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    After watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC5Zr3NC2PY and the follow up video, I am pretty close to gobsmacked at how *good* a couple of cheap pieces of hardware are at converting VHS to digital via the composite output from some VCR.

    He uses a composite to HDMI converter+scaler which is then plugged into an HDMI capture box. No computer required. Aside from a little black crushing the results look really good.

    But that's the "Buy something cheap to see if it works." way. He's happy with the results, doesn't care about getting the nth degree of quality since it's demonstrably considerably better and easier than what he had been using for analog clips.

    However, I'm one of *those people* who does have a Super VHS. A Panasonic AG-1980. I searched for and found several HDMI converters with S-Video input. The catch is, how do I know which is a good one before I buy?
    Is there a decent all in one box I can plus S-Video plus stereo RCA audio into and have it save digitized video onto an SD card or USB flash drive or hard drive?

    I have an old WinFast TV2000 XP PCI card that ignores Macrovision, but to use it I'd have to setup an old Win XP box, and then I wouldn't get niceties like really good deinterlacing and certainly not anything like 720p upscaling. Analog upscaling tech has come so far the past few years. My current Samsung 4K and previous Vizio 1080p televisions make VHS look darn near as good as DVD.
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    - My sister Ann's brother
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    Aaaaannnnd.... I don't care. What matters is if I like the looks of the output.

    Apparently neither of you read what I wrote past the link to the video. You haven't used any such modern equipment but you sure do have opinions about it - mainly that having a few thousand dollars in vintage unobtainable analog video gear is the only way to digitize old VHS tapes.
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  4. "Keeping it Weird" Austinfilmstock's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    After watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC5Zr3NC2PY
    .

    However, I'm one of *those people* who does have a Super VHS. A Panasonic AG-1980. I searched for and found several HDMI converters with S-Video input. The catch is, how do I know which is a good one before I buy?
    Is there a decent all in one box I can plus S-Video plus stereo RCA audio into and have it save digitized video onto an SD card or USB flash drive or hard drive?

    .
    Ask the guy in that video he seems to be on the same level of what you want. You get what you pay for and if "You Like" contact those "Like You"
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  5. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    You can capture analog video in any way you want no one stops you or cares, The folks who criticized the youtube video just pointed out the mistakes from a pure technical perspective, HDMI is intended for displaying video period, Gamers who capture from HDMI of the newer consoles have no other option or port to capture video from that's why there is such HDMI capture devices, but that's pure digital video.

    When you use a scaler to capture analog video your signal path is as follows: From analog video signal to an ADC chip that converts the video to a digital signal and applies all the unnecessary DSP stages such deinterlacing, upscaling and decompressing to HDMI standards, then from there it goes to the second device (HDMI capture device) where it takes the uncompressed HDMI stream and compresses it to a specific video format usually mp4 and stores it on a flash memory in small segments that you have to stitch back together again.

    If you want an analog to HDMI scaler for capturing analog video knock yourself out, the best I've seen so far is this one, I own one and I'm using it to connect old video gear to a computer flat panel on my work bench, It displays the video accurately and processes the video better than any TV I've seen so far even my OLED 4K TV.
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    Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post

    If you want an analog to HDMI scaler for capturing analog video knock yourself out, the best I've seen so far is this one, I own one and I'm using it to connect old video gear to a computer flat panel on my work bench, It displays the video accurately and processes the video better than any TV I've seen so far even my OLED 4K TV.
    That's all you had to reply. Answer the question without all the other.
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    Is there a decent all in one box I can plus S-Video plus stereo RCA audio into and have it save digitized video onto an SD card or USB flash drive or hard drive?
    That Geffen scaler doesn't capture. You will still need to find a stand-alone HDMI capture device. Having a separate scaler/deinterlacer is a good idea because you probably won't find a stand-alone capture device that does a good job at scaling and deinterlacing SD analog input.

