Automatically stop VirtualDub and VCR?

[cwig]

As I was learning about best practices for VHS digitization on this forum, I read about how you generally want to avoid rewinding tapes on your good VCRs. I found it difficult to always be around in exact the moment the tape ends. Having some experience with Arduino type boards and hobby electronics, I built a small device that monitors the “play” indicator on my JVC VCR. When the VCR reaches the end of the tape, the “play” indicator turns off, and my device emulates a remote control with an IR LED to send “stop” to the VCR and emulates a USB keyboard to stop VDub. I have found it very helpful and thought I would share it here. You can find my code and more project details here https://github.com/cwig/stop_at_end_of_vhs.

Unless you have a similar JVC model, it will probably require some adaption. By no means is this a polished project or something I intend to develop further. I thought the community may find it helpful as a starting point if you need a similar solution.

[lordsmurf]

Capture mode, stop conditions. You preset it with time in seconds. For example, 2-hour SP mode is about 7500 seconds.

What you've done is pretty nifty, something I'd consider using.

But I don't understand this:

Quote:

When the VCR reaches the end of the tape, the “play” indicator turns off, and my device emulates a remote control with an IR LED to send “stop” to the VCR

Do you mean when the > player arrow disappears?
But then what's to stop on the VCR?

[cwig]

I put the photoresistor over the little green play light. When the photoresistor is directly over it, it can reliably can read if the light is on. I'm sure many VCRs don't have this. I'm not sure if the light given off by the > arrow on the screen is bright enough or if there would be too much variation in the ambient light.

On the VCR I want to stop the automatic rewind.

play_indicator.jpg

[lordsmurf]

Ah, makes sense. I hate auto rewind myself. Some JVCs actually let you disable that "feature", but not many. Some may need to be set with JIG.

I may need to craft at least one of those. I'm wondering if it can be cased better, velcro to attach, maybe even rubber sleeves, something. You've created neat guts, now time to think about shells!

[aramkolt]

Very awesome project indeed. Is this something that would be hard to adapt to say an Arduino pro micro? those seem to be used a bit more commonly and I would guess have plenty of I/O.

One VCR I received once had a box over the some portion of the VCR display and phone cables that went into it that I image fed some sort of data during a conversion process to remotely notify an attendant I imagine that a tape was done playing or something like that. I probably still have the box somewhere if you're interested in a model number out of curiosity.

[latreche34]

Cwig, If you could adapt it to a photo cell that detects the light inside the cassette compartment or even hook it up to the left sensor itself that detects the clear plastic at the end of the tape by soldering to its legs, that way when the tape reaches the end, the LED in the center activates the sensor on the left side and the circuit is closed triggering your device to stop the tape. it can even be put inside the VCR on that empty space on the left side next to the mechanism.

[timtape]

In rewind on many later model VHS decks the tape remains fully laced across the video head drum and heads, A/C head etc and so contributes to wear.

Then the rewind speed is often so fast that the tape wind on the reel is ragged and not ideal for storage. The best "wind" for a tape is usually after playing right to the end of the tape. It's smooth with no random tape edges sticking up and affords maximum protection to the tape. In tape conservation lingo it's called a "play wind" or "library wind".

I have machines programmed to auto rewind with no manual override. Frustrating. This sort of feature was built into VCR's as a selling point for consumers, not for tape or machine conservation.

Good idea from cwig.