Good quality VHS conversion chain for 4K?

[S1mba]

Hey guys, hope this is in the right section. I'm about to invest on a higher end S-VHS model and from what I've read, people seem to use a bit different methods for actually connecting, say, to a high-res TV.

So I'll be using S-video out, but someone suggested a higher quality converter like RetroTink or similar (originally intended for gaming?), others seem to use a dvd/hdd recorder (a better quality conversion?). From what I've understood, the cheapo Ebay converter boxes won't be doing me any favours, so this seems to be an important link in the chain.

How should I go about approaching this? I think I don't really need a dvd/hdd recorder per say, and it would also take up some space on the shelf. Thanks very much.

[lordsmurf]

Nobody (with any sense, at least) connects VCRs to HDTV. Capturing doesn't use HDTVs.

s-video out is not 4K, or even HD. It's interlaced 720x480 max SD res. Capture that.

Cheap converters give you really crappy quality. No HDMI converters, no Easycaps, no Elgatos. Also no expensive HD cards like Blackmagic or Magewell. You need a quality SD capture card. Which card depends on OS. Win7/XP best, Win8/10 (and likely 11) worst.

Ideal workflows are S-VHS VCR with line TBC > external frame TBC > good capture card
Not just any random model or brand.
Which exact JVC VCR are you looking at?

[S1mba]

Thanks very much, good info as always (been reading up on your posts). Actually my intention at this point would be just to simply view my old tapes on my modern TV, in good quality. Capturing can come later. So the core of my technical confusion is, how to watch the tapes in as good a quality as I can. This is why I wasn't sure if my thread was in the right section of the board :/ The deck will be JVC 7711.

[hech54]

Just capture in native resolution.....it's always better to let hardware upscale.

[usually_quiet]

Thanks very much, good info as always (been reading up on your posts). Actually my intention at this point would be just to simply view my old tapes on my modern TV, in good quality. Capturing can come later. So the core of my technical confusion is, how to watch the tapes in as good a quality as I can. This is why I wasn't sure if my thread was in the right section of the board :/ The deck will be JVC 7711.

Some 4K TVs have only HDMI connections but may still support analog channel tuning via their RF connection. The only other analog connections that are likely to be found on recent 4K TVs are composite video and stereo audio, although you may need to buy a breakout cable made for the TV to use them. If neither analog tuning nor composite video are available or don't produce an acceptable result, an S-Video to HDMI converter would be the last resort.

S-Video connections were removed from even HD TVs some time ago.

[lordsmurf]

- PAL
- the 7711 is nice

The s-video>HDMI converters really screw with quality, both color and contrast, and mess with interlace. It's pretty ghastly. It also stretches the aspect, so TV controls have to be used (and some really crappy TVs don't allow aspect control).

Playing tapes now is a bad idea, tapes are now aging badly, and you can easily damage those tapes irreparably these days. The only time you should play is to capture. After capture, so, play away, I guess. But no point, watch digital files then.

[dellsam34]

I agree on capturing vs playing back tapes, No cheap hardware can upscale PAL/NTSC to 4K even the TV itself, There are some commercial upscalers and pricy videophile Blu-ray players that can do an excelent job, but don't expect your average Walmart TV or even the expensive ones or a chinese analog to HDMI adapter to deliver what you hope for, I've seen it, I've done it and I know what I'm talking about, Even my $3k OLED TV didn't do what a capture card can do using a capture software.

[S1mba]

This is all really interesting. Sounds like I have a monumental task ahead of me So, I guess I'll be capturing then. I wonder when I'll have the time... Thank you all.