Convert vhs tape to mp4

[Alwyn]

You can't crank up scan resolution it is defined by the number of pixels on the RGB light bar

Of course you can. I certainly don't scan my family paper pics at full resolution. My hard drive would fill up in a heartbeat.

That's a minimum of 5000 dpi, How much the dpi of a cheap flatbed scanner

850 Pro 6400dpi.

Depends on what you class as "cheap". What are your suggestions for a "cheap" dedicated ie can't be used for anything else slide/negative scanner that does 5000dpi?

[rrats]

This is an editor. Never try to use editors/NLE for capture.

what about dv capture?

[rrats]

I suppose it is a video converter converting analogue video to digital video, similar to HandBrake

OBS is a real time streaming software. It can take capture cards as sources. It's terrible for digitising videos for many reasons, including it's terrible de-interlace library


Handbrake is video converter, not 'digitising software'

[rrats]

converting VHS to MP4.

mp4 is a container. please use term "digitise"

try asking r/Camcorders for digitising services. or r/Filmmakers/ as a last resort

[satimis]

Hi orsetto and others,

Yesterday, I visited a shop advertising on Internet offering service to digitize VHS to DVD. The service charge is about $10/hour and thereafter. The price is NOT expensive. I have called them before going.

I brought an un-important VHS tape to the shop. After examining my VHS tape the shopkeeper told me that the charge will be expensive because the tapes getting mouldy. I asked him the price and in response he said that he'll thoroughly examine the tape first before offering me a quote. In my feeling he seemed to me that I have no alternative compelled to be squeezed in price.

Then I left, visiting another shop offering same service. The charge is $20/hour and thereafter, about double in price. After examining my VHS tape the shopkeeper took it without any comment, asking me to collect the DVD after 4 days.

I found on shelves 12 Sony V8 cassettes and 3 brand-new cassettes fully packed without touching. My Sony Handycam is unable to work. I still have 3 camera lens well packed in its carrying bag. I'm considering to shop a second-hand video camera. After digitizing all V8 tapes to DVDs and then to MP4 files, I still can use the second-hand video camera taking video.

My old Sony Handycam

Video 8

[8] PAL

VIDEO CAMERA RECORDER

CCD-F380E

Sony V8 tapes

Metal MP120

Sony Metal MP90 [9]

PAL 8

The TV broadcast system here is UK PAL-I. I'm not going to play DVDs and will RIP them to MP4 files.

I have knowledge capturing V8 tapes to PC and then digitizing the files to MP4. I can run either Linux or Windows OS doing the job. Also the respective software are available on Open Source.

Could folks on the forum give some advice what second-hand Video-cam/Camcorder I need to shop. Thanks in advance.

Regards

[dellsam34]

You can't crank up scan resolution it is defined by the number of pixels on the RGB light bar

Of course you can. I certainly don't scan my family paper pics at full resolution. My hard drive would fill up in a heartbeat.

At this point I don't think you understand how a flatbed scanner scans the film slides and what's native resolution and software resolution.

[Alwyn]

At this point I don't think you understand how a flatbed scanner scans the film slides and what's native resolution and software resolution.

I'll look into it. What was your recommendation for a dedicated 5000dpi+ film scanner?

[dellsam34]

Obviously the OP is not interested in a film scanner but there are two options, the rock solid old school ones that may require firewire or SCSI ports or the new ones that use USB 2.0 or 3.0, However I cannot recommend any model since everyone's needs and expectations are different.

[lordsmurf]

This thread is trainwreck of bad information. <sigh>

OBS Studio
I suppose it is a video converter converting analogue video to digital video, similar to HandBrake

No.

OpenShot
I have used this software quite sometimes. It is a video editor able saving the final video in many format. It is very nice software and easy to use.

I'm know it's an editor. But again, it's NOT for capturing.

Linux Ubuntu 20.04.

Linux is not a capture OS at all. You're pretty much screwed. At best, you can hack the firmware on some of the better USB cards, and then use TV recording "PVR" type software. It's not a good capture method, lots of problems trying to use Linux for this. (Realize I really like Linux, both desktop and servers. But wrong tool for this task.)

Almost unable to be attacked by Hackers.

