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-   -   Captured VHS videos are very white/overexposed and foggy? (https://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/11427-captured-vhs-videos.html)

rprilenski 01-21-2021 01:31 PM

Captured VHS videos are very white/overexposed and foggy?
 
3 Attachment(s)
Hello!

Over thanksgiving we rushed to copy (and possibly saved what was left of our tapes condition-wise) our family VHS tapes once we saw that they were very overexposed and foggy looking. The blue sky shown in the videos are now white and peoples faces and details are over exposed as well. The audio however seems to have no issues. They were not like this two years ago and were clear and the picture looked balanced. My father stored them vertically and not on their side and in a cabinet away from the elements. Some tape brands played better than others but a good deal of them had these issues. There appears to be no mold or dust on the tapes as well.

Specifically, We captured the tapes by using an old dusty vcr player that we found (I believe it was a Sony SLV-D380P) (and cleaned the heads) and used an elgato video capture with the Mac/IOS desktop. I know I didn’t know what I was doing and since then have been trying to educate myself on everything surrounding VHS to digital capturing. :o

I am in the process of obtaining a nicely refurbished VCR player and wanted to see what your thoughts are on what could be causing these issues? Would a VCR in good condition fix these issues or are the issues within the tape aging itself? I did not use a TBC when capturing either so maybe it is TBC related? I apologize for my ignorant questions and will do my best to give information to the best of my knowledge.

See attached screenshots pertaining to the issues I mentioned.

lordsmurf 01-21-2021 01:40 PM

Elgato + lousy 2000s VCR = overexposed butchered (blurry/"foggy") video

Typical.
That's all that is.
Better VCR (with line TBC), better capture card, exposure issues should behave.

It can be related to lack of external frame TBC, but that exact issue is more often VCR and capture card.

rprilenski 01-21-2021 01:46 PM

Thank you for your quick response! That is a relief that the tapes are not in question. Funny that my father invested in a camera and did a great job recording a lot of the family events but invested in a lousy vcr player. :rolleyes:

Bogilein 01-21-2021 02:59 PM

I would like to remind you that the video recorder, as well as a TBC and the capture card can be responsible for the overexposure. Here I demonstrated that for a video recorder.

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...g-capture.html

So keep your eyes open when buying hardware and choose the right hardware for your tapes. Therefore, if you have many video cassettes to digitize, you should also have at least 2 video recorders, as not every recorder works with every tape.

rprilenski 01-21-2021 03:29 PM

I like that way of thinking in that you can troubleshoot specifically what might be causing those issues. That explains why some of my tapes behaved better than others.

keaton 01-22-2021 06:59 PM

If you get a capture card that can support this, you are able to adjust the video levels prior to capture so that video does not clip too dark or too bright. Use Virtualdub for capture and see this thread http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...-settings.html

If you capture lossless, then after capture (regardless of whether you can control video levels during capture) you can use tools to adjust the contrast of video. What is mentioned a lot on this forum is the Levels command in Avisynth and keeping luminance within the 16 to 235 range.

dpalomaki 01-22-2021 07:34 PM

Not clear if you are in 7.5 IRE = black or 0 IRE = black land, but it is not unusual for camcorders to record levels outside the "legal" range for SD video, or to over/under expose video in unusual or low lighting conditions. Also, miss matched connections can cause blown out whites, although that usually would require an slightly unusual connection such as a feed-thru configuration with no feed-thru loading.

Baring physical abuse tapes to not degrade radically overnight. It take years. A tape that looked good a couple years ago should still be OK today. The image should not get blurry or over exposed. Drop outs, noise, and unstable image would be more likely.

A first check would be how does the video look if played from the VCR directly to a TV. If that looks generally OK, the issue is your capture capture system between the VCR output and the display. Old VHS video often looks bad on HD displays, and some compression coding methods can destroy recordings that contain noise resulting from recording under the poor light conditions typical for indoor home video.

Also keep in mind that most general purpose computer monitors and display system, while great for things like PowerPoint charts and other computer graphics, are NOT very good for judging video.

And please be kind to your father about his VCR selections. A VCR that worked OK for watching home video on a SD tube-type TV may not perform well 10-20 years later when used as part of a video capture chain. TV were very forgiving of video signal variations/flaws - capture systems are not.

rprilenski 01-22-2021 09:39 PM

I am planning to capture lossless from VirtualDub. The link that was provided is quite intimidating. I will have to buckle down and get familiar with the settings. I will be sure to ask questions in new threads when I get to this point. Before I captured initially with the elgato, We tried playing on a different SD tube type to and the results were slightly better. When we cleaned the vcr heads the overblown brightness got significantly better but is still quite present. So, I can’t help but think it is the VCR player being neglected all these years thus contributing to these issues. As for being kind to my father, I’ve thanked him over and over for going through the trouble of hauling a Panasonic AF X8 camcorder everywhere we went to record these memories! Coupled with him knowing how to properly store them. I am very thankful, eternally thankful in fact. :)

