Current best practices for VHS capture?

[Alwyn]

I know I'll be castigated for not using AVISynth but opening it in VDub, it is clear it's Interlaced, top field first.

Have a close look at the edges during motion; you can see the interlace jaggies. Now set up the Deinterlace filter, Yadif and Double Frame Rate, TFF, the jaggies disappear and the motion is correct ie no backwards-forwards that you'd get if you'd have chosen BFF.

Looks good to me.

It's been said before... many AVIs don't have much metadata stored eg no interlacing or DAR, so Mediainfo guesses. It is still invaluable for file info.

[_Al_]

So we're just ignoring mediainfo posts at this point then? The whole reason I have that installed on my PC is posts from that used to be requested around here.

Mediainfo is correct if workflow is correct or video is downloaded from a legit source. It helps a lot, you start with it. But it could be wrong if video is badly generated.

[Alwyn]

Mediainfo is correct if workflow is correct

No, mediainfo is never correct when looking at analogue-captured AVIs. This is an example.

[_Al_]

Alwyn, whatever you say boss im talking about encoded videos. Avis do not have interlaced flags, well DVavi has.

[armyofquad]

Information, specific steps, this is good. Thanks Alwyn.

[_Al_]

That sample is interlaced Top field first .But it is interlaced. Why would you capture video into 640x480? To get correct aspect ratios just capture it into 720x480, crop 8 pixels left and right and encode as interlaced.

[Alwyn]

Problem solved.

[Alwyn]

Avis do not have interlaced flags, well DVavi has.

DV AVI is not "analogue-captured".

[_Al_]

Yes, it is TFF, I correct it.

[_Al_]

armyofquad, see, it is moving somewhere immediately, no general questions, post samples, one at a time.

[psynchro]

I digitized them, but sadly only with an Elgato unit then and have relocated to Europe now, so I don't have the tapes anymore....

Maybe I misunderstand your intention. But as you have digitized the tapes already - using the Elgato (at the given +/- satisfactory quality) - and you don't have the tapes anymore, you can edit (and possibly improve the quality) of the digital Elgato videofiles staying in the digital domain using an NLE or tools like Avisynth. No purpose in converting the digital files back to analog and recapture via VHS player+DVD recorder+GV-USB2 or similar setup.

I didn't explain clearly; i do that when excited.

Mainly, I want to send 4K / 1080 stuff from various existing sources through VHS so that this media can appear on the same timeline / video with the older VHS and "appear" compatible. I just mean this perceptually, as in "seems to fit".

Second, I thought I would need to mess up the newer stuff and add errors such as bad de-interlacing but hadn't considered that the poor Elgato stuff with interlacing issues could be repaired. Avisynth is open-source, even better. Thanks much Sharc.

Any suggestions for a workflow from 4k / 1080 ---> VHS ---> 1080?