My video capture systems are 100% safe from hacking. They're offline.

Quality costs money and takes time, which most people aren't willing to put in.

It's still a bad assumption.

(1) Not all people are cheap and lazy. Merely going online (ie, posting here, posting at digitalFAQ.com, even posting at Reddit), and asking questions about how to best go about this, puts them into a category of not-cheapest and not-laziest. Asking questions takes effort.

(2) The full menu of options needs to be explored. As we all know, old VCR from the closet and $5 Easycap is garbage quality with problems, and is actually negative economics, wasted time. Then you go up to better VCRs, forms of TBC, which is where you must be, and there are grades between "guaranteed to work" and "gambling it will work well (or at all)". Finally, you have truly pro options (encoding appliances, etc), which newbies falsely assume is from the upper end of the prior category (aka, some form of TBC, and using an actual TBC made for analog tapes, aka the "guaranteed to work" option).

Not everybody shops at Walmart. Indeed, Target has done much better in recent years, especially last year, and it's not a bottom dollar store. That alone should resonate the idea that not everybody, maybe not even the majority, is cheap and lazy. There's a reason that specialty shops, small businesses, do so well. Ever watch Shark Tank? I'm amazed that some of that stuff sells -- not just sells, but often sells amazing well. They don't just assume everybody wants the cheapest item from Walmart, Wish, etc. And it has worked brilliantly for them.

Even when somebody is cheap and lazy, education can help overcome that. Because they don't know what they don't know. They assumed the old VCR from mom's house, and the $5 eBay special USB Chinese capture card, worked well -- educating themselves showed them that's not the case. So they up expectation of funds and time, as the project is important. It was important enough to do at all, so it's important enough to do well (not "good enough", aka the excuse for doing crappy work, but actual well).

"But can't I just <insert alternative here>?" and when told no, they either go that route anyway, then come back asking why their results are so bad or they never return, presumably happy with their capture.

During my decades online, on the topic of video, I've found this to rarely be the case.
It's always either
(1) Ignorant: "The method you told me not to use won't work, why? Wah!"
(2) Stubborn folks, the kind that simply must make their own mistakes, rather than learn from others: "You were right, that won't work, help me get a better solution."

The worse case is when they come back and talk about how great their method is and others follow their advice.

Thankfully, not a common issue. Those same people usually out themselves as numbnuts in other threads, to the point where it's obvious that nothing that write/say can be relied on. Youtube is actually worse than forums like VH or Reddit, so much misinformation.

You're making my point for me, LS. Over and over again you dispute me as if I'm an amoral troglodyte who disagrees inherently with your pursuit of best practices and highest quality, when I do not at all. The issue is the average tenor of the people who are now asking about digital transfer in the current era:

The problem is that you're making bad assumptions.

insist on a budget that wouldn't pay for a McDonalds family meal, have pre-conceived embedded notions

Education is needed.
Example: I want to buy a Tesla for $500. I don't think it's worth more than that. I saw an electric card at Walmart for $9.95 (nevermind that it was RC, totally not the same whatsoever), so $500 is a "good budget", and I'm not budging a penny higher. "I know" that it can be done, so help me plz!

Very very few people who post on these forums follow up and listen when they're told to "spend upwards of $2K on hardware, capture as ginormous lossless master files, use command line scripts to filter and de-interlace,

But that advice does suck.

Capture hardware has a minimum spec requirement: stable VCR (certain models, generally JVC non-TBC), some form of TBC (ES10/15 is very minimalist, has fail rate, artifacts), and non-crap USB capture cards. You can build a workflow for about $500, use it, then resell it. You may still have various issues, but less than other methods. The better quality, least headaches/problems (because some people value time), is to upgrade to with-TBC S-VHS decks, actual frame TBCs, and again good non-crap (usually USB) capture cards. That workflow squeezes up to $3k these days. But again, that ain't "pro", that's a basic VCR>TBC>capture workflow.

I've long approved of MPEG captures, pre-dating even my VH days (pre-2003).
But seriously, it's 2021. A lossless files is about 30gb/hour, while you can now get 16tb drives for $300 or so. So pffft on that logic. Lossless in 2001 was painful, it ate most of a drive to get 2 whole hours. But now, it's a tiny % of the drive.

