Best software for capturing?

[Grandpa2390]

I was reading a post a week ago by someone on here that knows what he's doing. He recommended some program that was the best for capturing. unlike all of the garbage you get from big box mart. For the life of me, I can't find it.

I get the feeling it was a post by @lordsmurf. he had written a guide or a response to someone about all the equipment they would need to properly transfer the vhs tapes.

maybe virtualdub? but it hasn't been update in a long time.
I also see Handbrake listed?

[KarMa]

For SD capture, you need a capture card that can pass uncompressed YUY2 to AmaRecTV.

[lordsmurf]

VirtualDub.
It was updated recently. Not that it needs updating.

[jagabo]

VirtualDub (or the VirtualDub FilterMod aka. VirtualDub2 fork) is very flexible as far as capture is concerned. But that can also make it more difficult to get set up properly some devices. Many people have good luck with AmaRecTV after giving up on VirtualDub.

[KarMa]

Virtualdub is pretty well known for losing audio sync with the video but then there are others that don't experience this. So AmaRecTV is the next stop for those with Virtualdub problems.

[jagabo]

Some hints for VirtualDub:

Do not play the audio while capturing (turn off Audio -> Enable Audio Playback). This cause A/V sync errors with most devices.

Do not compress the audio while capturing (audio codecs are usually single threaded and too slow).

Do not capture video uncompressed. Disk drives are too slow for this.

Do not use lossy high compression video codecs while capturing (MPEG2, Mpeg4 part2, h.264, h.265).

Use fast lossless compression codecs like huffyuv, ut video codec, etc.

If you still have audio sync problems play around with the sync settings at Capture -> Timing -> Resync Mode. Especially try enabling Do Not Resych Between Audio And Video Streams (which causes more problems than i solves for many devices).

And of course, there's all the usual things to try: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/104098-Why-does-your-system-drop-frames

[KarMa]

I usually got the best results with Virtualdub by simply not touching the computer during the entire capture, which can be difficult when dealing with hours of tape. As even light web browsing would seem to cause the issue. I would also set the audio to either add or drop audio samples if it lost sync with the video, which helped but would introduce audio errors.

[LMotlow]

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/7427-capturing-virtualdub-settings.html

[TimA-C]

If you do try AmarecTV ignore the bit on the VideoHelp's download page that says it "Requires the AMV Video Codec (trialware $30)." The version on that page (v2.31) doesn't need the AMV Codec to run, you just need to press the 'Update Codec List' button on the 'Recording' tab of the 'Config' window to choose from a list of compatible codecs installed on your system.

If you're feeling brave (or can understand Japanese) there are a couple of newer versions available if you poke around on the Japanese AmarecTV website. Version 3.10 is the last version (as far as I'm aware) that doesn't require you to buy their AMV Video Codec. Having said all of that, I'm not sure what advantages v3.10 has over the v2.31 on VideoHelp's download page? Both seem to work well. I'd leave v4.?? well alone as it not only does need their Codec but I think I'm right in saying that you need to do a little registry cleaning after uninstalling it before you can install an earlier version again.

[lordsmurf]

Virtualdub is pretty well known for losing audio sync with the video

And 99% of those are user error. VirtualDub has lots of granular settings, and you must pay attention.

But that can also make it more difficult to get set up properly some devices.

Sometimes, but really not that often. I rarely have setup issues with VirtualDub. (ATI MMC is another story.) Most simply need to follow a guide on setup, such as the one that sanlyn and myself have given input on. (here)

Do not play the audio while capturing (turn off Audio -> Enable Audio Playback). This cause A/V sync errors with most devices.

Yep, that's the main one. Probably 80-90% of dropped frames (aka audio sync) errors are from that. Rather than trying to use VirtualDub to route the audio, do it either at the OS or hardware levels. Post-XP Windows has a disabled-by-default preview option for line in, while XP is controlled by audio card drivers/software. Or just split/dual the audio to secondary input for preview. Some people just give up too quickly.

For SD capture, you need a capture card that can pass uncompressed YUY2 to AmaRecTV.

Uncompressed YUY2 should never be done, use lossless. And then my issue with Amarec is that the live reporting is subpar. I need to know exactly what the capture card is doing. I refuse to just trust it.

[KarMa]

For SD capture, you need a capture card that can pass uncompressed YUY2 to AmaRecTV.

Uncompressed YUY2 should never be done, use lossless. And then my issue with Amarec is that the live reporting is subpar. I need to know exactly what the capture card is doing. I refuse to just trust it.

Not sure how you have come to that conclusion but you can check with virtualdub to see what you your card outputs if needed. Most consumer level cards that can output uncompressed video is going to be outputting YUY2 anyway.

[Sharc]

Try good old VirtualVCR from here
http://virtualvcr.sourceforge.net/
It gave much less sync issues here than Vdub

[Grandpa2390]

I usually got the best results with Virtualdub by simply not touching the computer during the entire capture, which can be difficult when dealing with hours of tape. As even light web browsing would seem to cause the issue. I would also set the audio to either add or drop audio samples if it lost sync with the video, which helped but would introduce audio errors.

