Can't copy VHS to DVD with any program

[scroller13]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I don't think there is a solution except getting a VHS/DVD combo but I thought I would give it a shot. Here is my problem: I have tried several FREE software programs and EasyCAP with Honestech 2.5 and EasyCAP with Ulead, Roxio Easy VHS to DVD 3, and Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe, all with the same results. I can't copy the VHS video/audio to either my PC or my Laptop. I am hoping someone out there has a solution that will allow me to use one of my computers to capture the VHS video. I have about 75 VHS tapes I want to convert to DVD. Thanks to everyone in advance for any help.

Scroller13

[jman98]

The WORST thing you could possibly do if you want to copy VHS tapes is to buy a VHS/DVD recorder combo unit. So you at least haven't done that. Unfortunately, your post is short on details, making it quite difficult for you to get help.

What kind of capture device are you using to try to record video? Does it come with capture software? Generally those devices work best with the software that comes with them. If you don't have a capture device then explain exactly how you are trying to do this capture. Explain all the connections you set up to do it.

What kind of tapes are these? Commercial? Shows someone recorded themselves from TV years ago? Commercial tapes are often protected by Macrovision in the USA. If that's what you have then you may need to use a TBC to fix the signal from the VCR so it's recordable. This is part of the reason we don't recommend VHS/DVD combo units - you can't put a TBC between the VCR and the DVD recorder because they aren't separate units. You should probably also explain what you plan to do with the videos once you have them (ie. make DVDs, convert them to another format and keep that, etc.).

[Brad]

jman98: EasyCAP is the device.

[DB83]

So was this Easycap a $10 Ebay special ?

There are so many fakes of this and even if you got a genuine one you can have serious issues getting working drivers for it.

If you insist on using one of these you do need a genuine device which is now called Ezcap116.

And read the forum as there are more topics about these units then you care to shake a stick at.

[jman98]

jman98: EasyCAP is the device.

Sorry. I really don't keep up with the bargain basement options for this kind of thing. I thought based on the name that it was some kind of software program.

[Brad]

There is no "genuine" or "fake" Easycap. There are three/four variations of a hardware design that are marketed under this name and seem to originate from a single Chinese source. Perhaps the one claiming to be the original really was, and maybe they offer better support, but the hardware is the same.

[DB83]

There is no "genuine" or "fake" Easycap. There are three/four variations of a hardware design that are marketed under this name and seem to originate from a single Chinese source. Perhaps the one claiming to be the original really was, and maybe they offer better support, but the hardware is the same.

That is like saying every Rolex watch is made by Rolex.

The simple fact is that companies are passing off counterfeit products (is that a better description ?) as the official one.

[usually_quiet]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I don't think there is a solution except getting a VHS/DVD combo but I thought I would give it a shot. Here is my problem: I have tried several FREE software programs and EasyCAP with Honestech 2.5 and EasyCAP with Ulead, Roxio Easy VHS to DVD 3, and Honestech VHS to DVD 5.0 Deluxe, all with the same results. I can't copy the VHS video/audio to either my PC or my Laptop. I am hoping someone out there has a solution that will allow me to use one of my computers to capture the VHS video. I have about 75 VHS tapes I want to convert to DVD. Thanks to everyone in advance for any help.

Scroller13

The EZCap116 sold on Amazon by EzCAP-TV http://www.amazon.com/EzCAP116-Converter-Camcorders-Satellite-Supports/dp/B003YGJLWU is the only "EasyCap" device sold that has any manufacturer support.

If you bought anything else, you made a mistake. You will likely need to put some effort into identifying the chipset, finding working drivers, and finding third-party software that can be configured to work with it. (Start looking for answers at http://easycapexpertti.phpbb3now.com/index.php) ...and after you have done all that work, the device may still crap out on you after a short time because they are made so cheaply. Some people here call them "EasyCraps" for good reason

Plus, capturing VHS tapes using a computer is often not easy and straight-forward even with a good capture device and software. The analog signal is messy and erratic compared with the analog signal from a cable box or DVD player. It is often necessary to place additional hardware between the VCR and the capture device to transform the signal into something that a capture device can lock onto and convert to digital form.

[Brad]

That is like saying every Rolex watch is made by Rolex.

Counterfeit Rolexes are identical to the real thing?

[usually_quiet]

That is like saying every Rolex watch is made by Rolex.

Counterfeit Rolexes are identical to the real thing?