And scripting is generally not needed, unless you want to restore. Or if the content simply requires a restore to even be viewable and enjoyable (not the AND here, it's not either/or). So a person blathering on about scripting in the same breath as the capture hardware is just bad form.

Those who immediately balk and defend the importance of their tapes

This is why your advice is backwards ... and thus bad.
Those same folks may not know that eeking out mere pennies on hardware = bad quality.
Reverse it.
When the person balks at price, explain why the price is what it is, and then discuss budget options. By backing into these conversations, misinformation is spewed. Sometimes threads read like Q-anon for video.

The same applies with family videos, esp those that are absolute sh*t quality to begin with (nine out of ten shots, grandmas face is buried in shadow so severe no amount of fancy hardware or trick processing will ever reveal her eyes).

No.

How many family tapes do you deal with on a regular basis? My 2+ decades of experience has shown that most are amazing decent, especially those shot on Hi8 (even more than DV). At most, white balance almost always is terrible. On average. Those videos would only look terrible if run through bad hardware. A good workflow was able to pull out all details, with stable quality video and quality audio.

What's truly saddening is the fact that our own family home movies do suck quite badly. We made the wrong choices in cameras and formats (some mine, some not). Sometimes I see that with others, and I can relate. And in my defense, I was never a shooter, and in fact rarely was the one using the camera (as with most families, the females generally operated the cameras). Although my dive into restoration was based from my cartoon hobby, the family videos sucking was always in the back of my mind -- especially stories from grandparents and great aunts/uncles.

It doesn't change the fact that most people simply do not place a high money value on this stuff.

Says you. I think you're being biased here, for whatever reason. It's just not reality.

You've got "people who drive BMWs" complaining those discount outlets are charging "highway robbery

Almost never accurate.

People are what they are: at best you can lead them to the proper solution, but you can't force them to choose it.

But that's NOT what you're doing.

Follow the recommendations of the links to LordSmurf's DigitalFAQ website at reddit, in lingyi's earlier reply. Improving the VHS files requires a very specific type of VCR, a specific capture hardware/software setup, and specific method of creating the final MP4s for youTube. LordSmurf is the authority on best ways to digitize VHS: if you want the best files possible, his method is the best method. I only disagree with his suggestions when someone makes clear they do not have the time, money, ability or need for ultimate quality (some people are very satisfied with what they get from a budget service, or a combo VHS/DVD recorder, or generic Amazon USB capture stick and an ordinary VCR)..

I think our disagree comes from, as I perceive it, your binary advice (binary worldview?). It's not expensive/cheap, an either/or.
What's best is best.
Example conversation: "Too expensive? Alright, first off, why do think it's expensive? You not being able to afford it doesn't really make it "expensive" (you have no idea how costly video gear can get!!!), but there are some budget shortcuts (with negatives) that can make it more affordable, maybe in that budget. What is your budget for this?"
.... assuming the budget isn't ridiculous, and most actually are not.

There are good and bad budget options, and sometimes the good costs less than the bad.

Now to your slides, never use a flatbed scanner for slides, .

Why? I have an expensive Nikkor film scanner, and it sucks at slide scanning. (The negatives scans are amazing.) Scanning slides is part of the reason we have an Epson V600. Your statement is probably true of many flatbed scanners (and scanners in general, including cheap film/slide scanners), but it isn't 100% accurate regarding all flatbed scanners.

However I expect to replace it with Epson V850 flatbed scanner, the latest model. Its cost is far more expensive than a slide scanner. During scanning, the quality of digital images is completely under my control via the software, GIMP. Besides after having scanned all negatives I can still use it for scanning documents.

Use Silverfast or Vuescan, not some generic TWAIN in Gimp. That's where part of the quality comes from, it's not 100% in hardware. It's how you utilize the hardware scanning.

Could you please advise me the URL of LordSmurf's DigitalFAQ website at reddit. Thanks

http://www.digitalFAQ.com/
http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/

It's a bit of a pain to follow, but the instructions outlined in this guide show you how to decently capture VHS tapes and other analogue video formats on linux without losing sync.

