Capturing VHS home videos - best VCR, TBC, and capture card?

[dhonk]

NOTE: This is pretty much a copy / paste from a post I made on videohelp. Then I got here via lordsmurf who seems to know his stuff to say the least.

So my brother works for someone that has tons of home videos that need to be digitized. I've done this kind of thing for my family with just random equipment I have.. AKA, a random VHS player + Elgato Game Capture HD with the Analog cable.

The results aren't terrible, and certainly let you watch the video on DVD or a computer BUT the clients are definitely "well-to-do" so they have enough money to fund me getting some higher end equipment. From what I've read here this involves getting a higher end / Pro VHS player with an internal TBC AND buying an external TBC. Also to note, I've got no idea what kind of tapes these are quite yet. They are likely VHS-C I would think, are those converter tapes a problem? They could even be Mini DV for some of them. So I might be in over my head with various formats too... Im only guessing, Ill find out soon. Lets assume its VHS-C for now.

Problem was trying to find out what would be best for this situation. I thought I found the holy grail of VHS players, being the PANASONIC AG-1980, but then several posts here saying its "overrated crap", and you should just get a more modern player with 4 head playback, etc.

So my head is spinning from the variance in opinion. I would love it someone could just make an informed decision on whats best. Money is kind of no object on this project.

AKA: Suggested VHS Player > Suggested TBC > Suggested Capture Device.

I can figure out the software / editing / authoring situation. Im just at a loss as to the right hardware. Thanks!

[dpalomaki]

Read the sticky threads, including the VCR buyers guide.

The AG-1980 is a good VCR; however, many you find on the market have issues with capacitor failure and need repairs and maintenance. Because they were used in mainly professional/industrial applications individual units may have a lot of miles on them as well. The going rate is around $300 for a good used unit, and about the same for repair of a unit. The AG-1980 especially favored for tapes recorded at a SLP/EP speed.

Late production consumer VCRs are mostly not worth it, especially plain old VHS machines. Consider S-VHS machines from the recommended list. And give them a test if you can before you buy from unknown sources.

It would be good to find out what kinds and quantities of tapes they have/want transferred to digital media. BETA, VHS, 8mm, S-VHS, Hi8, MiniDV, VHS-C, S-VHS-C and what recording speeds (SP, LP, SLP/EP). And what format they want the delivered product; e.g., DVD, MP4 on a hard drive, etc. That information will be important in developing your gear needs.

Also it would be good to get an assessment of the quality they expect, and the amount of restoration of the video they want/expect, what are willing to pay, and the going rate for video transfers in your area. (Keep in mind that some people are "well-to-do" in part because they are frugal.) As you have already proven, producing a DVD that is as watchable as the output from a random $39 VCR from year 2000 is not difficult. But producing a quality conversion from TAPE to DVD will take effort that generally has to be tailored to the specifics tape at hand.

And importantly, decide if this is going to be done as a hobby, or as a professional business, and how much time you can or will devote to the project. If you take it on as a "for pay" job there may be expectations with respect to completion dates, and so on. If you already have a "day job" that could get in the way of timely completion if there are a lot of tapes. (It takes at least two hours to capture a two hour video tape; not allowing for set-up, tape changing, clean-up, editing, etc.) And assess what are the corrective actions you will have to take if your used gear (there is no new gear) eats a precious tape of theirs.

[lordsmurf]

Making money on the side is always nice, but some things are a can of worms. Video is like that. The biggest issues is that your own experience with your own tapes doesn't apply to tapes from somebody else. Their recordings are always different than what you faced. Perhaps they should be sending this out to a service, instead of hiring the friend of a friend? I've seen this go down many times in the past 20+ years, and it always strains relationships, because you never do what they want.

Heed my advice.

Nobody here has ever said that the AG-1980P is overrated crap. That sounds like something orsetto would say at videohelp.com, and that's just nonsense. The only truth is that sometimes the AG-1980 is the wrong tool for the job, and a JVC will be needed instead.

Suggested TBC = DataVideo TBC-100/1000/3000
Suggested capture cards = ATI All In Wonder AGP using Windows XP dedicated capture system

Budget for all the hardware needed for a minimally good job is about about $1,000. Better setup cost at least twice that (multiple VCRs to handle all situations, etc).

[dhonk]

Good stuff guys, thanks for the help first off. And yeah, all good points. Seems more and more that they should just be sent to someone that already has the equipment and know how. Any US based suggestions?

Side note: Sorry, it wasn't referred to as overrated crap here, that was over at video help haha.

[lordsmurf]

Let us do it: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/services/v...ape-to-dvd.htm
Note: We're currently re-working our site information. Lots and lots of samples and added info are coming this spring.

You need to be VERY CAREFUL with video work. Too many companies are "pro" simply because they charge money. The quality of their work, and hardware/software in use, is crap. So "overrated crap" is often the correct term for some of these slop shops. I'm currently acquiring samples of what others do, and it's really just dreadful work. Working on a list of companies that are best avoided. Inversely, I do know of a few that do a good job. It's objective.

[dhonk]

Alright, thank you for all the information again. If I don't invest the time myself (likely won't at this point), its coming to you guys!

And oh my god, guess where the tapes are? Nashville, TN! This might just work out.