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Originally Posted by DoaJC_Blogger
I just wanted to point out that you can use RF capture to get very good digital S-Video from cheap regular VCR's
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This is extremely misleading.
- RF/FM/vhs-decode also requires specific VCRs to get proper performance. Random VCRs do not work here either.
- Then the person has to essentially dismantle the VCR.
- Then capture a large file (larger that lossless
Huffyuv/Lagarith/etc), using specific capture cards (even more specific that normal capture card choices). But that file is just raw data, not even a video.
- Then process that non-video file into something resembling video. But processing step is very alpha/beta grade, and almost always requires manual tweaking.
The entire process requires knowledge of Linux and scripting.
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Just to be fair and honest, there are currently a few issues with ringing but it still looks WAY better than a composite capture.
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From what I have seen, it's not a few. It's still very inferior to s-video from recommended JVC/Panasonic S-VHS VCRs.
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As long as YouTube hasn't mysteriously disabled the comments again,
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Youtube generally doesn't disable comments, the Youtuber does. And he did. Why? I can only guess he doesn't want his sample to be questioned. This vhs-decode project has far too many thin-skinned users, and it turns off most of us in the actual capture/archive community. Too much BS, defensiveness, and whining -- not enough actual results using the tool.
Though I am aware that Youtube sometimes randomly disables comments on video that it thinks "contains kids", and so slight chance that is the case here. Not likely, but not impossible.
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Anyway, all I'm suggesting is that RF capture is cheaper
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That's always the draw to some: cheap.
- Not quality, but cheap.
- Not concerned about the amount of time, but cheap.
- And yet, it does require extra drive space, so it's not
that cheap after all.
If you want cheap, get the JVC non-TBC S-VHS VCRs, the ~$150 ES15, and one of those meme-like capture capture cards (GV-USB2, Hauppauge Live2, few others) for $50. The vhs-decode project also requires a VCR, and a capture card, so the only real difference is the ES15 for $150. But that vhs-decode requires extra HDD space for at least $100.
So your savings is literally $0, £0, 0€.
You get what you pay for.
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If you can't afford to buy a full-frame TBC and an S-VHS VCR ....not a crappy composite capture.
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Correct.
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I know he says "Buy, use, resell" but not everyone can put that much money on a credit card even temporarily, and eventually there won't be any more tapes to record and someone is going to have expensive equipment that they can't sell.
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No. In the realm of "gear musical chairs", organizations will be the long-term holders of the gear. A primary reason much of this gear is now missing from the public is because organizations are hoarding it, as inventory and backups for long-term projects.
And that endgame won't be at least for another decade, or more.
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I've been doing VHS-to-digital transfers since 2006 so I know that lordsmurf's method is good and you should absolutely use it if you're not comfortable with advanced topics like RF, SDR's, and connecting wires to your VCR's circuit board. I just want people to be aware of all the options in case they can't afford to do it his way.
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Now then, all of the above said...
I can appreciate tinkerers. We all tinker with something.
vhs-decode is really nothing more than a model rocket. Or that old car in the garage, or under the shade tree in the back yard.
It's not best, and it has issues. It's certainly not for everyone, and in fact is for almost no one.
I wasted countless hours in the 90s, dabbling in Linux. Back when Linus was not too hard to run down for a chat (IRC), when the internet was smaller, and friendlier. In hindsight, that was really stupid for me to do, I could have put my time to better use. But when you're young (kid or adult), time is something you have in excess, and think nothing of wasting it. I still remember the first time I successfully installed it, having just come home from a party, with too many beers in me.
So if you enjoy vhs-decode, just admit (to yourself, to others) that it's for the fun of the tinker. It's not really about the video, or video quality, but rather doing it different, the thrill of being part of a "special club" of users. And if it ever does get any % of mainstream adoption, it becomes uncool/lame, and the tinkerers all go away. This is how it always works, with any clique niche.
I see paths for vhs-decode to see wider adoption in the 2030s, but cheapness is a headwind, not a tailwind. So are some of the more mouthy users, it holds the project back.
For now, enjoy your model rocket. Make a club, invite users. But don't tell them someday it'll take them to space. Nothing that you're not doing that here, you seem far more grounded that the average "club member".
If my AG-1970 worked, I'd tinker with RF/FM/vhs-decode too! Not for seriousy conversion work, but for play.