An exact duplicate of a Rolex watch made by a company other than Rolex that was not licensed by Rolex to use the Rolex name on their products would still be considered a counterfeit because Rolex owns the rights to the name. Shenzhen Forward Video Co., Ltd owns the EasyCAP and EzCap brand names and has a statment on their website regarding copies of their products http://szforwardvideo.company.weiku.com/about/

Like some other companies, Shenzhen appears to purchase generic devices or devices made by other companies to their specifications, then labels them with their brand name and bundles them with licensed software. ...but that does not mean that identical hardware can't be a counterfiet. The name on the product matters. If the name used was completely different then the product would not be considered a counterfeit. The counterfeits don't always use the same chips as the originals either. From what I could find out, the SMI chipset wasn't used in any of the original EasyCap products, but is often used in the cheap EasyCaps sold online. EasyCap devices using the SMI chipset don't capture audio, which means the user must capture audio with the computer's sound card instead.

[hech54]

This is the only real EZcap device:
http://www.ezcap.tv/

[Brad]

Shenzhen Forward Video Co., Ltd owns the EasyCAP and EzCap brand names and has a statment on their website regarding copies of their products

http://www.szforwardvideo.com/news/News_15.html

Actually they avoid claiming ownership of the Easycap name except to say that it is a brand. If you click on their own link there and search for Easycap you will find filings for four different capitalisations by four different applicants, one of which was withdrawn. Only the withdrawn one appears to have anything to with the category that EzCap is filed under.

Users don't seem to have any better time with the "real" thing: http://whrl.pl/RcxmT9

[usually_quiet]

Shenzhen Forward Video Co., Ltd owns the EasyCAP and EzCap brand names and has a statment on their website regarding copies of their products

http://www.szforwardvideo.com/news/News_15.html

Actually they avoid claiming ownership of the Easycap name except to say that it is a brand. If you click on their own link there and search for Easycap you will find filings for four different capitalisations by four different applicants, one of which was withdrawn. Only the withdrawn one appears to have anything to with the category that EzCap is filed under.

Perhaps Shenzhen Forward neglected to register the brand name for their original product, or perhaps they registered it somewhere else. There is a filing for their new EzCAP name at that link.

Users don't seem to have any better time with the "real" thing: http://whrl.pl/RcxmT9

Reading reviews on Amazon, there appear to be many satisfied users of the ezcap.tv product. It has a better rating than average for capture devices. The question is did that individual posting on whirlpool.net.au have a genuine EzCAP116 or a copy? It was purchased on ebay not from ezcap.tv's website or their page at Amazon's US operation, and according to http://www.ezcap.tv/ there are supposed to be counterfeit versions of the EzCAP116 in circulation too.

ezcap.tv does support their products. They have driver downloads available and a maintain a user forum. People who buy the cheap products in a black enclosure never know what chipset they will get, can only receive support from other users in independent forums, and often have to find drivers on their own if they use Windows 7 or Windows 8.

[Edit]Shenzhen Forward appears to offer support for the EzCAP116 as well. It appears that there is an audio issue with the real EzCap116, but only if the wrong drivers are installed or if the user has installed the correct drivers but does not select "USB Audio" as the audio device. http://www.szforwardvideo.com/support/Supp_30_2.html

[usually_quiet]

duplicate post

[sanlyn]

In any case, I don't think the O.P. has given enough info about the tapes themselves. I'm not sure what "can't capture" means. The captured result is just empty static? A black screen? A distorted image? Input not recognized by the OS? Are the tapes home-made recordings or commercial tapes? Wrong capture drivers ? (the bio info sez the O.P. is using Win7).

[ashaloola]

You might try this, it seems to have gotten a lot of good reviews on Amazon and allows you to edit the videos a bit during the VHS to DVD file process. It seems to allow for saving vhs to dvd or computer, as far as I can tell.

[JerryFerreira]

scroller:

I have one of those EasyCap USB 2.0 (which show up as STK1150/STK1160 device). I noticed that your specs are Windows 7. I had used my EasyCap under Windows XP with no problem because the Ulead (now Corel) software was for XP. When I tried to use the device under Windows 7, the drivers were no good. I was able to find drivers for Vista which work. Unfortunately, the Ulead software doesn't. I capture using Nero Video 11. Not as good as the original software, but it works.

[vhelp]

There is no "genuine" or "fake" Easycap. There are three/four variations of a hardware design that are marketed under this name and seem to originate from a single Chinese source. Perhaps the one claiming to be the original really was, and maybe they offer better support, but the hardware is the same.

and, i believe the latest spinoff or variation of the easyxxx is the EZGrabber2, which we both have.