    Devices that capture mp4 files on SD cards or USB sticks are designed for a market that wants to capture video games but has little technical expertise and not much money either. While these devices can generally manage to capture 720p50 or 720p60 HDMI input as is, nearly all that I have looked at are unable to capture 1080p50 or 1080p60 input. Their upper limit is most often 1080p24, 1080p25 and 1080p30. The HD PVR Pro 60 is the only exception to that rule that I have seen. In stand-alone mode, it can capture up to 1080p60 as MOV files on an SD card (up to 256Gbytes currently supported, formatted as exFat or FAT32) at a data rate of up to 20Mb/sec. Other than that, I don't know much about it because it is new.
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  8. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    That's all you had to reply. Answer the question without all the other.
    I didn't question you why you are doing it, I had to point out the proper use of the device before I can recommend it so other members who are reading the thread don't get confused.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    The HD PVR Pro 60 is the only exception to that rule that I have seen. In stand-alone mode, it can capture up to 1080p60 as MOV files on an SD card (up to 256Gbytes currently supported, formatted as exFat or FAT32) at a data rate of up to 20Mb/sec. Other than that, I don't know much about it because it is new.
    It looks like the Hauppauge HD PVR PRO is a good companion for the Gefen scaler, It would be interesting to see the result of this weird combination.
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    720p would be plenty good enough. After all, the source is VHS.

    I'd like to see some video equipment review site test a bunch of composite, S-Video, and component to HDMI converter/scalers and in combination with a selection of HDMI capture devices to find out what a good pairing is.

    I have some old TV series tapes that for some reason only season 1 was ever released on DVD and for some reason the company seems to be 100% opposed to ever doing anything with the rest of the series. So if I want them in easy to use digital format and to save the original tapes, a HDMI converter and capture combo looks like an ideal solution for me.
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    I'd like to see some video equipment review site test a bunch of composite, S-Video, and component to HDMI converter/scalers and in combination with a selection of HDMI capture devices to find out what a good pairing is.
    Why? It's like comparing bricks to screwdrivers, as the "best tool" to hammer nails. Sure, you can do it. It's stupid, messy, ugly ... but you can do it. Meanwhile, those of us that don't want to do a butcher hack job actually just buy a hammer.

    I have some old TV series tapes that for some reason only season 1 was ever released on DVD and for some reason the company seems to be 100% opposed to ever doing anything with the rest of the series. So if I want them in easy to use digital format and to save the original tapes, a HDMI converter and capture combo looks like an ideal solution for me.
    If quality doesn't matter, and all you plan to do is watch them on a cell phone, then I'm sure it'll work. But played large on a good HDTV, and it'll look like garbage. It's a rough conversion method, nothing new, the same low-quality options have existed since the 90s.

    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    Aaaaannnnd.... I don't care. What matters is if I like the looks of the output..
    Then what was the point of posting this thread?

    nth degree of quality
    That guy is a dismissive moron. It's not "nth" (fractional), but a very qualitative loss along the lines of 25-65%. He's butchered the video. If he wants to do that for little Youtube clips to illustrate videos, great, but only a clueless novice will destroy actual watchable video. It won't be enjoyable sitting on the couch -- unless you're one of those warez pirates that loves to watch cams. But I won't insult my eyeballs with such schlock.

    720p would be plenty good enough. After all, the source is VHS.
    You're not understanding. Video is more than resolution. Photos have resolution, videos have motion. And you're completely overlooking the motion -- and destroying it in the process. The guy went one further and obliterated his luma and chroma values, insane contrast the ruins scenes, objects, foregrounds and backgrounds.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    designed for a market that wants to capture video games but has little technical expertise and not much money either.
    Not much money? These are the same kids that spend 3 digits on mice to get a 1ms boost, mousepads, keyboards. Not to mention $1k on video cards, to squeeze out extra fps. Talk about "nth degree" nonsense. I know a gamer than pays $8 for a 6-pack of "special glacier" water, because he got too fat chugging energy drinks while playing. But a good video card? Oh no, that's unpossible (The Simpsons reference, not misspelling). "The cheapest from China please!"
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    designed for a market that wants to capture video games but has little technical expertise and not much money either.
    Not much money? These are the same kids that spend 3 digits on mice to get a 1ms boost, mousepads, keyboards. Not to mention $1k on video cards, to squeeze out extra fps. Talk about "nth degree" nonsense. I know a gamer than pays $8 for a 6-pack of "special glacier" water, because he got too fat chugging energy drinks while playing. But a good video card? Oh no, that's unpossible (The Simpsons reference, not misspelling). "The cheapest from China please!"
    Adult gamers who spend a ton of money on a PC to use for gaming are often willing to spend a ton of money on their capture setup as well. The stand-alone capture boxes are a product that is more likely to be used by teenagers, especially console gamers.
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    lordsmurf, I get the feeling that if someone asked your opinion on what a good economy car is, you'd tell them they're an idiot for even considering one, the only car to have is a 1985 Corvette. You come across like those condescending nuts who really believe in oxygen free copper speaker cables or super expensive HDMI cables.