I have a desktop dedicated to this. it was a middle level gaming computer... but i don't play games anymore...

I had been using the software from VHS->DVD, and it seemed to work ok. But as @lordsmith or someone, said at some point or another, all of us amateurs get poor quality and blame it on the tapes, but if we used the right equipment, we'd be surprised. so I want to try the best software. going to try Virtual Dub first.

[Grandpa2390]

For SD capture, you need a capture card that can pass uncompressed YUY2 to AmaRecTV.

not sure what you are saying. But my capture card is a Magewell Procapture HDMI

[Grandpa2390]

VirtualDub.
It was updated recently. Not that it needs updating.

2014?

I installed Virtual Dub and am capturing it in whatever the default mode is. My Capture Card is a Magewell ProCapture HDMI. Are there any settings I should be mindful of?

edit: ran out of space. recorded at about 1GB per minute.

[JVRaines]

If it works, great. I tried every setting and Smurfo Grande's very detailed guide and still couldn't get Vdub to capture without an audio stream offset. I moved to the admittedly somewhat clunky AmaRecTV and have never had a problem.

[Grandpa2390]

If it works, great. I tried every setting and Smurfo Grande's very detailed guide and still couldn't get Vdub to capture without an audio stream offset. I moved to the admittedly somewhat clunky AmaRecTV and have never had a problem.

Finished 18 minutes of one tape until I ran out of space. 18 minutes of tape filled 18 GB on my hard drive. surely it can't require that much. I running the tape through HonestTech's VHSToDVD 8.0 with my same capturecard for comparison purposes. See if the extra 17 GB is any meaningful quality. Or if I can tweak the settings.

[JVRaines]

Sounds like you are capturing uncompressed video which is very big. Each frame is 640 × 480 pixels times 30ish frames per second. You need to install something like HuffYUV or Lagarith and then choose it under Video/Compression menu.

[KarMa]

What codec are you compressing with in AmarecTV, as it sounds like you are just saving uncompressed video.

[jagabo]

720x480 YUY2 at 30 fps is about 1.25 GB/min with no compression. Lossless codecs should be able to reduce that to somewhere between 400 and 600 MB/min.

[LMotlow]

It's not just uncompressed, it also RGB.

This forum has (literally) thousands and thousands and thousands of posts about capturing, not one of which tells the user to capture uncompressed or capture as RGB. This sounds like completely unmanaged capture with a junky capture gizmo and clipped levels far beyond the capacity of digital video to accept. I always cringe when reading threads like this.

Capture to YUY2 color using 32-bit huffyuv lossless compression for better CPU performance and smaller files.

[Grandpa2390]

It's not just uncompressed, it also RGB.

This forum has (literally) thousands and thousands and thousands of posts about capturing, not one of which tells the user to capture uncompressed or capture as RGB. This sounds like completely unmanaged capture with a junky capture gizmo and clipped levels far beyond the capacity of digital video to accept. I always cringe when reading threads like this.

Capture to YUY2 color using 32-bit huffyuv lossless compression for better CPU performance and smaller files.

I cringe when I read responses like this. I paid 300 dollars for this card and even though it isn't the high caliber stuff you can afford to use, it's better than what I had and I would like to get my money's worth. If my asking about how to properly use the program with my unique setup using a cheap junky capture gizmo makes you cringe, then go somewhere else, I'm not interested in making you cringe.


And perhaps, a word of advice for the future, you ought to avoid threads that ask questions like "what is the best software..." because these threads are obviously posted by people who don't know anything and will make you cringe. At least that what rational people do. They don't deliberately seek out things that make them cringe.

[Grandpa2390]

Sounds like you are capturing uncompressed video which is very big. Each frame is 640 × 480 pixels times 30ish frames per second. You need to install something like HuffYUV or Lagarith and then choose it under Video/Compression menu.

that makes sense. I downloaded the first one, I'll try it out tomorrow and see how far I get. I don't really understand a lot about this stuff. I'm trying to learn a bit as I go though. that I started with a cheap gizmo from Bestbuy and found my way here says something positive about me I hope.

you referenced a guide by Smurfo Grande. do you have a link to that? you give me the impression that it is the authority.

[Grandpa2390]

720x480 YUY2 at 30 fps is about 1.25 GB/min with no compression. Lossless codecs should be able to reduce that to somewhere between 400 and 600 MB/min.

that's still an extroadinary amount though, isn't it? I can download a movie HD and it is only like 4 GB, tops, for an hour or 2.

[TimA-C]

Are you even reading the posts in this thread? The link for the "guide by Smurfo Grande" is in Lord Smurf's post (#10) in this very thread.

[LMotlow]

720x480 YUY2 at 30 fps is about 1.25 GB/min with no compression. Lossless codecs should be able to reduce that to somewhere between 400 and 600 MB/min.

that's still an extroadinary amount though, isn't it? I can download a movie HD and it is only like 4 GB, tops, for an hour or 2.