[vhelp]

if anyone want to capture the best (lossless) format, virtualdub is what you want. otherwise, you will have to use the included software suite that comes with these capture devices, and they are not always the best way to go due to different (sometimes, probelmatic) reasons.

[scroller13]

Thanks guys for all your inputs. I trashed all the cheap stuff and lucked on a sweet deal. I bought a Sony Multi-Function DVD recorder for $80.00. It is brand new, still wrapped in the box and works great. Now I have another "slight" problem. I also bought a video stabilizer to use with the recorder. It also works great. My problem is when I copy a movie that is protected, it copies fine to the Sony recorder but if I try to burn a copy of "that dvd" with my computer, I get a write error every time and can't burn the copy.

Any suggestions? As I said, it's only a minor problem but never the less, I would like to know what the problem is.

Thanks in advance.

[usually_quiet]

Thanks guys for all your inputs. I trashed all the cheap stuff and lucked on a sweet deal. I bought a Sony Multi-Function DVD recorder for $80.00. It is brand new, still wrapped in the box and works great. Now I have another "slight" problem. I also bought a video stabilizer to use with the recorder. It also works great. My problem is when I copy a movie that is protected, it copies fine to the Sony recorder but if I try to burn a copy of "that dvd" with my computer, I get a write error every time and can't burn the copy.

Any suggestions? As I said, it's only a minor problem but never the less, I would like to know what the problem is.

Thanks in advance.

Can you describe the process you using to copy and burn your DVDs, especially what software you use for this?

[scroller13]

I am using NERO Burning ROM 12. I noticed that if I copy a vhs movie that is NOT protected to dvd I can make a copy of that dvd using my computer dvd burner with NERO. It is only when I try to copy a dvd I have copies from a protected vhs tape that I have the problem. In both cases, I have used my vcr, video stabilizer and the Sony dvd burner.

Hope this helps. If you need more info let me know.

[sanlyn]

Well...maybe we need to start from scratch here. Copying dirty grubby noisy crummy home made VHS to DVD is among the worst ways of getting those tapes to DVD. At best, you could record to DVD using the highest bitrate your recorder will allow, then work from there. Expecting great performance from an $80 recorder is lowering the bar, but maybe that's the only (?) choice available for now.

What is a "video stabilizer"? If you refer to one of those under-$100 big box store bargains, you've lowered the bar again -- and, likely, it won't do what you want. Copy protection from tapes can be bypassed with a full-frame tbc. A few older DVD recorders from Panasonic and Toshiba can be used as tbc pass-thru devices, most of which will ignore copy protection, but they won't record copy protected tapes on their own; you'll have to record "through" the DVD machine into a capture device to your computer. Also, you won't find many enthusiastic comments around here about NERO burners. The free ImgBurn is a better product and more reliable. But that's up to you.

You might want to backtrack a bit and find out more about the nature of what you're dealing with. Try spending a little time on this website: http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video.htm. Some of the material is a bit dated and there's a lot of new software around, but the basic principles of analog and digital video, capturing, encoding, authoring, etc., haven't changed that much.

Just my 2c worth, but a little research from the likes of digitalfaq might save you much time and frustration.

[scroller13]

OK my friend, let me start from scratch-----I am copying first grade commercial Disney VHS movies to DVD. I am using a Sanyo 4 head VCR. From that I runt the audio (left and right) directly into the Sony DVD burner (which by the way, cost $450.00 new) and I got it NEW for $80.00. I am running the video out of the VCR to the digital stabilizer which i paid $60.00 for (it stabelizes any abnormalities in the video signal AND eliminates the copy protection signal, otherwise I could not copy the vhs movie at all) and it is working as it is supposed to do. From the stabilizer the video is ran to the Sony DVD burner video input. EVERY movie I have transferred/copied, be it a commercial Disney movie or a "low grade vhs home made movie" has copied fine and plays on my computer or DVD players. The problem I have tried to describe above only occurs when I try to make an additional copy of a "commercially made" move that I have already copied to a DVD on my computer. It the movie was not copy protected, I can make a thousand copies with my computer if I choose. When I try to copy the copy of the commercial movie with NERO it starts to copy and then I get a message that a non-recoverable error has occurred and the copy process stops.

[usually_quiet]

I am using NERO Burning ROM 12. I noticed that if I copy a vhs movie that is NOT protected to dvd I can make a copy of that dvd using my computer dvd burner with NERO. It is only when I try to copy a dvd I have copies from a protected vhs tape that I have the problem. In both cases, I have used my vcr, video stabilizer and the Sony dvd burner.