    The point of posting this thread was not to read sanctimonious opinions and insults against other people like yours. It's to find out from people who have actually used analog to HDMI scalers and capture devices which ones do a serviceable job.

    If you have not actually used any such equipment, go hang out with the old analog crowd.
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  13. Capturing Memories dellsam34's Avatar
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    I think you are taking this the wrong direction, Let's use the car analogy, If someone came to you and asked you what is the best car to carry his farming equipment? would you just recommend a car for him or tell him I think you need a pickup truck dude? That's what lordsmurf was trying to say.
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    720p would be plenty good enough. After all, the source is VHS.

    I'd like to see some video equipment review site test a bunch of composite, S-Video, and component to HDMI converter/scalers and in combination with a selection of HDMI capture devices to find out what a good pairing is.

    I have some old TV series tapes that for some reason only season 1 was ever released on DVD and for some reason the company seems to be 100% opposed to ever doing anything with the rest of the series. So if I want them in easy to use digital format and to save the original tapes, a HDMI converter and capture combo looks like an ideal solution for me.
    You are probably not going to find the kind of review site that you are hoping for.

    If you like the results provided by the capture device you saw in demonstrated in that Youtube video get one and try it for yourself. Here is a link to the Amazon listing shown in the video: https://www.amazon.com/1080P-Video-Capture-Recorder-Compatible/dp/B07JW5BBYG/
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  15. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bizzybody View Post
    lordsmurf, I get the feeling that if someone asked your opinion on what a good economy car is, you'd tell them they're an idiot for even considering one,
    No.

    I'd first want to know if it's for hauling the whole family (wife with kids in tow), or a primarily 1-person car to commute to work/errands. Then I'd suggest looking at Consumer Reports or U.S. News, because I don't always follow cars year-to-year. But I'd also suggest sticking to non-foreign cars, because the upkeep is cheaper. Unfortunately GM, Ford and Dodge are mostly out of the sedan business now, so that generally leaves Hyundai, Honda and Toyota (all of which are domestic cars now). Kia is an option, but be wary. I'd start with the Toyota Corolla or Hyundai Sonata, about $20k each for base model, and each is quite nice. There are some cheap new cars that shave down to $15k, but you may be better with a used car. For some, used is the best budget option, a car that's less than 5 years old with lower mileage.

    Originally Posted by dellsam34 View Post
    I think you are taking this the wrong direction, Let's use the car analogy, If someone came to you and asked you what is the best car to carry his farming equipment? would you just recommend a car for him or tell him I think you need a pickup truck dude? That's what lordsmurf was trying to say.
    This is exactly the issue. Wrong tools for tasks.

    Or generic suggestions that don't address the exact niche use case. (ie "pickup truck" is generic advice, towing power is essential to know, and 4x4 may be essential as well).

    Consumer analog video is a very specific niche with specific needs. If you don't address those needs, what happens is you butcher the video. The digital version actually looks worse than the tape, instead of better.

    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Adult gamers who spend a ton of money on a PC to use for gaming are often willing to spend a ton of money on their capture setup
    Experience has shown me otherwise.
    - $125 for a "gaming" mouse? "Yes, please!"
    - $125 for a good USB capture card? "Hell no! WTF!? Costs too much! I just want to watch old tapes!"

    On the other end of the financial spectrum, a common issue is insisting that VHS become upscaled to HD, and use those terrible (for SD) HD cards from Magewell/Blackmagic. Ugh.

    All of this is just lack of understanding of the source, or video in general.
    Last edited by lordsmurf; 13th Jul 2019 at 04:55.
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    Adult gamers who spend a ton of money on a PC to use for gaming are often willing to spend a ton of money on their capture setup
    Experience has shown me otherwise.
    - $125 for a "gaming" mouse? "Yes, please!"
    - $125 for a good USB capture card? "Hell no! WTF!? Costs too much! I just want to watch old tapes!"
    The consumer capture device market is dominated by game capture and streaming devices at this point. The words "Game Capture" or "Gaming" in the name of so many products should be a dead give away. There are some rather expensive HD capture devices marketed specifically for game capture and streaming. Examples: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DHSZC4K https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076ZQBN6R Who do you think is buying that stuff and why? It is not usually someone who is interested in using it for VHS capture. Gamers buy it for capturing or streaming video game play. Some gamers are plainly willing to spend tons of money to do that, which is what I was talking about.