I appreciate linuxtv.com for capture cards information in the wiki, but that guide is blah. It will give you blah quality at best. It's simpyl the lack of any quality capture software on Linux, no guide can get around that problem.

Could you please advise me the URL of LordSmurf's DigitalFAQ website at reddit. Thanks

He just posts at DataHoarder, like he just posts here.

Also /vhs and /beta
Why are you not in Beta? (Or do we just always miss each other? )

And what precisely is "full resolution" for a slide?

And what exactly is "slide" ?
For example, Fuji Velvia slides are way different from Kodachrome slides, different scan techniques required.

6000dpi minimum is a must.

That seems like an arbitrary number to me. It was less yesterday, will be more tomorrow. But none are wrong. You also conflate resolution with actual resolve of the film.

In my case I scanned the film negatives on my old Epson Perfection 3490 flatbed scanner and the result is good therefore I decide to get a Epson V850 flatbed scanner, the latest model, to do the job.

That 3490 is not too different from our V300, and that V850 isn't too different from the V600. It was an obvious upgrade. Well worth it. The biggest change wasn't resolution, but the ICE (except for Kodachrome).

Yesterday, I visited a shop advertising on Internet offering service to digitize VHS to DVD. The service charge is about $10/hour and thereafter. The price is NOT expensive. I have called them before going.

Just be aware, that price in USA (not your location?) would be had only by using cheap hardware that you could buy yourself from Walmart/eBay/Amazon. Quality will be pitiful, more than not, and even using the word "quality" to describe it is undeserved and overly generous.

After examining my VHS tape the shopkeeper told me that the charge will be expensive because the tapes getting mouldy. I asked him the price and in response he said that he'll thoroughly examine the tape first before offering me a quote. In my feeling he seemed to me that I have no alternative compelled to be squeezed in price.

You're wrong. Mold is a serious issue, and could destroy the VCR. Only an idiot puts a mold tape in a VCR, and runs it without care or thought. All other tapes put into the deck will get the mold (be it live or inert), ruining those tapes as well. The VCR heads will surely be damaged, and subsequent played tapes will look horrible at best. I don't even touch mold tapes anymore, too much hassle. Those tapes need special attention, and not just the "wipe it with alcohol" nonsense posted on Youtube (which still causes VCR head damage, still spreads the mold spores).

Mold can be extremely toxic. I had anaphylactic a few years ago, due to mold spewing from the fan of device. (It was mold native to a geography far from my own, and I'd never been subjected to it, therefore my immune system didn't know what to do.) A typical eBay "tested/working" purchase, and the item clearly had not been plugged in for many years.

Step 1 of a mold tape is to see if the mold spores are active or inert. Or better yet, just nuke it (UV light), assume all is alive until UV kills it for sure.

I can run either Linux or Windows OS doing the job.

Note: Bare metal OS install required, you cannot capture in a VM.

[rrats]

Actually, LS, you don't have to spend 500$ on capture cards. Blackmagic made one that costs like 200€, and can capture losless interlaced analogue video

[lingyi]

Also /vhs and /beta
Why are you not in Beta? (Or do we just always miss each other? )

Oooooooo...didn't know about that. Thank You! It's r/betamax BTW. I'll look around and possibly post there. Kind of heartbreaking though since it brings up memories of my beloved Beta and Betamax days! *SIGH*

I don't even know how I stumbled on DataHoarder or any of the other subreddits I visit. I was and still am cautious about Reddit because they're some really sketchy subs there.

[lingyi]

This thread is trainwreck of bad information. <sigh>

The worse case is when they come back and talk about how great their method is and others follow their advice.

Thankfully, not a common issue. Those same people usually out themselves as numbnuts in other threads, to the point where it's obvious that nothing that write/say can be relied on. Youtube is actually worse than forums like VH or Reddit, so much misinformation.

*Cough* Technology Connections, *Cough Cough* That VHS Restoration Studio guy. I see posters linking to the former all the time. Thankfully, haven't seen anyone link to the latter with is 12 Super secret tweaks that only he knows.

Luv ya Blue guy!

