Archiving OLD VHS tapes

[joomlales]

I am researching various ways to archive some old VHS tapes. There are so many devices and formats available.

Here's what I have in mind:

* I'd like to have a digital copy of all of my tapes. This would be something I could edit at a later date. I am not talking about anything more than removal of unwanted scenes. Nothing fancy. The key is to have a format that can be accessed in 20 years (for example). I don't think I need a fully uncompressed file. MPEG-2 ..... MPEG-4 ..... Dunno

* Second I would like to copy the VHS tapes directly to DVD. I don't think I'd need a computer for this. Rather a good DVD recorder.

[redwudz]

A DVD recorder and a decent VHS deck would be the easiest. I think the DVD/MPEG format will be around a long time. You may need a TBC (Time Base Corrector) to get the best transfer. VHS signals tend to 'wobble' a bit and a TBC can help.

[bendixG15]

Okay ... welcome .....

You have posted a popular topic and the search function may give you some insight while you are waiting for replies.

Here's a few things to consider..
# 1 - Twenty years is a long time in the computer world. No guarantees as to what will still be around.
# 2 - Pick a storage device.... hard drive or DVD style disk ... neither of which is guaranteed to work in 20 years.
# 3- How much time and money are you able to invest .. months or weeks?

I'm done...get other opinions.

(redwudz beat me)

[dadrab]

I'm more the "get it while the getting's good" sort.

If I take the time to rip a tape to hard-drive and author it to DVD, I'll probably take the time to edit out commercials and such while I'm there.

For that reason, I recommend using a capture card in a computer to archive stuff.

Please don't get me wrong, redwudz is one of the smartest and most practical guys on these boards from what I've read and his suggestions are very sound. My take on it is about flexability and finality. Capture it, edit it, author it, burn it, ENJOY it and I don't have to screw around with it again if I don't want to. And, by squirreling stuff away in this fashion, I can pull it out, watch it and enjoy it along the way without having to fight the fast forward button to skip the crap I'm not interested in watching.

A full-frame TBC is a good suggestion too. I just bought one, in fact.

It's all about the learning curve, man. If you don't need to be bothered (and I don't mean that sarcastically) with learning what it takes to capture using a PC, a DVD recorder is the way to go. But, I kind of look at it as a pay me now or pay me later scenario.

If, on the other hand, you are intersted in taking the long route, I can recommend a Hauppauge product that captures directly to MPEG2 (DVD format); VideoReDo for editing; DVDLabPro for authoring and IMGBurn for getting your creations to disc.

Hell, if I can do it, anybody can.

[redwudz]

The longer answer :

One item to OP didn't mention is what's on the tapes. If they are treasured family memories from a camcorder, then I would recommend a profession lab do the conversions. They have the equipment to do it properly. (If you choose a good lab.) This is especially critical if the tapes aren't in the best shape.

If they are just movies you have recorded, then a DVD recorder would still be my choice for ease of use.

If you want the better quality, and need to do some editing, then a Hauppauge card is one choice.

If you want the most control and even better quality (Most times) and want to do extensive editing, maybe conversion to the DV-AVI format would be better. You can do this with a camcorder (Used, even), or a converter box like a ADVC DV converter or similar. You would need a FireWire card for this. DV is one of the easiest formats to edit in. But it does use about 13GB per hour of video, so you need at least three times that much space on your hard drives. You do your editing, then encode to MPEG for a DVD, then author and burn the disc. This is the method I use for the best quality.

I would also recommend a TBC for the most stable capture/conversion. Some VHS decks do have a built in TBC, such as some of the JVC units.

I use VirtualDub for most of my editing/filtering. It has hundreds of filters available. I also use Audacity for audio editing. (After video editing is completed) I send that to a AC-3 converter, usually Aften to convert to AC-3 audio for compatibility and small file size. After filtering/editing in VD, I frameserve the video to a MPEG encoder directly from VD, avoiding a additional file. Then I author and add the chapters, menus, etc. The AC-3 audio is combined back at this point. I burn only with ImgBurn to good quality DVD media, usually Taiyo Yuden, or Verbatim DL + if the file is longer. The software mentioned is all freeware.

If you need more extensive editing and fades, transitions, effects, etc., then a high end AVI editor may be a better choice than VD. But edit in the DV format before you encode to DVD compatible MPEG format.

I didn't mention a software capture card, such as some of the ATI cards, but that's another choice. They can use several types of formats, AVI types are the more popular. They require much more setup than a Hauppauge card, which uses a hardware MPEG converter. You can get very good or best quality this way, but it may require quite a bit more work and studying for the best quality.

Those are the most common methods and tools. A lot depends on the quality of your VHS source. And how much you want to spend on hardware and how much time you want to spend learning and using the hardware and software.

I would still recommend the DVD format as it has the best compatibility at present. If in the future something better comes along, just transfer the DVD file to the new media. VHS is not really great quality, IMO, so HD or Blu-ray doesn't serve much purpose with your type of conversions and I would stick to DVD formats. Again, IMO.