How magical can video conversions be when using VHS tapes recorded in SLP?

[snafoo]

Everyone that has used a VCR knows that when recording in the 6-hour mode (SLP), the quality is not great. I am going to be taking some tapes to a place near me to get digitized, and will hope for the best. Yes, the tapes are 32 years old, and in desperate need of transfer, but like i asked, how magical can a tape conversion (digitizing) look when they were recorded in the 6-hour mode? Has anyone seen a good, or even great, conversion by these places? I have a Sony VHS to video unit and i tried one of my tapes, and the results were horrible. That is why i wanna try one of these places that do the conversions. Thanks!

[johns0]

There will be no improvements short of adjusting any colors or brightness and even then you will get what you see so unless it's important family events it's not worth digitizing.

[Sharc]

..... I have a Sony VHS to video unit and i tried one of my tapes, and the results were horrible. That is why i wanna try one of these places that do the conversions. Thanks!

Almost certain a waste of time and money with these shops. If you want to improve something you should do it yourself. But be prepared for a steep learning curve and be ready with a huge amount of frustration tolearance and patience. No miracles.

[Alwyn]

and the results were horrible.

That could quite possibly be the particular VHS player, not the tape.

But be prepared for a steep learning curve and be ready with a huge amount of frustration tolearance and patience. No miracles.

Learning curve? Yes. "Huge", frustration, tolerance? Nah.

[Sharc]

and the results were horrible.

That could quite possibly be the particular VHS player, not the tape.

But be prepared for a steep learning curve and be ready with a huge amount of frustration tolearance and patience. No miracles.

Learning curve? Yes. "Huge", frustration, tolerance? Nah.

It usually begins with finding a decent VHS player in good working condition .....

[Alwyn]

It usually begins with finding a decent VHS player in good working condition .....

[snafoo]

There will be no improvements short of adjusting any colors or brightness and even then you will get what you see so unless it's important family events it's not worth digitizing.

hi! do these places that do video conversions use high-end VCR's with TBC's to improve quality? If the conversions don't come out pretty good, then how do these places stay in business? some places have been in business for 5-10 years or longer.

[davexnet]

There will be no improvements short of adjusting any colors or brightness and even then you will get what you see so unless it's important family events it's not worth digitizing.

hi! do these places that do video conversions use high-end VCR's with TBC's to improve quality? If the conversions don't come out pretty good, then how do these places stay in business? some places have been in business for 5-10 years or longer.

Because the average person using their service doesn't know any better

[snafoo]

and the results were horrible.

That could quite possibly be the particular VHS player, not the tape.

I just bought a used Sharp VC-H810, and the quality is really, and surprisingly good. I might need to use actual video conversion software and a capture device. I used one of those Sony VDR-MC5 capture devices that copy video content directly to it's DVD drive. As i said, the results were horrible using this device.

But be prepared for a steep learning curve and be ready with a huge amount of frustration tolearance and patience. No miracles.

Learning curve? Yes. "Huge", frustration, tolerance? Nah.

I am willing to learn how to do it by myself if i can get decent results.

[Sharc]

I am willing to learn how to do it by myself if i can get decent results.

You will eventually know by doing only. Also, it depends what you understand by "decent" results.
You may want to upload a short sample of your capture or from what you get from your shop and collect feedback from members here on what they think the potential for improvement is.

[snafoo]

I am willing to learn how to do it by myself if i can get decent results.

You will eventually know by doing only. Also, it depends what you understand by "decent" results.
You may want to upload a short sample of your capture or from what you get from your shop and collect feedback from members here on what they think the potential for improvement is.

I will do that! I am taking 1 tape in to a shop on monday, to test things out, but since it's the holiday season, there is a mad rush for others to get some tapes done, so it probably won't be until after Christmas until the tape conversion will be done. I found a place that uses high-end JVC VCR's, and they do use a TBC. I will give the link to a webhosting site where i upload the video to, so people can comment what they think of the finished product. I am also thinking of using OBS Studio, to see if i can improve things.

[lordsmurf]

Terms like "high-end" are abused, and models need to be discussed.
Same for TBCs, not all are the same, DVD recorders are not TBCs, etc.

Most shops use budget garbage that you can source yourself on Amazon, eBay, thrift shops, Craiglists, Facebook, etc. Not quality results whatsoever. Just "a result", not a good one.

OBS is streaming software, not analog videotape capture software. It's definitely not able to "improve" anything, that's the realm of VirtualDub, Avisynth / Vapoursynth, and various NLEs. OBS has no place in a video conversion workflow.

[dellsam34]

I am willing to learn how to do it by myself if i can get decent results.

Decent is a loose term, If you mean by it, getting results close to what's on the tape, then that's possible, If you mean better than the original footage then no, Unless you enter the realm of restoration, even there, there is no magic, every process you do to the original video comes at a price of quality loss, but sometimes the benefit outweighs the loss.

Let's assume decent means close to the original quality of tape. To be able to achieve that, the first thing you do is not to go to a public capturing business, they prioritize quantity over quality, So you are left with either learn and do it yourself, or pay a premium service that specializes in quality archiving but at a premium price, it also requires shipping tapes out which comes at a risk of loosing them in the process.

If you decide to do it yourself and quality is important to you and willing to acquire the equipment, then you are in the right place once you make your decision.

[Sharc]

I will do that! I am taking 1 tape in to a shop on monday, to test things out, but since it's the holiday season, there is a mad rush for others to get some tapes done, so it probably won't be until after Christmas until the tape conversion will be done. I found a place that uses high-end JVC VCR's, and they do use a TBC. I will give the link to a webhosting site where i upload the video to, so people can comment what they think of the finished product.

You could ask them if they offer lossless capture formats (or virtually lossless). This would be the best base for your personal post processing/improvements and for the quality assessment by members here. These files are very large though, so you might have to provide an 2TB USB HDD or similar to them for providing a test sample. If it is a good shop which offers more than just inserting your tape into a VHS/DVD recorder combo they may be prepared to support your request.

[Alwyn]

I have improved just about every VHS tape I have ever captured, in some cases making them watchable where the original capture was truly awful. The only paid-software I use (apart from my video editor) is Neat Video (for noise reduction), which has plugins for Virtual Dub and other video editing programs.

[themaster1]

Best vcr i ever used for EP (that would work for slp aswell i bet) is a jvc SR-TS1U (ntsc) its output is very raw though (lots of chroma noise) and no tbc but you get much details (unmatched with my two other s-vhs jvc decks, believe it or not)