Hope this helps. If you need more info let me know.

You might get better results if you use ImgBurn to create an image from your disc, then write the image to disc, but there could be something else causing your problem. What brand and type (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW) of DVDs are you using with the DVD recorder? What is the exact model of this Sony DVD recorder?

If you are just looking to get this done in your lifetime without spending a fortune, then there is likely nothing terribly wrong with using the DVD recorder you have. A DVD recorder could let you get your project done in a reasonable amount of time if you are not looking for perfection and the tapes have no major problems. If the results aren't satisfactory, then you will need to look into purchasing other equipment.

Just so you know, sanlyn has a very long thread, spanning 13 months, detailing his second attempt to capture and restore just one movie from VHS. http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/340688-YAVHSR-(Yet-Another-VHS-Restoral)-LILI If you want to acheive perfection at any cost, and don't care how long it takes, then he's your guy.

[jman98]

scroller13 - sanlyn and is very patient and helpful, but on the downside he is fanatical about VHS tape captures to an extent that probably 99% of the population would consider overkill. His advice to people who aren't interested in doing it his way can leave something to be desired. Then again, if you can convince him that are interested in doing it HIS way, he'll stay with you until the end of time and continue to try to help you long after any other person gives up. But I don't think you need to do things his way.

Get DVDDecrypter. Yes it's old and not recommended for ripping commercial DVDs any more, but for copying non-protected DVDs it's still the best. Use it to copy your DVDs instead of Nero. It will solve your problem. Nero just has issues and we don't recommend it around here. I use it sometimes for making audio CDs with text (yes, I still use those as do some friends and family members) and some burning of images to discs and making special CD media hybrid disc types, but that's it. I would never use it for DVD copying.

[scroller13]

Thanks Usually_quiet. As I stated before, this problem is not a big deal, I can always just burn the movie twice if I want two copies (using the sony burner). What I am doing is going to thrift shops and picking up movies to copy for myself and my grandchildren. I get the movies for between $.50 and 1.50 each. Some, like the Disney movies, are copy protected, so I use the video stabilizer to get around the protection factor. I have all the time in the world, as I am retired. As to your question, I am using Maxell and HP-R DVD's. I tried the EasyCap capture devices, Roxio easy vhs to dvd, and also Honestech vhs to dvd 5.0 deluxe. None of them would work on either of my computers running windows 7 64 bit. Honestech tech support told me that they have not come up with a fix for their product that will work with my system. The setup I am now using is the only one, so far, that will work.

I guess sanlyn must really be frustrated with his efforts as I thought his reply was a little gruff and the tone was not really necessary.

Thank you for your inputs.

[jman98]

Just so you know, sanlyn has a very long thread, spanning 13 months, detailing his second attempt to capture and restore just one movie from VHS. http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/340688-YAVHSR-(Yet-Another-VHS-Restoral)-LILI If you want to acheive perfection at any cost, and don't care how long it takes, then he's your guy.

Not to mention the damn 2 year old thread where the OP has yet to even capture ONE freakin' VHS tape to DVD and he continues to "help" the guy long after any rational person would have given up. Even jagabo, who almost never gives up on hopeless causes, finally gave up in that thread.

Again, very few people in the world really care to do things that take that long. Everyone has to do what they are comfortable with, but at some point it's better to just get things done at "good enough" level and get on with life than to spend over a year trying to get the "perfect" capture. My problem with sanlyn is that he thinks EVERYBODY needs to spend a year or more on one tape if it takes that long and that's just not realistic or rational.

[usually_quiet]

I am using Maxell and HP-R DVD's.

I'm stumped. I thought there was a possibility that the DVD recorder was applying CPRM copy protection to some DVDs, but is unlikely because the media you are using is DVD-R, and as far as I know, CPRM protection requires DVD-RW or DVD-RAM.

Maxell and HP discs are not the best and may give you a larger percentage of bad burns, and are more likely to loose their data over time. If you find that is true for you. Verbatim AZO DVD-R or DVD+R media (not their Life series in the white wrapper) or JVC/Taiyo Yuden DVD-R or DVD+R are the most reliable and longest-lasting, but have to be purchased online. (When I need more discs, I buy Verbatim DVD-R AZO media at newegg.com when it is on sale.)

[scroller13]

Thanks for the info on the DVD's. As I am in no hurry, I will just run the VHS movies through twice, that way I will have a copy for me and one for the kids.