Looking for help with cleaning up old vhs-c footage converted to digital

[amontanagl]

Hi all, I am new to anything video, so hopefully you all can help me with a project.

After cleaning out our dad's house, we found some old vhs-c tapes (1990's), I sent them to a local company here in Montana to have them converted to digital mp4 files. However, the quality of the files is nasty - so many horizontal lines running thru the video's that you can't watch them. I have been looking into software that might allow me to clean these up but I am really not sure what software I need. Or even if there is software out there that will do what I want.

I attached a screen shot of what the video looks like so you can see the lines I am talking about, I am not sure what you call them. Is there software that I can purchase that will allow me to clean up the lines that run thru the video or am I just dreaming that I could clean these up?

Thanks
Cindy

[fred_abila]

Hi Cindy, you're not dreaming, but the fix depends on which kind of lines these are.

If the lines look like fine comb teeth that show up mostly on moving things, like the edges of someone walking, that's interlacing. VHS records two half-pictures per frame, and the transfer kept them woven together. That's very fixable with free software. Hybrid is a free Windows program that includes QTGMC, the deinterlacer most people here use for VHS, and it also has noise filters for tape grain. HandBrake is simpler: on the Filters tab, turn on Decomb or Yadif and re-encode.

If the lines are thick bands of noise, wavy or jittery edges, or a strip of static near the bottom of the picture, that's tracking trouble or tape damage that got recorded into the file. Software can only soften that. The real fix is a new transfer on a good VCR with a time base corrector, and since you still have the tapes, it's worth doing for the ones that matter most.

If you post a few seconds of a clip with some movement in it, people here can tell you which one it is and suggest exact settings.

[amontanagl]

Thanks for the reply, I attached a few seconds of one of the video's, so you can see what I am talking about.

After your explanation I am thinking its the tracking problem and how the company did the transfer. I was thinking using a local video production company would be better than the larger companies like Imemory, but I was wrong.

[Alwyn]

I wouldn't be so sure about that. That looks awful, and it's hard to believe any transfer service would be that bad. I'd front them and ask for an explanation.

It could well be a bad tape; open the cassette flap and have a look at the tape itself; is there any creasing or ragged edges?

There are VideoHelp members in the US that might be able to transfer the tape for you. You could put out a general request here.

[aramkolt]

Yeah, you're not going to be able to get much improvement out of the files they provided. I wouldn't trust something like iMemories either - their goal is throughput with the least expensive/streamlined setup imaginable and they'll probably just mark your tape as "could not transfer" and send it back as such.

I'd be willing to take a crack at them assuming it isn't a ton of tapes, I'd do it for just the cost of return shipping. Or if I just send you the files and you are happy with the result and you don't actually need the tapes back, then it'd just you whatever it costs to send them to me in Michigan.

I have at least one of each brand's highest end USA released VHS player and I'd be surprised if I can't get a good transfer out of them with one of them. Sometimes they transfer better if the tape is moved into a regular sized VHS housing and I'm set up for that as well if needed. If there happens to be mold, I have the stuff to clean the tape as well.

PM me if interested.

[The 14th Doctor]

Jesus, and I thought a wedding tape my Uncle filmed in 2007 on a 1992 Panasonic Palmcorder looked bad, which it does in comparison to earlier footage he shot on different tapes as by the time the wedding footage was being recorded, the camera was basically dying and on its last legs.

I'm also an available option if you want to mail them to me, would cost $25 per tape at minimum though.

So long as the tape itself is still in good physical condition, I ain't touching crinkled or moldy tapes.

[amontanagl]

Out of 20 tapes, I got a few files that are good and those have what I want. I didn't do enough research on how to digitize the old tapes before I chose a company to do it. Didn't ask the right questions...lesson learned.

Thank you for the offers to help and redo the conversion but no need to do that. I wanted to get at least one video with my mom on it so that I had a recording of her voice, she passed back in 2018 and a couple of the good files do have her on it.

[cholla]

Buy an inexpensie usb capture card or even a bit more expensive one.
You will find some that are recommended on this forum.
With your regular VCR go from the capture card to your computer.

Or if you have a standalone DVD recorder just go from the VCR to it.
Then see what the results look like.

Also if you don't already know how find out the way to adjust tracking on your specific VCR.

Will your results be as good as what the pros offered here?
Probably not but may suit you.

[amontanagl]

Thanks Cholla, I will remember that if I get my hands on a vcr, don't own one and none of my friends have one either.

[The_Doman]

Thanks Cholla, I will remember that if I get my hands on a vcr, don't own one and none of my friends have one either.

Always be careful when trying out an unknown VCR.
Test it with an unimportant but known-good tape first when possible.

[cholla]

Test it with an unimportant but known-good tape first when possible.

Good advice since it will likely be a used VCR.
As no new VCRs are made.

Way back before I bought a VCR .
I would rent one from Blockbuster when I rented movie VHS tapes.

[VWestlife]

I would go back and ask for a refund due to them doing such a poor job.

Are the tapes standard VHS-C or Super (S-)VHS-C? That frame grab almost looks like what you get when you try to play a Super VHS recording on a normal VHS VCR that does not have Quasi-S-VHS playback.

[cholla]

@ VWestlife,
I know you are one of the members with expertise in this.
amontanagl posted in the first post they are VHS-C.
Of course they could be Super (S-)VHS-C but should be marked if they are.
Then again they could be VHS-C that were 'shot" with a Super (S-)VHS-C camcorder.
I will leave it to you to if that can cause a problem.

I missed that they were VHS-C .
I read they only way to play these in a regular VCR is with an adapter.
That they never made standalone VHS-C players.

The only camcorder I ever owned used full size VHS tapes.
Not S-VHS. After that my cameras had digital video.

[The_Doman]

That frame grab almost looks like what you get when you try to play a Super VHS recording on a normal VHS VCR that does not have Quasi-S-VHS playback.

In my experience, if you play back an S-VHS tape on a regular VHS VCR, you will not get a recognizable picture at all.
In the sample you can still make up an image, but with so much tracking noise/artifacts (possibly from tape damage?), I cannot believe a company would deliver this result without any warning or explanation that they could not process it normally.

[Sharc]

Also not clear whether the VHS-C tapes were recorded SP, LP, EP or even SLP. The slower the more prone to nasty playback problems.
The OP's tape was recorded in 1998. If properly stored (no temperature, humidity excesses) it needs not be that bad from an age point of view. I have many VHS-C (SP) tapes of different brands from around 1990 which play nicely with little signs of aging - if any.

[amontanagl]

These tapes all say TC-30 on them and they were not stored correctly, just thrown in a cardboard box in a damp basement, some in cases but most of them not. We couldn't find the recorder, so I have no idea how they were recorded or on what type of recorder.

I appreciate all the suggestions but out of the few files that did turn out good, I will be able to create a file with my mom's voice - and that was the main reason I sent the tapes in.

Thanks again everyone!

[dellsam34]

How long those bad sections are? You should get a refund if they did not disclose it prior to payment that your tapes have damage and should give you the choice to proceed or cancel the order.

[amontanagl]

How long those bad sections are? You should get a refund if they did not disclose it prior to payment that your tapes have damage and should give you the choice to proceed or cancel the order.

Some of the files are worthless because it's the entire file, some it's bits and pieces thru the file, but I do have 4 that are perfect. They only charged me half price because he did say that most of the tapes didn't turn out.