Playback speed too fast or too slow on VHS to Digital

[PapaSamaan]

Hi all,

My wife and I are converting our old VHS tapes from decades ago and we are running into a very similar problem with the play back speed. We are converting VHS to digital using an elgato converter card. We noticed that when we finished the conversation of the tape, and we would play it back as a digital file (mp4), some tapes would be 2x speed or .5 speed. Some might be a combination of both.

We found that sometimes attempting to re-record the VHS might fix it and sometimes it won’t. Would love some assistance on this as these are cherished memories for us and our families. Happy to provide more details on what VHS player we use, capture device, software, process ect. If you could share some insights and help us that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all!

[Alwyn]

Happy to provide more details on what VHS player we use, capture device, software, process ect.

Yes please, all of that.

[PapaSamaan]

Thanks here are the details:-

VHS Player: LG V271
Converter: Elgato Video Capture 10020840
Laptop: MacBook Pro 13inch 2020

The process is pretty straight forward in that we load the VHS tapes into the VHS player, rewind to the beginning and setup the default elgato video capture app and convert into MP4. We have tried saving directly to the hard drive and to an external hard drive and noticed there isn’t really a material difference between the two.

Let us know if there’s anything else you would like to know!

[Alwyn]

I can't help with Mac-related issues but, some random thoughts/ideas to try:

Plug the VCR into a TV and check it's playing the tapes at the correct speed.

Monitor the capture in real time to check correct speed.

Were the tapes recorded in LP (Long Play) mode?

Try playing the MP4s with a different player to see if the speed error is replicated.

[hech54]

Does the Elgato Video Capture 10020840 device capture in MP4 with no intermediate file?

[realspeed]

you should be able to alter the speed using Adobe premier Elements. This is buried within the editing suit and takes a bit of finding but should answer your problem
so once video (digital)is dragged onto the edit bar from the download section go to" time remapping" look for" add time zone" right at the bottom left of the screen


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[PapaSamaan]

I can't help with Mac-related issues but, some random thoughts/ideas to try:

Plug the VCR into a TV and check it's playing the tapes at the correct speed.

Monitor the capture in real time to check correct speed.

Were the tapes recorded in LP (Long Play) mode?

Try playing the MP4s with a different player to see if the speed error is replicated.

The tapes play fine when you play them in real time. It’s only when you’ve completed the conversation does the digital file have issues.

[rgr]

Is there a format other than MP4 in the program? Attach some faulty MP4.

[Bwaak]

2x or 0.5x speed? 25fps marked as 50fps, or 50fps marked as 25fps? Does your capturing tool have any settings, which can affect this? Have you tried third-party capturing tools? Reportedly, the Elgato dongle is friendly to third-party capturing tools.

[PapaSamaan]

Is there a format other than MP4 in the program? Attach some faulty MP4.

The other format that you can save on is H.264. The only other general preference setting you can change in the elgato video capture software is tv standard. That can be set to automatic, pal-60, pal-m and pal-n.

[PapaSamaan]

2x or 0.5x speed? 25fps marked as 50fps, or 50fps marked as 25fps? Does your capturing tool have any settings, which can affect this? Have you tried third-party capturing tools? Reportedly, the Elgato dongle is friendly to third-party capturing tools.

The elgato video capture tool doesn’t allow you to change any of those settings. I’ve put some of the details above regarding the general preference settings you can adjust. Can you elaborate on what you mean by third-party capturing tools?

Thanks

[Bwaak]

The only other general preference setting you can change in the elgato video capture software is tv standard. That can be set to automatic, pal-60, pal-m and pal-n.

For Australia it should be PAL-B or PAL-G, that is, 25 fps, not 30 fps, unless you are capturing from NTSC tapes on an NTSC VCR. I suggest connecting a VCR and starting playing back a tape before selecting the standard, so that the driver sensed the actual video being fed in.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by third-party capturing tools?

I meant software. AFAIK, you can use third-party software with the Elgato stick, have you tried it? No idea what software you would use on Mac though, I use Windows.

[PapaSamaan]

The only other general preference setting you can change in the elgato video capture software is tv standard. That can be set to automatic, pal-60, pal-m and pal-n.

For Australia it should be PAL-B or PAL-G, that is, 25 fps, not 30 fps, unless you are capturing from NTSC tapes on an NTSC VCR. I suggest connecting a VCR and starting playing back a tape before selecting the standard, so that the driver sensed the actual video being fed in.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by third-party capturing tools?

I meant software. AFAIK, you can use third-party software with the Elgato stick, have you tried it? No idea what software you would use on Mac though, I use Windows.

Thank you. So we tried playing the VHS tapes prior to recording and that hasn’t fixed the issue. No we haven’t tried any third party software. May I ask what software you use and how you would use it?

Thanks!