You completely miss the point. Those internet HD downloads aren't noisy, defect-riddled VHS captures. They've either been thoroughly cleaned up before encoding, or they're made from pristine digital originals. They've also been encoded to intraframe lossy codecs, which is not what you're using. Another point you miss is that if you think the average HD download off the 'net is nice looking video, your cause is lost and you're going about this in entirely the wrong way. You don't need a video forum to learn to make ugly, eviscerated video -- any half-blind moron can train his pet monkey to make cleaner videos than you can get off the typical internet download.

It appears that what you're looking for is lossy capture to low bitrates. You can do that without all the capture fuss and trouble by capturing your tapes to lossy low-bitrate h.264. Try 640x480 at a variable single-pass bitrate of about 1200 kbps and audio at the lowest sampling rate your capture gizmo can manage. You'll have much smaller files that will look like the usual internet garbage you see posted everywhere. Do a little cut and join editting with those big-GOP lossy encodes and you'll be set to go, especially when you see how much smaller the files will get with additional re-encoding. If you're dissatisfied with all the defects, artifacts, and poor audio I'm afraid you'll have to live with it. You want 2 hours of HD video in a 4GB file or less without the cleanup or high-cost encoders and the encoding skill that the better engineers have used? You'll have to use their hardware, software, and encoding methods. As for "typical" results you see posted by most amateurs on the 'net, you already have the gear and the methods available that will get you there, no special skills required. You're wasting your time with Virtualdub and the other suggested software. Doesn't your current capture device come with capture software and lossy codecs?

[Grandpa2390]

Are you even reading the posts in this thread? The link for the "guide by Smurfo Grande" is in Lord Smurf's post (#10) in this very thread.

I missed it.
I didn't see that one. I miss the ones that don't quote or mention me. or I'm not alerted to. Forgive me.

I read 7 and missed 8,9, and 10. I read 11.

thankyou, I will check it out.

[Grandpa2390]

720x480 YUY2 at 30 fps is about 1.25 GB/min with no compression. Lossless codecs should be able to reduce that to somewhere between 400 and 600 MB/min.

that's still an extroadinary amount though, isn't it? I can download a movie HD and it is only like 4 GB, tops, for an hour or 2.

You completely miss the point. Those internet HD downloads aren't noisy, defect-riddled VHS captures. They've either been thoroughly cleaned up before encoding, or they're made from pristine digital originals. They've also been encoded to intraframe lossy codecs, which is not what you're using. Another point you miss is that if you think the average HD download off the 'net is nice looking video, your cause is lost and you're going about this in entirely the wrong way. You don't need a video forum to learn to make ugly, eviscerated video -- any half-blind moron can train his pet monkey to make cleaner videos than you can get off the typical internet download.

It appears that what you're looking for is lossy capture to low bitrates. You can do that without all the capture fuss and trouble by capturing your tapes to lossy low-bitrate h.264. Try 640x480 at a variable single-pass bitrate of about 1200 kbps and audio at the lowest sampling rate your capture gizmo can manage. You'll have much smaller files that will look like the usual internet garbage you see posted everywhere. Do a little cut and join editting with those big-GOP lossy encodes and you'll be set to go, especially when you see how much smaller the files will get with additional re-encoding. If you're dissatisfied with all the defects, artifacts, and poor audio I'm afraid you'll have to live with it. You want 2 hours of HD video in a 4GB file or less without the cleanup or high-cost encoders and the encoding skill that the better engineers have used? You'll have to use their hardware, software, and encoding methods. As for "typical" results you see posted by most amateurs on the 'net, you already have the gear and the methods available that will get you there, no special skills required. You're wasting your time with Virtualdub and the other suggested software. Doesn't your current capture device come with capture software and lossy codecs?

yes I'm a lost cause. dumber than a pet monkey trained by a half-blind moron. good day to you too.

[JVRaines]

720x480 YUY2 at 30 fps is about 1.25 GB/min with no compression. Lossless codecs should be able to reduce that to somewhere between 400 and 600 MB/min.

that's still an extroadinary amount though, isn't it? I can download a movie HD and it is only like 4 GB, tops, for an hour or 2.

Distribution files are encoded using mathematical and perceptual tricks that vastly reduce the data rate. They do this by throwing away some of the original picture information, so they are called "lossy." When you are making archival copies of important tapes, you really don't want to be throwing away data. HuffYUV and Lagarith are examples of lossless encoders; they reduce file size but don't lose any information.

[TimA-C]

Are you even reading the posts in this thread? The link for the "guide by Smurfo Grande" is in Lord Smurf's post (#10) in this very thread.

I missed it.
I didn't see that one. I miss the ones that don't quote or mention me. or I'm not alerted to. Forgive me.

I read 7 and missed 8,9, and 10. I read 11.

thankyou, I will check it out.

You don't bother to read all the posts in a thread that you start asking for help . . . ? Wow, how to make us all feel warm & fuzzy for trying to help you.