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  1. Hello,

    I'm looking to capture some family home movies from VHS to digital format (to store on thumb drive) and possibly put on DVD to give to other family members. I have pretty basic EasyCap capture and I'm not sure which settings work best. I've been playing around with different ones and still not sure.

    1. In the videos (on VHS) when the camera is panning, it's smooth. On some of the captures I've made there seem to be skips. It's subtle but noticeable. (It's not actually a 'skip' per say, but it's not smooth like the VHS.

    2. I've read that the quality of the VHS is only so good anyway so it doesn't make sense to capture at higher format as it will only result in larger file sizes,etc. There are a number of different options in settings.

    3. I'm just basically looking to get the same VHS quality in digital format. Not looking to encode,edit, etc. I did read that compressing file can result in smaller file size without giving up much quality. Overall size isn't an issue as there are only a handful of VHS tapes being captured.

    Any advice as to avoiding the "skipping" in the video capture, and as to what format should be capturing them in>

    Thanks a lot.

    Rick
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  2. Options for settings are

    MPEG2
    320x240
    640x240
    640x480
    720x480

    quality : Normal. HIgh. Highest. various bitrate speeds.
    encoding speed. fast, fastest, normal, good, very good, excellent.

    MPEG4
    352x240
    bitrate 1500

    DVD-NTSC
    720x480
    various bitrate options

    SVCD-NTSC
    480x480
    bitrate 2500
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  3. Member
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    If you have a fast PC nothing to stop you using the best settings. For example, since you mention
    DVD choose the DVD setting with the video bitrate up around 8 - 9 Mbits per second.

    The skipping you mention is usually due to a dropped frame; it occurs when something on the PC bogs down
    and is not fast enough for the real time capture. In this case the previous frame is repeated so as to leave the proper frame rate,
    but if it's in a scene with movement, there is visible judder as you say. Try using a second harddrive as the capture drive

    What software are you using for the capture? Which version of Windows ? Which exact Easycap ?
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  4. Easy Cap Capture version 4.0a win8 (usb2.0 video adapter with audio)

    I have windows 10.

    I've been capturing with easy-cap. Then use audio extractor to get just the audio to fix the audio only being on left side in audacity. Then I take captured video (mute the audio on that file) and ad the new audio in video-pad by NCH software. When exporting video in video-pad it has different options HD 4k, 2k, 720... Youtube pre sets 720, 480...etc
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  5. Online it says the EASYCAP is supported by windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
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    Why only one audio channel? Mono VCR ?
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  7. Member
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    The common nickname for any cheap junk capture card with an "EasyCap" label is EasyCrap. There is only one genuine EZCap, here http://www.ezcap.tv/. Even if you have the genuine article, you could definitely do better.

    There are thousands of posts in this forum dating back at least 15 years and as recent as a couple of weeks ago, dealing with VHS capture. You're barely started, and off to one of the lowest-quality capture methods ever devised. Don't blame VHS tapes for your lack of processing skill. If you like what you're getting, then by no means should you try to improve anything until you learn more about video formats. You'll get highest quality DVD at 720x480 and variable bitrates with a target of 6000 up to 7500, and a max bitrate of 9200, with audio sampled at 48KHz as Dolby AC-3. If you don't have those options with the notoriously bad EasyCrap software you're using, find a better way to capture. Or continue as-is and get as close as you can to the MPEG encoding options described here. Rules of thumb: smaller frame = blurry image on today's tv's, and lower bitrate = lower quality.

    You can get visibly better performance by connecting your capture card to a line-tbc pass-thru device that has s-video output and a good y/c filter to stop dot crawl and the common VHS line-sync error distortion that fills your current captures. This isn't rocket science -- people have been advising this for years. it's a wonder you haven't come across these techniques if you've been browsing this forum for information. https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/319420-Who-uses-a-DVD-recorder-as-a-line-TBC-and-what-do-you-use
    Last edited by LMotlow; 10th Dec 2017 at 20:03.
    - My sister Ann's brother
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  8. LMotLow, Where did I blame VHS tapes? Oh, that's right I didn't! While I appreciate you taking the time to respond, I wonder why you would?

    I told what capture product I had, which you clearly disagree with and that's fine.

    I said how I only have a handful of VHS tapes to do and that I wasn't looking for high tech, editing, etc. I was just looking to capture the same quality into digital format and possible burn onto DVD's.

    That being said, I noticed some "skipping" and was wondering about settings,etc.

    if I'm a newbie (which I clearly am) and this is all so basic and stuff I can find through various posts on this forum,etc. Why would you waste your time in responding? Was it just so you could speak down to me with some passive aggressive insults and let me know you're the man? It looks pretty petty and I don't understand but that's okay because I don't need to understand, I don't know what you're going through in life.

    In any event, Thanks for your time.
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  9. Davexnet: Daewoo four head mono VCR.
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    LMotlow is racking up a rather impressive record of turning off new visitors lately. I don't know what the cranky paternalistic shaming is all about, but it's sadly out of place in a Help forum.

    Can you post a video example of the "skipping"?
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    I'm not the only responder around here who has given the straight skinny to newcomers who've started out on the wrong road to VHS conversion. Plenty of people have used the term EasyCrap, too, where's the b.s insults that accompany their remarks. And where, by the way, is the help you say you're giving this new member and the useful information you've delivered? No notes about what a a tbc is (we already know what skipping is, folks, the O.P. refers to dropped and inserted frames). Another newcomer who's unfamiliar with basic formatting and encoding standards, and where's the information that gives him tips on the higher quality encoding? You guys have something against straightforward inforrmation?

    And, yes, the O.P. did blame the source for his troubles and as an excuse for low-quality preference. To quote the O.P. from post #1:
    2. I've read that the quality of the VHS is only so good anyway so it doesn't make sense to capture at higher format as it will only result in larger file sizes,etc. There are a number of different options in settings.
    Those with low expectations and no interest in improving their results typically open their "request" with remarks like this.

    A new tip to the newcomer; you have to fit in early here and be a fanboy of whatever clique grabs you first, Agree with them and do what they do, or you won't be helped that much. They'll spend most of their time arguing among themselves..

    To repeat my own reply: with VHS work you're off on the wrong foot if you're looking for quality results. If you're not looking for quality results, continue as-is. It's that simple.
    - My sister Ann's brother
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  12. If you don't want to spend many hours learning how to capture and filter video -- your best bet is to get a DVD recorder with a line-TBC (like the old Panasonic ES10 or ES20) and record directly to DVD in SP mode (1 hour per single layer DVD).
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    Regarding the mono VCR . Were the tapes recorded on a mono VCR? If so, it's moot, but if
    they were recorded with a HI-FI VCR you would get substantially better audio if you could get
    your hands on a a HI-FI VCR for your captures.

    The other point of contention in the discussion is the use of a Time base corrector
    (or something like a Panason DMR ES10) to "clean" the signal before it is digitized.
    These devices help to stop the side ways wobble prevalent in VHS, but it's severity varies.

    At this point it is better if you could provided a 10 -20 second sample direct from your capture
    so we can advise you further. Probably mpeg-2 at 720/480 resolution.

    I did a bunch of capturing myself about 7 years ago using an Avermedia M780 PCI-e card.
    I never used an device to "clean" the signal, but I may have been lucky. The tape and VCR combination
    resulted in very little picture instability and perhaps the Avermedia stabilized it a little,
    in any case it was good enough for my purposes at the time.
    Last edited by davexnet; 11th Dec 2017 at 00:33. Reason: typo
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