    Some people still come here or to DigitalFAQ for help but VHS capture is a declining market at this point. It peaked about 15 years ago. Consumers today largely don't care about doing a good job with analog tape capture because it isn't important to them. If it were important to them, they'd have done it long ago. No manufacturer serving the consumer market cares about making good analog capture devices anymore because there is no money in it. They do care about making game capture devices though. There is money in that.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 13th Jul 2019 at 10:42.
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    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    VHS capture is a declining market at this point. It peaked about 15 years ago. Consumers today largely don't care about doing a good job with analog tape capture because it isn't important to them. If it were important to them, they'd have done it long ago. No manufacturer serving the consumer market cares about making good analog capture devices anymore because there is no money in it. They do care about making game capture devices though. There is money in that.
    That is somewhat of an oxymoron. Those that don't care, don't ask. Those that care, ask. But the answer to those that care shouldn't be to get a gamer card not meant for analog sources. All that does is butcher video.

    But I don't disagree, and understand your points.

    Manufacturers no longer finding it profitable isn't really an issue because quality capture cards are still fairly easy to locate. The only limiting factor is people that insist on using Win10 or the newest OS X. Legacy hardware, legacy OS, legacy task.

    The words "Game Capture" or "Gaming" in the name
    Very often, it's marketing. Gamers are a fairly gullible lot at times, and jump all over items with "gaming" in the name. I don't necessarily see anything "gamer" about those 4K capture cards. Those are just expensive due to being 4K. In fact, I don't think any 4K card, aside from maybe Blackmagic, isn't marketed as "gaming" or "gamer".

    Don't forget, once upon a time, ATI AIW were targeted to gamers. But those were just really good video cards, good graphics cards, nothing at all "gaming" about it. Most were cast aside, within a year or so, for better graphics cards. I remember when MSRP on those was all $300+, but sank to $50 each on the resale markets. Only capture folks go for them, and have for the past decade. A few rarer models of AIW fetch more, but that's it.
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    Those that care, ask. But the answer to those that care shouldn't be to get a gamer card not meant for analog sources. All that does is butcher video
    Since bizzybody has made it clear that he/she doesn't care about other people's standards regarding quality and has no interest in using anything other than the sort of equipment he/she has asked about, there isn't much point in spending more time giving advice that will only be ignored.

    I recommended that bizzybody try the stand-alone capture device recommended on YT that he thought gave good results because I don't know of a better option of that type in the same price range.
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  19. Bizzybody, if you do go ahead and buy the bits, can I ask that you post some examples of your results as I'd be interested in seeing some real world footage. Thanks.
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    To the OP: I have switched some of my capture chain in this exact direction and find it an absolute breath of fresh air - I feel quality has stepped up, and the capture chain is simplified. And I don't need to keep XP or W7 PCs around.

    Interestingly I began going down this path quite some time ago and even started a thread here early last year that I don't think there were any responses to... I was trying to watch a VHS tape in my HT and realized my new receiver had eliminated all analog video inputs. Thinking through the situation w/the equipment I had on hand, I realized I had a old, very high end Onkyo AV processor (TX-NR3007) with analog video inputs, HDMI output and a top notch video scalar likely near the state-of-the-art for SD-to-HDMI. When I sent VHS signals (s-video) through this receiver, output through HDMI and into my new receiver as an HDMI source, the quality was better than I had seen before. Then I began looking at capturing off this HDMI output as my go-to strategy. Unfortunately this receiver, though still working, runs very hot and heavy, so I've been trying to replace it with a smaller off-board converter... I recently switched to a Key Digital VP8 which works about as well (and doesn't weigh 40lbs and draw 200W) but I'm still looking for better options. I'd like something that handles 4:3 and 16:9 conversion which seems to be a hard to come by feature. I have some professional gear to capture HDMI in the digital domain so no worries there.

    My "before" capture chain was an AG1980p to various 1990s or early 2000s era ADC capture devices - Canopus, Theater 6xx/7xx adapters etc - to a PC encoding to Lagarith or another lossless codec, or settling for DV. Watching it required editing/processing, re-encoding, fixing color space weirdness, and putting it on a server e.g. Plex. It worked OK but (a) was problematic to support with modern PCs and (b) the output tended to look like crap on a modern TV--also in my case an OLED no matter how I played/streamed the file to the TV. Also, this chain was "capture only" and could not easily be adapted to "capture or play in the living room" and I have been tiring of having separate gear in separate rooms depending on whether I want to capture vs. playback real-time from analog.

