convinced me to prioritize a cam with TBC over a capture card. Any model recommendations to look for on eBay?🙏

Search here and on digitalfaq https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/10257-video8-hi8-digital8.html for suggestions. Ebay may be a gamble.

[lollo]

Differences are unimaginable to me personally.

Yes, the workflow makes the difference.

I'm still surprized that the improvements using to HR-S7500 are marginal compared to JVC HR-J668. Probably the Live-2 good digitizing work is hiding a little bit the potential differences. Just speculating...

[Alwyn]

Alright you have convinced me to prioritize a cam with TBC over a capture card. Any model recommendations to look for on eBay?

Hold it, your problem is with the digitiser, not the camcorder.

You did say:

i get what you're saying about the quality, the thing is - the quality played directly from my camera actually looks alright, only when i record it with the EZcap it gets super pixelated and the FPS drops by like 40%.

That camcorder is a higher-end machine as it looks like it's got a TBC and DNR. Unless the heads are dirty, I don't think that is your problem.

I also don't think that that Ezcap is necessarily your problem either. It's a higher-end gadget, not a cheap knock-off, and should perform OK. I suggest you get into the settings and look for a better capture quality setting.

I'm still surprized that the improvements using to HR-S7500 are marginal compared to JVC HR-J668.

My SVHS 5800 is no better than my normal VCRs. At this late stage of their lives, anything is possible with VCR quality.

[GrassyGlide]

That camcorder is a higher-end machine as looks like it's got a TBC and DNR. Unless the heads are dirty, I don't think that is your problem.

Are you sure it has TBC? i can't find it in the specifications(the manual in their website is all i have), maybe i don't know where to look.

I also don't think that that Ezcap is necessarily your problem either. It's a higher-end gadget, not a cheap knock-off, and should perform OK. I suggest you get into the settings and look for a better capture quality setting.

Isn't the EZcap considered garbage here? to me at least it feels really bad quality. I also think i maxed out all the settings, and i don't see any quality control settings. Here are some screenshots:
https://i.ibb.co/t27hgHN/IMG-1756.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/7YzBnG2/IMG-1758.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/xL7PNmr/IMG-1757.jpg

[Alwyn]

Sony Manual:

https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/support/product/ccd-trv23e/manuals

Excerpt:


[Attachment 72687 - Click to enlarge]

[Alwyn]

I've had a read of the Ezcap 180 manual and the specs say it records MP4 at 250MB/hr, which is way too low for a decent capture. So, by the sounds of it, it is doing what it is supposed to do. Unfortunately, the bitrate's too low for good quality.

Which brings me back to my point: you're after a different digitiser, not a different camcorder (at this point, anyway).

[GrassyGlide]

Sony Manual:

https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/support/product/ccd-trv23e/manuals

Excerpt:


[Attachment 72687 - Click to enlarge]

Thanks, that's good to know! Sorry for the newbie question, but in order for the TBC to work while capturing, do i need to adjust something in the camcorder or does it work automatically?

I've had a read of the Ezcap 180 manual and the specs say it records MP4 at 250MB/hr, which is way too low for a decent capture. So, by the sounds of it, it is doing what it is supposed to do. Unfortunately, the bitrate's too low for good quality.

Which brings me back to my point: you're after a different digitiser, not a different camcorder (at this point, anyway).

I see, so this digitizer is indeed bad, right?
Will the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 which was recommended here do the trick, in your opinion?

[lollo]

Which brings me back to my point: you're after a different digitiser, not a different camcorder (at this point, anyway).

I agree with Alwin, replacing the capture device is the priority. The rest, eventually, later

[lollo]

Will the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 which was recommended here do the trick, in your opinion?

If your Camera has not S-Video output, give to a IOData GV-USB2 a try

[Alwyn]

but in order for the TBC to work while capturing, do i need to adjust something in the camcorder or does it work automatically?

I'm pretty sure the TBC only works during playback but I stand to be corrected. Hop into the settings to make sure it is on.

I'm not sure about the DNR; try playing a tape with it Off, then On, see if there's any improvement.

Will the Hauppauge USB-Live 2 which was recommended here do the trick, in your opinion?

Yes, or my favourite, the IOData GV-USB2.

Depending on the stability of your signal, you may need an external stabiliser such as a [cheap] Panasonic ES-10 or ES-15, but the TBC in your camera should put out a nice stable picture so hopefully, all you'll need is a new digitiser.