Newbie VHS Digitizing

[Darwin4Ever]

Hi,

I'm new in VHS digitizing and would like to have some help making up my mind how to proceed.

From a VHS-recorder perspective, I have two
1) one with Component + S-Video + Composite + Scart
2) the other one with S-Video + Composite + Scart.
Depending on the tape I intend to use either one.

Question : what gives the best end-result : Component or S-Video or Composite.

Related to above I intend to purchase
1) a Component-to-HDMI converter (if needed also a S-Video/Composite-to-HDMI converter)
2) a HDMI-to-USB capture device (instead of an all-in-one S-Video/Composite-to-USB).

Reasoning behind that :
1) possibility to reuse always the same HDMI-capture device
2) but also the fact it seems that the all-in-ones are not providing a Stereo-output, only Mono output.

I intend to use OBS for capturing : I know, powerful but probably with a steep learning curve for a Newbie, but I don't know any other.

Question :
1) am I wrong in above reasoning ?
2) are there HDMI-specs which I should check for compatibility between converter and capture device
3) any capture device specs to consider for 1:1 VHS Digitizing with OBS

Of course, other suggestions are welcome (if I didn't ask and/or mention because not being aware yet)

Thank you

[rgr]

Definitely don't use OBS, the rest in other threads

[OldMan64]

There are numerous threads about that subject on this forum. Do some searches, you will find good information here.
Also do research on LordSmurf as he is an expert on the VHS to digital process. Plus there are many others on this forum with great knowledge on that subject. After you read up on the topic, then ask more specific questions.

[Hunk91]

I would recommend at least :
- using S-VHS output from your VCR
- getting a capturing device with S-VHS input (such as iodata Gv-usb 2)
- Capturing with AmaRecTV or Virtualdub with a lossless Codec such as HUFFYUV.

Try to avoid capturing VHS tape with a composent or scart to HDMI upscaler then plugged to a HDMI capturing device. The result won't be good. I tested with a commercial VHS tape and the result was not great. For example image was in 16:9 aspect ratio instead of 4:3 (could be changed in post processing) but the quality was not great.

Don't use OBS for capturing VHS tape. Better use it for streaming purpose.

This really is the minimum

[Darwin4Ever]

I'm trying to read up on the topic, but sometimes I get confused, not about the different types of connectors, but about the signal specs, and sometimes I'm reading contradictions in forums making it even harder to understand. Before doing any purchases, I want to avoid trial-and-error as much as possible.

In the meanwhile I found a technical sheet of the 1st VCR-recorder I mentioned earlier which is a DVD-VCR-combo.
It seems what I wrote is wrong : It doesn't have a Din S-Video (my fault) and the specs say that the connectors for "Component/Progressive Scan Video Out (Y Pb Pr)" are DVD-only, which leaves us to "1) Composite + Scart".

But the specs also say that the Scart (output for TV) carries the following signals : "Ext. 1 scart: CVBS in/out, RGB, Audio in/out".
It doesn't say anything about the Scart-RGB being DVD-only.
1) Does this eventually mean that I can create Component from the Scart-RGB ? Or are Component and RGB completely different things ?
2) Does this mean that I can create S-Video from the Scart-CVBS ?
3) Should Component (RGB ?) give better results than S-Video, or should I forget completely that Component-route.

I looked up the "IODATA GV-USB2", but unfortunately that device seems to be discontinued. There are so many similar devices (from very cheap to very expensive). Finding out which ones are good is a problem, also about audio : none specify if audio-out is mono/stereo and the sampling-rate. Also here : I've seen complaints about output being mono despite stereo-input.

I don't remember where (not this forum), but somewhere the use of OBS was suggested, reason why I was thinking into that direction.

[Alwyn]

GV-USB2 still available from Japan:

https://www.amazon.com.au/DATA-connexion-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y?th=1

Otherwise, the Hauppauge USB-Live2 and Startech USB digitisers are great options. All these have true stereo.

[Alwyn]

...

[Darwin4Ever]

Otherwise, the Hauppauge USB-Live2 and Startech USB digitisers are great options. All these have true stereo.

I had a look at both of them.
A pity both are using to-be-installed drivers (instead of standard Windows Webcam Drivers) , the usability restricted to Windows and also the output seems to be proprietary.

[lollo]

For a good capture the key elements are the conditions of the tape and the VCR.

The player must be a high-end S-VHS machine, with TBC and Y/C output. For tapes not in good shape an additional external TBC may be required to fix major timing defects.

The VHS signal recorded on tape is Y/C, so the better player output is S-Video. There are few exceptions, for players where internally everything is converted to YPbPr or similar for processing and then converted to Y/C for S-Video output, but that's the exception.

The recommened capture cards (Hauppauge USB-Live 2, IOData GV-USB2, Pinnacle 710 USB, ATI 600USB) are all capable of capturing stereo signal, I ignore where you read the opposite.

The HDMI route is suggested only for devices respecting the analog signal characteristics in term of fields architecture, interlacing, color space and aspect ratio. It is not the case of the cheap HDMI converters you mentioned, but of some specific DVD-R recorder and high-end cards.

The capture software should be AmarecTV (preferred with modern integrated a/v cards and OSs) or VirtualDub. I never tested OBS, but from the samples we analyzed here in the forum is not respecting the analog specification, so it is not recommeded.

[916Area52]

@ Darwin4Ever…

Roy here,

I’m relatively new to this journey myself. I would definitely recommend the advice here and steer clear of OBS.
The beginning of my journey was with OBS as well as Elgato Video Capture. Both gave less than stellar captures. I’m currently in the middle of re-capturing my entire collection because of this rookie move.
I would highly recommend Alwyn’s link https://www.aaproductions.net/index.htm to get you started.