    I haven't watched the Youtube video you mentioned but I do believe there is a path to improved quality through this method, with the right equipment. When I last posted here on this topic, I also searched far and wide and saw vanishingly little information on this strategy at the time, and I'm well aware that people here and at other sites tend to struggle adapting to change, so I haven't bothered exploring it online. I did meet the head of an AV conversation lab at a nearby major university and they are taking this approach for SD capture where their analog decks with SDI output are becoming impossible to maintain, as are their bank of XP machines, so that tells me there's something to this.
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  21. Video Restorer lordsmurf's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by swiego View Post
    and I'm well aware that people here and at other sites tend to struggle adapting to change,.
    That's not it.

    OS and devices have deemed VHS/Hi8/Betamax/U-matic/analog not worth the effort, and we now get passable-at-best options that lose quality.

    It would not at all be impossible to create a nice devices that use hardware LSI encoding to remove analog chroma noise, valid IRE and levels, decent on-board line TBC (possible with levels of low/hi, aka JVC S-VHS and ES10), internal 3D Y/C separate to reduce/remove composite dot crawl, and GPU QTGMC at a faster realtime setting. Win10, Linux, and newest OS X compatible. It can output s-video or HDMI. Charge a few hundred dollars, no different that other HD cards, and you have a winner. No just a capture card, no just ingest, but a full pre-processing box that also captures.

    But it doesn't exist. So we make do with what he have. And those new-fangled HD doodads don't do anything we need for SD, and most OS are a stumbling block.
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    Originally Posted by lordsmurf View Post
    Originally Posted by swiego View Post
    and I'm well aware that people here and at other sites tend to struggle adapting to change,.
    That's not it.
    No, that's exactly it. There's a dearth of "let's try something new" here and attempts to even explore the topic are often met with derision. Pointing out weaknesses in the "new-fangled HD doodads" as you degradingly described them is fine when it's informational, but I'm not sure what forward-looking constructive dialogue you're bringing to the discussion, beyond criticism?

    To the OP: I posit that the box LordSmurf described in fact does exist--in the form of early 2000s high end video processors during that very narrow gap in time where (a) there was market motivation for real-time display of SD content on digital HD displays and (b) supporting equipment was made during that narrow window during which s-video inputs and HDMI outputs were both not uncommon. I'd be interested to hear (from someone's who's actually explored this first-hand with hardware) how capture off the digital back-end of a Realta, Reon or DVDO box compares to traditional methods.
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    Originally Posted by swiego View Post
    There's a dearth of "let's try something new" here a
    But the problem here is that there's nothing new to try. The best quality hardware ceased production. So if you want to convert with quality, you seek out legacy hardware.

    I'm reminded of a lot of modern vinyl turntables. They sound really, really bad. Not audiophile bad, but casual person making a face bad. It was worse 10 years ago, when all you had was low-end Crosley stuff. (Thankfully, I still had my 80s turntable, though it eventually quite working.) It did get better over the past decade, but it will cost you for the decent models. At least vinyl has a few options. Not SD video. Perhaps that will change in the 2020s? It's possible. But for now, we have a lot of legacy hardware from 10-15 ago to partake in.

    There's a few decent devices, like the VC500, still in current production, for those that insist on buying new. But regardless of capture card, it's impossible to escape VCR and TBC. Nature of the beast.

