Record VHS with HDTV?

[Bencuri]

I would like to digitalize some of my old VHS casettes. I am not sure if this is possible but can you capture those videos with a HDTV? You connect the AV cable to the TV, and maybe there is some function in the TV or an application if it is a Smart TV to record the video onto USB connected to the TV? Are TV-s capable of this? Some TVs can record to USB, that's where my idea came from.

[Cornucopia]

While it might be possible, I know of NO TVs that can do this.
Regardless, even if it can, any TV that has an embedded app to be able to save streams/recordings, will ALWAYS have those saved files in ENCRYPTED format. Meaning they are NOT transferrable to a standard PC or another device (even a device of the same family or even the same model TV), because they will not have the decryption keys. Unless you know of a (most likely warez/pirate) app/method to get those decryption keys, the only way to decrypt them is via brute force, which may take weeks/years/decades/centuries?

TL;DR / Short Answer: Not gonna happen this way.


Scott

[dellsam34]

I'm not aware of any TV that records from any input or app, The copy protection police will be all over them, Yes even composite input is copy protected. That would the job of a computer using a capture device.

[lordsmurf]

No.
A TV is a display, not a recording device.

[jagabo]

Some TVs have the ability to save unencrypted over-the-air digital broadcasts. But I've never seen a TV with a recorder for analog inputs.

[Eric-jan]

TV : no. (A US tv has no video output/throughput most of the time) You might have more luck using a so called hometheatre hifi set, which is used to switch different video sources to a lcd/oled screen, you need to capture from the hdmi output of this hifi set, with a hdmi to usb dongle, with a hdmi to hdmi dongle inbetween that will render the hdcp useless, quality will not be optimal, since you're using consumer products, so it should be done only if no other option is available.

(Now waiting for de videophile comments.....)

[usually_quiet]

Some TVs have the ability to save unencrypted over-the-air digital broadcasts. But I've never seen a TV with a recorder for analog inputs.

Yes, based on posts made to VideoHelp, TVs with the ability to record over-the-air digital TV broadcasts are common in Europe but I don't recall anybody posting about having a digital TV with the ability to create digital recordings from an analog source of any kind.

[lollo]

Yes, based on posts made to VideoHelp, TVs with the ability to record over-the-air digital TV broadcasts are common in Europe but I don't recall anybody posting about having a digital TV with the ability to create digital recordings from an analog source of any kind.

To be more accurate they do no "record", the TVs just dump the already digital stream from DVB-S or DVB-T broadcast. There is no A/D converter on board to perform the OP's required operation.

[lordsmurf]

Yes, based on posts made to VideoHelp, TVs with the ability to record over-the-air digital TV broadcasts are common in Europe but I don't recall anybody posting about having a digital TV with the ability to create digital recordings from an analog source of any kind.

To be more accurate they do no "record", the TVs just dump the already digital stream from DVB-S or DVB-T broadcast. There is no A/D converter on board to perform the OP's required operation.

Yes, DVB is a vastly different beast. Digital data, unencrypted/OTA, dumped TS.

I've not followed DVB specs in about 15 years now. Is there even anything new here?

[lollo]

I've not followed DVB specs in about 15 years now. Is there even anything new here?

Not really in term of video/audio/data architecture inside the transport stream; what changed/introduced was the standard (DVB-S to DVB-S2, DVB-T to DVB-T2, the modulation (QPSK/8PSK) and the codec (MPEG2 -> MPEG4 AVC -> (H265) HEVC for 4K channels and few others).

The main problem is still the band occupancy by the transmission (which costs money) and then the aptitude to insert many channels in a transponder by the providers, lowering the birate and then the overall quality. Nothing really new.

[usually_quiet]

Yes, based on posts made to VideoHelp, TVs with the ability to record over-the-air digital TV broadcasts are common in Europe but I don't recall anybody posting about having a digital TV with the ability to create digital recordings from an analog source of any kind.

To be more accurate they do no "record", the TVs just dump the already digital stream from DVB-S or DVB-T broadcast. There is no A/D converter on board to perform the OP's required operation.

Since the TV is copying the digital data contained in an RF broadcast (a transient event) to a digital media file (creating a permanent record of the data), the verb "record" is appropriate.

Since there are no digital TVs made for North America that can record TV broadcasts, I have been recording digital TV broadcast streams for about 13 years now with a PC and a PC TV tuner to have an exact copy of the data in the broadcast.

[dellsam34]

I was an early adopter of any recording technology, I had a modified Dishnet receiver to dump the MPEG-2 SD/HD streams untouched into computer via an added chip and mini USB port on the back of the receiver and then burn the contents to DVD-R single or dual layer as data HD/SD video files, D-VHS would have worked but didn't like tapes, I wanted discs, this was before HD-DVD and Blu-ray was a thing. Then DN moved on to MPEG-4 and got another moded receiver for that. Shortly after that I got a sat receiver that has both a ATSC tuner for off the air channels and satellite tuner for FTA (free to air) sat channels and capable to record from both tuners into a USB port using a USB flash drive.

Now all those contents look horrible compared to modern compression standards, even the HD ones, I think I still have those discs somewhere. Nothing really important to record these days as commercials increased and the contents became woke, So I just stream nowadays whatever suits my taste.

[lollo]

Since the TV is copying the digital data contained in an RF broadcast (a transient event) to a digital media file (creating a permanent record of the data), the verb "record" is appropriate.

If you prefere so, why not

Since there are no digital TVs made for North America that can record TV broadcasts, I have been recording digital TV broadcast streams for about 13 years now with a PC and a PC TV tuner to have an exact copy of the data in the broadcast.

In Europe, almost all TVs encrypt the dump (sorry, the recording) to be viewed only on the TV, so unless you have a way to extract the keys (possible on some Samsung TVs) people prefer your approch, using a DVB-S/DVB-t set top box or a dedicated PC card

[lollo]

I was an early adopter of any recording technology

Nice memories! I started in late '90s with a Nokia receiver and a SCSI interface to an external disk, pioneering but exciting times.

In 1999/2000 the first PC DVB-S cards were introduced in the market, and everything was much easier, including the CAMs to dump (or to record ) the pay-tv channels.

Nowdays, high-end DVB-S/T set up box offer evrything needed to watch, record , archive, stream and so on.