[lordsmurf]

Actually, LS, you don't have to spend 500$ on capture cards. Blackmagic made one that costs like 200€, and can capture losless interlaced analogue video

<sigh>

$500 is a bare minimum for all the hardware: minimal VCR, sort-of TBC(ish), minimally decent capture card -- also pre-ship/pre-tax amount

- 200€ for a "name brand" (Canopus, Blackmagic) capture card is needless high priced.
- Blackmagic cards do a horrible pathetic job with SD sources. Those are HD carsd, the SD was a poor afterthought feature that barely functions.

Oooooooo...didn't know about that. Thank You! It's r/betamax BTW. I'll look around and possibly post there. Kind of heartbreaking though since it brings up memories of my beloved Beta and Betamax days! *SIGH*

Well, that explains it.

I don't even know how I stumbled on DataHoarder or any of the other subreddits I visit. I was and still am cautious about Reddit because they're some really sketchy subs there.

Same here. Mostly sketchy stuff. And lots of keyboard warriors, trolls.

It's sometimes hard to find good subs on video there. Very often, the conversations skew into fringes and niches of topics. I find some of the tape collectors weird. Who gets off on buying a thrift store VCR, and playing a half-eaten copy of retail movie long available on DVD/BD/streaming? Those weird Reddit dudes and dudettes. Far, far too many of those conversations are on "that stuff" in the tape groups. So even the better places are weird places.

I also dislike the voting, coins, and other frilly BS.

[servese]

It's a bit of a pain to follow, but the instructions outlined in this guide show you how to decently capture VHS tapes and other analogue video formats on linux without losing sync.

I appreciate linuxtv.com for capture cards information in the wiki, but that guide is blah. It will give you blah quality at best. It's simpyl the lack of any quality capture software on Linux, no guide can get around that problem.

I appreciate that linux isn't exactly famous for supporting good capturing software, but using gstreamer and ffmpeg (to maintain sync when capturing something like VHS, more details here) to capture video works fine for me™ (should make the forum software automatically add a trademark sign to the end of that phrase!)

The audio and video remain in sync throughout my captures, and colour information and everything like that is what it should be. Are there any other ways capture software might affect the quality of captures?

[dellsam34]

The audio and video remain in sync throughout my captures, and colour information and everything like that is what it should be. Are there any other ways capture software might affect the quality of captures?

Vdub should make a lighter version for capturing only on low spec computers like mine under Windows 10, I use MediaExpress and CaptureFlux with no problems but using Vdub chokes right away and doesn't produce a stable video, That's why I don't use it anymore except for editing.

[servese]

I'll actually be doing some capturing in about a fortnight or so (waiting for some new equipment), so I reckon I'll get dual boot set up again and compare virtualdub and gstreamer on the same tape (and same equipment, of course.)

[rrats]

This thread is trainwreck of bad information. <sigh>

The worse case is when they come back and talk about how great their method is and others follow their advice.

Thankfully, not a common issue. Those same people usually out themselves as numbnuts in other threads, to the point where it's obvious that nothing that write/say can be relied on. Youtube is actually worse than forums like VH or Reddit, so much misinformation.

*Cough* Technology Connections, *Cough Cough* That VHS Restoration Studio guy. I see posters linking to the former all the time. Thankfully, haven't seen anyone link to the latter with is 12 Super secret tweaks that only he knows.

Luv ya Blue guy!

I watched that video. Tbh that process sucks.

[victoriabears]

i am a simple fellow, if you have the video 8 tapes see below:-

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=hi8+sony&_sacat=0

and

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=hi8+sony+vcr...sony&_osacat=0

make sure you get a player for the format is it pal or ntsc.

I had a project years ago to 'copy" vhs to dvd, I tried computer capture but could never get on with it or was successful so used a dvd recorder then dumped the resulting files into tmpg , used filters and edited, the original capture on vhs were average to above average for vhs, and am reasonably pleased with the results

You have to accept what is possible, and I have found that my roku streaming device and Sony LCD TV seem to even enhance the footage as well, but may be thats my 68 year old eyes playing tricks.

and here is a link to dvd recorders for sale on ebay, I like pioneer so have used that brand.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=pioneer+mult...order&_sacat=0