    'No TBC' is automatic quality loss, likely capture problems. The lesser quality the VCR, the lesser the image. You're basically committing a rotten picture to digital forever, no way to fix it. I've spent years educating people that VHS can look better than thought possible, and that's the signal you want to archive. Not the wiggly image with red/blue mist, and other visual quality problems.
    Last edited by lordsmurf; 17th Jul 2019 at 11:24. Reason: add quotes
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    Originally Posted by swiego View Post
    I posit that the box LordSmurf described in fact does exist--in the form of early 2000s high end video processors during that very narrow gap in time where (a) there was market motivation for real-time display of SD content on digital HD displays and (b) supporting equipment was made during that narrow window during which s-video inputs and HDMI outputs were both not uncommon. I'd be interested to hear (from someone's who's actually explored this first-hand with hardware) how capture off the digital back-end of a Realta, Reon or DVDO box compares to traditional methods.
    If the signal is digital already and HDMI is the only output you have like a PS4 console then that's ok. HDMI is a display port not a data connector for capturing from analog sources. If you want a similar approach to HDMI, SDI is the way to go.
    SDI is a serial port uses BNC connector that carry video and audio in their native captured state, it doesn't upscale, change aspect ratio or de-interlace or convert from SD to HD or vise versa and can be carried that way to the computer using a SDI to USB 3.0 adapter or a SDI PCI card (A.k.a SDI acquisition card or device). SDI analog devices that can capture from composite/S-Video/component are as old as legacy PCI and USB 2.0 capture devices and are not made anymore but the advantage of SDI devices is that there is a lot of support from professionals making sure that SDI/USB3.0 adapters work with the latest OS platforms because SDI is still used today by professionals.
    This is not the average Joe approach but if you have the latest OS and don't want to go back to Windows 7 or XP this is a better alternative to HDMI.

    If you want to dive in this subject there are some threads with capture samples:

    http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/9475-brighteye-75-first.html
    http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/9823-comparison-be75-aja.html
    http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-restore/6551-leitch-dps575-vs-3.html

    Lossless sample
    MP4 converted sample
    Note: Download the files, DropBox player uses high compression.
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  25. You can do it with HDMI as well using DVD recorders or receiver + a HDCP stripper, though they're not as flexible as the professional gear. Particular issue is lacking good level controls.

    I use a Sony DVD/HDD recorder for this myself as it has a decent line-tbc and decent quality A/D conversion, though don't let it do any scaling or deinterlacing.

    I've tried an upscaler box, but the quality was garbage. I suppose one could be lucky and find one with a good A/D chip in it, but I wouldn't bet on it.
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  26. Member
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    Let me introduce myself as a newbee VHS transfert for home use, but looking for good quality. I already did some digitalisation of super 8 mm. To capture my films I use a Ninja Flame with HDMI input. Now my aim is to use this recorder for VHS. Initialy I used cheap upconvertors to 1080P50 but my Ninja does not accept or syncronise them. On the contrary, the HDMI output of my LG combi (DVD/VHS) is accepted.
    What is wrong with these upscalers, are they still interlaced and not progressive? Now I am looking for a good upscaler that delivers 'the same HDMI' output as my Combi or BlackmagicCinema camera that would be accepted by my Ninja. What is wrong with my workflow since nobody on this forum uses HDMI for capture?
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  27. Member
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    I'd also like to inquire regarding this approach, as I have found my initial quest to finding a TBC way too expensive nor available.

    So, I have the following workflow...

    Sharp VL-AH50 Camcorder-->Ocean Matrix OMX-CV-HDMI-->Magewell USB Capture HDMI Gen2-->Microsoft SurfaceBook (USB 3.0)-->VirtualDub2

    ...or at least that was what I was attempting based on the video shared by the OP as well as this one albeit with the aforementioned modified workflow--chose to modify it also because of the success posted here where a scaler was leveraged for better quality and for TBC qualities.

    Anyhow, I'm noticing that VirtualDub2 does not want to display the captured video correctly in the overlay window in capture mode (what is really weird is if I go to preview mode it displays just fine), and when testing a capture with lossless x265, it does it but the video is sped up and the audio sync is way off. Anyhow, if anyone may have some tips on how to configure Virtualdub2 for a successful capture or is there alternative software that may work better with the Magewell USB Capture HDMI Gen2 device, I'd greatly appreciate it.

    Thanks in advance for any assistance or guidance.
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  28. Formerly 'vaporeon800' Brad's Avatar
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    Try a lossless codec that's intended for capture, like Ut Video or MagicYUV, not x265. And capture audio uncompressed.

    I would not recommend using a scaler like that since you're baking in deinterlacing and resizing artifacts and bloating the size of your files for no reason.
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  29. Member
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    I will give that a try and get back with you all. Really, I got the scaler in order to get TBC qualities from it as I have been unable to find and purchase a standalone TBC which is what I’d like to do and then deinterlace (with interpolation to make the capture 60 FPS) within VirtualDub2.

    I have an Elgato composite capture device too, but without a TBC, I find the video and audio sync unacceptable and the voices would even go into smurf mode even. I do have a Sony SLV-940HF VHS player with TBC in it, but it did not appear to have an effect on the Hi8 video when testing a pass through it.
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