I have to ask while I am at it, is avisynth a part of virtualdub? Or a plug in that provides additional settings?

timtape 01-23-2021 06:38 AM

Being a larger, heavier camera, probably mounted on the shoulder, your father's Panasonic AF X8 probably made for much steadier looking pictures than many later, smaller, lighter cameras, especially when zoomed in. These days people can shoot much steadier hand held movies when using a larger tablet compared to a mobile phone.

ehbowen 01-23-2021 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rprilenski (Post 74613)
I am planning to capture lossless from VirtualDub. The link that was provided is quite intimidating. I will have to buckle down and get familiar with the settings. I will be sure to ask questions in new threads when I get to this point. Before I captured initially with the elgato, We tried playing on a different SD tube type to and the results were slightly better. When we cleaned the vcr heads the overblown brightness got significantly better but is still quite present. So, I can’t help but think it is the VCR player being neglected all these years thus contributing to these issues. As for being kind to my father, I’ve thanked him over and over for going through the trouble of hauling a Panasonic AF X8 camcorder everywhere we went to record these memories! Coupled with him knowing how to properly store them. I am very thankful, eternally thankful in fact. :)

I have to ask while I am at it, is avisynth a part of virtualdub? Or a plug in that provides additional settings?

Avisynth is kind of a "Master Control Program" (homage to Tron) which uses assorted plugins and scripts to work on and retouch video, frame by frame. It is NOT a GUI program, it is scripted (Although I do believe that there is a semi-GUI front end available for it under the name of Hybrid). There are programs which you can use, such as AvsPMod, which will let you edit your script and see a visual preview of what the output will look like.

When you have your script tweaked just the way you want it, you load it into VirtualDub (or VDub2) exactly as you would load a straight video file. One of the first lines in your script will reference the "AV Source", and so that's how your raw video gets loaded into VirtualDub for processing. You can make additional tweaks using VDub's installed audio and video filters; when you're done with your tweaks you simply "Save Video" into your new AVI file. VirtualDub will go through your source video, frame by frame, and save the processed output into the new AVI file. With that completed, take the AVI file into your non-linear editor of choice to do any additional editing and post processing, add titles, add voice-over or musical background, etc., and then export it as an .MP4, MPEG-2, or DVD/Blu-ray for final distribution.

rprilenski 01-23-2021 05:06 PM

The camcorder was carried on the shoulder thus the videos captured are very stable.

Could you direct me to a favored link on these forums that gets newcomers up to speed with avisynth?

Also I was unaware of a second version of virtualdub. Should I be using that instead of the first version? Are there pros and cons vs each?

Many thanks!

ehbowen 01-23-2021 05:15 PM

Pros of the original VirtualDub: Proven, very stable and reliable as long as you stick to v.1.9.11 (later versions, not so much).
Pros of VirtualDub2: Still under active development, although not by the developer of original VirtualDub (it's a fork). More options for file formats and saving such as ProRes (which allows you to use Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve as a non-linear editor).

Consider both of them as tools belonging in your toolbox, to be pulled out as needed based upon their strengths and fitness for use.

As far as Avisynth, look for tutorials. Here's a very good one to start with: Deinterlacing with AVISynth and QTGMC Tutorial (Late 2020 Edition)

lordsmurf 01-24-2021 12:01 PM

Do not use VirtualDub2 unless VirtualDub simply refuses to work -- and I mean after multiple serious attempts, even seeking advice, not just easily giving up after 2 minutes of "trying" (word used loosely).

VirtualDub2 is based on VirtualDub 1.1.0.x capturing. 1.10.x had issues, an 2 introduces more issues.
Yes, both fix some issues, but it's a wash, better+worse.

VirtualDub2 was mostly meant to expand the editor, namely codec options (in/out), and it does that brilliantly. I use it frequently -- just not for capture. So far, I've only come across ONE capture card where VirtualDub2 is superior to 1.9.x, or 1.10.x/FM (and FM = FilterMod, precursor to VirtualDub2 rename, capture still closer to 1.10.x with possible fixes).

rprilenski 01-24-2021 10:39 PM

Thank you for pointing out the differences! I will stick with Virtualdub 1.9.11. Going to get busy getting familiar with the settings and so fourth.

ehbowen 01-24-2021 11:09 PM

See this thread from a year and a half ago where @Sanlyn schooled me on using histograms to improve the quality of my captures. It made a big difference in my output. If you get familiar with reading the brightness levels and making the proper capture filter setting changes, that could cure your problem with "overexposed" captures right there.


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